Guiness Premiership / Geoffrey Riddle / 25 September 2009 / Leave a comment

For the last decade, Leicester and Wasps have have set the benchmark in the Guinness Premiership, and punters will be able to draw an early season comparison between the two when Leicester clash with Bath at The Rec in front of the Sky cameras on Saturday, writes Geoffrey Riddle.

"We all know that Leicester are going to be a tough nut to crack but the winning margin should trade at a decent level come game time, so it’ll be Bath by 1-12 points for me."

Wasps put in a Herculean effort to win 17-15 in round two against Bath at the Rec, and anything Wasps can do, Leicester will feel deep down that they can do better.

Both Bath and Leicester have had a curate's egg of a season during the opening three rounds. Neither side has had trouble getting their hands on the ball, nor passing it around to change the point of attack. Where they have struggled, however, is in crossing or defending the whitewash. Leicester's well-documented inability to score a try in their opening three games means that their fly-half, Jeremy Staunton, has kicked all 42 of their points, while Bath have leaked six tries, third in line only to Gloucester's seven and Leeds' nine.

The simplest solution would be to expect on Saturday the Tigers' first five-pointer in 282 minutes of rugby, especially when you look at their head-to-head record last season. Bath coach Steve Meehan was comprehensively outsmarted as Leicester won four of their five clashes, the only reverse being the 25-21 home league victory in the beautiful Georgian town during the November international window.

I'm not sure things are going to be that easy, however. Bath looked to hit their straps last week in the impressive win over Sale at Edgeley Park. They looked back to their old selves in attack, and they were half-time/full-time winners. For all their defensive nous - the Tigers' haven't conceded a try so far - Richard Cockerill's crew have yet to encounter an attacking machine purring with the menace and intensity of Bath.

Sale beat Leicester on the first day of the new season with a territorial game, Harlequins are quite clearly in the mire, and Newcastle came down to Welford Road with only tackling in mind.
We all know that Leicester are going to be a tough nut to crack -they have picked up at least a bonus point on their last nine road matches in the league - but the winning margin should trade at a decent level come game time, so it'll be Bath by 1-12 points for me.

Elsewhere, there doesn't seem much room for manoeuvre, and the early traders look to have hit the mark. Saracens could be a touch of value against an appalling Gloucester outfit.

At the outset I highlighted what a shocking mindset the Cherry and Whites had, and so it proved with two pitiful efforts in as many weeks, and one, disgracefully, in front of the Shedheads. Sarries have seen the benefits of Brendon Venter's tough pre-season bear fruit, and despite not seeing the teamsheet at the time of writing, they can pluck the Cherry and Whites with ease.

The early traders have chalked up something in the region of 4-9 about the Men In Black, which is a price I would have taken anyway. With that likely to drift as match hour approaches, I'm going to wait to hopefully get a fraction better come Sunday 3pm.

Tags: Bath Rugby, Geoffrey Riddle, Gloucesterm Saracens, Guinness Premiership Betting, Leicester Tigers, Rugby Odds, Rugby Tips