Guiness Premiership / Geoffrey Riddle / 09 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Danny Cipriani may have only played seven internationals but Geoffrey Riddle is fast losing patience with the fly-half. He needs to put the howlers behind him in time for the Six Nations but can he start rebuilding his confidence this weekend in Wasps match against Bath?

Danny Cipriani will dominate this weekend's televised clash between Bath and Wasps at The Rec.

Last week, the fly-half had two kicks charged down by Harlequins, one of which led to a five-yard scrum, which Harlequins scored a try from. That Wasps won the fixture 24-18 was testament to their strength in other areas, but Cipriani's howlers, which were the same errors that gave away tries in the November Internationals to the Pacific Islands and South Africa, must give England supporters serious cause for concern.

When will Cipriani learn? I know he has played just seven internationals, and I know it is like a yoke around his neck to have to step out of the shadow of a certain J Wilkinson, but you cannot imagine Wilkinson making a similar mistake again, again and again.

Wilko would be out on the practice pitch for days, if not weeks, in a bid to rectify this problem. The Times illustrated on Tuesday that Cipriani needs to shave around 0.3secs off his clearance kicks. Surely it can't be that hard for someone as talented as he, especially when he's got the fearsome flanker Serge Betsen in the same squad, a player who is sure to be able to terrify Cipriani into punting quicker on the training pitch.

If Cipriani doesn't learn, you could imagine England's odds to win the Six Nations taking a walk from the current price of [3.0] over the next few weeks. It's not that Cipriani is such a central figure to England, it is just that the hype at the beginning of the tournament is likely to focus on Wales, who were the only northern hemisphere team to beat a Tri-Nations side this year.

But onwards to this weekend's offerings. If Cipriani's confidence is knocked a bit, and there are suggestions that his arrogant persona has taken a bit of a battering, then perhaps going under in the total points market might be the way forward in this fixture.

Wasps looked good in defence last weekend against their London rivals. Despite conceding a penalty try, they kept Quins away from the line in the first-half with relative ease, conceding just a Nick Evans penalty kick. Wasps have also struggled to score points on the road, accumulating just 94 away from home in their six league games, and 23 of those were against Newcastle.

Wasps' cause hasn't been helped either, by the fact that Tom Rees suffered medial ligament damage against Quins and will be out for around two months. Not the news you want to hear ahead of a trip down to the West Country.

Bath haven't exactly had trouble scoring points of late, but Steve Meehan's men do look out of sorts. Last week they smashed into Leicester at Welford Road, building up a 22-9 advantage early in the second half. They went on to lose 24-22, and that performance will ensure they are a cagier outfit this weekend.

The forecast is for a clear, cold day, so there will be no aid from the heavens, but both sides are not at their rumbustious best, and there should be no repeat of last year's 42-34 scoreline. Punters must take note that referee Romain Poite takes charge of his first Premiership fixture, and things might not be allowed to flow along early in the game as the Frenchman endeavours to assert himself.

There's no fear of that in the other live game where Wayne Barnes takes charge of his 67th Premiership match, the clash between Midlands rivals Northampton and Leicester.

This if often a gruesome contest, and Barnes likes to let the cards fly, so in-running punters should be wary. Sin-binnings aside, if you look at Northampton's record at Franklin's Gardens it is pretty impressive. The Saints haven't lost a competitive league fixture there since Gloucester won 7-5 in March 2007. Both high-flying Bath and Harlequins have failed to win there this season, and Leicester, who have all sorts of complications with their coaching set up at the moment, may struggle to break down Northampton early on.

Leicester look a pre-match lay, with the hope of either trading out later in the game, or, if you are feeling brave enough, staying in and letting it ride in the hope that the Saints go marching in.