Miles Harrison is expecting Leicester and Gloucester to produce a fitting end to a cracking year of rugby.
Gloucester head to Welford Rd full of confidence, says Miles
2012 will end with a stern test of Gloucester's ambitions as they head to Welford Rd to take on Leicester, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
The Cherry-and-Whites will be delighted to be sitting fourth on the Premiership table - one spot below Leicester - however a win against their fierce rivals would certainly be a great platform to propel them to greater heights in 2013.
Leicester are a tough team to beat, and despite looking a little off colour lately have still managed to grind out some important wins. Miles Harrison will be at Welford Rd to bring you all the action and is expecting these two fierce rivals to produce a fitting end to a cracking year of rugby.
Gloucester have edged into the top four after last week, what is the key to their current form and what do you think their chances are of reaching the play-offs come the end of the season?
MILES REPLIES: It appears there is something different about Gloucester this season - a harder edge if you like, as their gritty result against Exeter on the weekend before Christmas proved again. They have lost three Premiership games this season, just like their opponents this weekend, Leicester, but, in all three defeats, they have walked away with a losing bonus point. Conclusion: they are a hard team to put away. The pack is stronger, the game management is high class and they are always a threat with the ball. On that, a concern will be their lack of try-scoring bonus points again this season but I don't think anybody watches Gloucester and thinks, 'there is a team that looks as if it struggles to score tries'. Their total of nineteen in the Premiership this season could be better but they are nine better off than their top-four rivals Saracens and are only two shy of Northampton and three shy of Leicester. All in all, I think Gloucester have a lot going for them. They were in my top four predictions at the start of the season and I see no reason to change that view. What they haven't done, apart from that cracking win at home against Leicester, is beat the teams that are currently all around them. But, they are getting close and this Saturday could be a landmark day for them if they get it right.
Freddie Burns has been in sparkling form for Gloucester this season. How highly do you rate him - has he got the all-round game that perhaps previous pretenders, possibly Danny Cipriani, have failed to develop - and how close do you think he is to usurping Toby Flood and Owen Farrell with England?
MILES REPLIES: Readers of this column will know exactly how highly I rate Freddie Burns. He should have been in the England squad at the start of the autumn campaign and I was delighted when he got his chance right at the end of it against the All Blacks. He does have the all-round game that you talk about and that extra something special too. We now know he is close to that starting chance for England but these are exciting times for Stuart Lancaster because he has players who can offer different things to the team in that jersey. For example, you can't take Owen Farrell's performance against the All Blacks away from him - it was as gutsy as it gets. So, yes, I will continue to back Burns but I don't see why this should be at the exclusion of others - on the contrary, the situation has many more positives than negatives. But, I do anticipate Burns continuing to show such form that his
