Harrison - All Cherry and White

Miles Harrison thinks Gloucester's unbeaten run will continue.

Gloucester v Northampton Saints
Guinness Premiership
Saturday, September 24
Live on Sky Sports 2, 2.30pm (KO 2.45pm) 

Last Saturday started so well for Northampton, with the pack firing and Carlos Spencer trying his tricks behind it, but all of a sudden it ground to a very abrupt halt.

This is of course partly because Newcastle worked out how to stop them, winning the battle up front and in the midfield where Dave Walder, Mark Mayerhofler and Jamie Noon were excellent.

But Northampton have to address the forward issue and especially the set piece. The back line has so much potential but can't work off slow and scrappy ball.

Gloucester meanwhile maintained an unbeaten start to the season with an impressive win at Bristol. It was Bristol's first real Premiership lesson in fitness and conditioning.

Against a strong Gloucester side, Bristol couldn't live with the pace and power. Standing out for Gloucester were Mike Tindall and James Forrester - England starters this autumn? We will have to wait and see.

I went to see Gloucester on Wednesday as they prepared to host the Saints. With Dean Ryan now in full charge, you know what you are going to get. That's a strong and physical side, but one with a quest for discipline. It must be his military training! Ryan was left unhappy by the amount of penalties conceded against Bristol and by the yellow cards awarded to Patrice Collazo and Olivier Azam towards the end of the match that took the gloss off an otherwise impressive win.

That might sound a little bit rich to those who remember Ryan the player, as he was someone who played his rugby close to the edge, but the coaching staff in general will want to see a clamp down in this area. You don't win titles by giving silly penalties away and inviting the opposition to hurt you.

As the first instalment of the Premiership comes to a close, Gloucester enter this game with two wins and a draw but feeling they are not really playing well. That is a great position to be in!

The carrot dangling in front of Gloucester on Saturday is that should they win, they will move to the top of the table, at least until Wasps and Leicester take to the field on Sunday.

We are not yet at the stage of the season where the table tells the whole truth, but after week four it is starting to take shape. With one win, you can still leap from low to high, but you would much rather be up there with Gloucester, rather than in the bottom half, already getting anxious in what looks set to be a tight season.

Gloucester could see the return of James Simpson-Daniel this weekend after his latest bit of bad luck, an ankle injury picked up in the pre-season friendly with Calvisano.

He was looking very sprightly in training. He is a player who has been ready for the international stage for a while but has suffered injury after injury.

I feel that this is his time now to live up to all his potential. If he can just put together a good run of form and fitness, then here is another player that England could well be looking to in the autumn. I hope that he can stay free from injury, as he is one of those talents that you just don't want to see miss the boat.

PREDICTION - Kingsholm Kings

My start this season will hardly be giving you punters any confidence; it must be my worst start ever! I will go for a home win again this week though. The Shed will roar their approval of their side's big win at Bristol. But, there is always a but, if and when Northampton click they will 'burn somebody' to quote Gloucester's boss Ryan and you never know. Either way, I look forward to your company on Saturday afternoon as once again I will try and keep Stuart away from my sandwiches!