Group B leaders Leicester Tigers host fourth-placed Newcastle Red Bulls. The English cup matches will be played alongside the start of the Six Nations Championship, so the teams will be without their key players.
Leicester Tigers
Steve Borthwick, head coach of the England national team, has called up far fewer players from Leicester Tigers (four in total) than from the likes of Saracens, but it is at least something. As expected, none have been taken from Newcastle Red Bulls. The main measure of success is still the PREM Rugby, where the Tigers are in the top four, in contrast to the Red Bulls, who are bottom of the standings. In the cup their only slip came last week, when they lost away to Northampton Saints (22:40).
Newcastle Red Bulls
Newcastle Red Bulls have managed only six wins all season. Three have come in the European Rugby Challenge Cup and two more in the Premiership Rugby Cup. Leicester Tigers have not been among the few sides to suffer in those rare positive results for them. In the cup the Tigers beat them in minimalist fashion at Kingston Park Stadium (10:8), and a month later at the same venue recorded an even bigger victory in the league (39:17).
Leicester Tigers vs Newcastle Red Bulls Prediction
At home this season Leicester Tigers have been almost unstoppable, with eight wins from nine matches. Only Leinster Rugby managed to turn a game around against them, scoring 10 points in the final quarter to win 23:15. Because of call-ups to the national team, the hosts will clearly not be able to field their strongest line-up. Their reserves still have greater potential than the first-choice players of Newcastle Red Bulls, but we do not expect a huge winning margin.
