Friday 14 November 2014 11:27, UK
Much of the attention may be on the autumn internationals this weekend, but the LV= Cup again presents a prize opportunity for the Aviva Premiership’s rising stars to showcase their talent and lay down a marker in the second round.
After the thrills and spills of back-to-back weekends of Round 1, the eight Premiership sides in action over the weekend will be eager to keep their Anglo-Welsh Cup bid on track.
Reigning champions Exeter Chiefs, who claimed their first piece of major silverware when they saw off Northampton Saints last term, started their defence by claiming the narrowest of victories over Gloucester.
A last-minute penalty try converted by fly-half Ceri Sweeney saw the LV= Cup holders snatch a 28-27 victory over their West Country rivals, while Bath made an emphatic start to their campaign against London Welsh.
Academy flanker Max Northcote-Green scored two tries on his debut while Gavin Henson converted three of his side's seven scores in a 47-7 success.
Following a successful comeback from injury against Gloucester, lock Dean Mumm resumes as captain while new signing Byron McGuigan makes his debut in the No 15 jersey.
Bath head coach Mike Ford is boosted by the return of Leroy Houston, who is one of six changes to the side which thrashed London Welsh last time out.
After first round victories Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers lock horns at Welford Road, with both sides eager to maintain their perfect start to the new LV= Cup campaign.
Richard Cockerill’s Leicester were less than impressive in beating London Irish, though the Tigers director of rugby will stick to his policy of blooding youngsters in the Anglo-Welsh tournament.
Sale themselves suffered a slow start against Wasps, but the Sharks’ director of rugby Steve Diamond will take pride their fightback to claim a nerve-racking victory.
Diamond has again rotated members of his Sharks squad, giving opportunities to several players, including McLeod, who makes his first start in the No 10 jersey since their defeat to Northampton in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals in April.
Meanwhile, the headline inclusion for Leicester is prop Dan Cole, who has not played since gaining his 45th England cap during the 2014 Six Nations because of a neck injury.
Wasps and London Irish lock horns at Adams Park on Sunday with both sides looking for their first LV= Cup victory of the 2014/15 campaign.
Tries from Will Rowlands and Will Helu (two) had given Dai Young's Wasps a 19-17 advantage at the interval last weekend, but Sale Sharks responded through touchdowns from Alberto de Marchi and Josh Beaumont, before Nick Macleod's late penalty snatched a dramatic 32-29 win.
London Irish only had themselves to blame their first opening defeat after squandering a number of chances in a 17-16 loss against Leicester, who were second best in terms of territory and possession for much of the match, but scores from Miles Benjamin and Robert Barbieri were enough to secure the win.
Young again fields a blend of youth and experience for their second clash, but Wasps are boosted by the arrival of Chris Bell in the centres and Guy Thompson at No 8.
After coming off the bench against Leicester, senior academy player Ollie Curry has been handed his senior starting debut at flanker for Brian Smith’s London Irish.
Gloucester will be confident they can bounce back and chalk up their first LV= Cup win when they travel to the Kassam Stadium on Sunday to face London Welsh.
The Exiles are yet to record a win this season in any competition and their 47-7 reverse at the hands of Bath last weekend caused further headaches for director of rugby Justin Burnell.
Gloucester’s agonising defeat to Exeter in Round 1 was not without promise as Gareth Evans, Bill Meakes and Yann Thomas all crossed and director of rugby David Humphreys will expect the ‘Cherry and Whites’ to their campaign moving on Sunday.
Given the short turnaround and international absentees, Gloucester have named a youthful side, which will be captained by Aled Thomas from fly-half, while fellow half-back Callum Braley makes his first start after a summer move from Bristol Rugby.
Burnell has also made a raft of changes, nine rotations in total from the side that lost to Bath, with fly-half Will Robinson making his Exiles debut.
