Rugby betting: weekend preview

Even with the Heineken Cup pool stages over and done with, there are several heavyweight bouts taking place this weekend to keep rugby punters' appetites whetted before next week's Six Nations kicks off. Click here for a free $600 Paddy Power Poker welcome bonus when you join Gloucester host Wasps at Kingsholm in arguably the tie of round 11, although Saracens taking on Bath at Vicarage Road promises to be a real humdinger. Bath are the form team in the league at the moment having taken 22 points from their last six matches, a streak which has taken Steve Meehan's side to second in the Premiership - they are just 6/1 with Paddy Power to win the Regular Season. Sarries foundered just before the turn of the year at Vicarage Road when Newcastle made a surprising smash-and-grab raid on Watford, coming away with a 22-19 victory. Prior to that defeat, Saracens had been playing some of the best rugby in the Premiership. It seems to have been a minor blip however, because since then, the Men in Black have roared to a thumping win over Biarritz in the Heineken Cup to take them to the knockout stages for the first time. And that could be Saracens' downfall. We all know that teams are the most professional they have ever been, but there is a lingering doubt that Saracens can hit those heights again so quickly after that famous result. Bath have a good record against Saracens, too. They have won four of the last five encounters between the two, while Bath have won three of the last four matches they have played a Vicarage Road. With a handicap start, the West Country side look value. Gloucester are in danger of becoming one of the great Premiership sides, such is the quality that lurks within Kingsholm. The Cherry and Whites are unbeaten in 16 matches at home - the third best streak in the 11 year history of the Premiership. They are as short as 8/11 with Boylesports for the Regular Season and a best-priced 7/4 with Bet direct and Stan James to win the Grand Final. They have an incredible strength-in-depth and Wasps could be on the end of a severe beating if they don't front up in the forwards. Last week they looked shell-shocked in Limerick's pouring rain as Munster, led admirably by Ronan O'Gara, pummelled them into the soaked Thomond Park turf. Gloucester can boast even more power than the Irish province and with decent-sized handicaps on offer, Wasps could be swatted aside. Given that two West Country sides have been put up this weekend, we might as well make it three. Worcester's clash with Bristol looks a dodgy betting proposition on paper with the Warriors searching for their first elusive win in the Premiership. As a contrast, Worcester have a 100 per cent record in the European Challenge Cup, a record which sees them get home advantage in April in the quarter-finals. The fact that they have made a mockery of their Pool, which included high-flying French side Montauban, indicates that all is not lost for the Warriors. Bristol's shoddy 17-0 defeat to Cardiff in the Heineken Cup last week is hardly the best preparation for a West Country derby - Worcester beat Bucharesti 46-0 - and the home side are taken to open their league account. Verdict: 2pts Bath, Gloucester and Worcester treble. (Paddy Power) Click here for a free $600 Paddy Power Poker welcome bonus when you join