Martin Crowson looks at five key issues from the weekend's rugby.
1 Richard Cockerill's comments on another night of re-set scrums at Exeter produced one of the quotes of the year when he was asked whether the time wasted at the set-piece annoyed him. His response? "If you want entertainment, go to the theatre!" For a fleeting moment, the gathered journalists were forced to paint a picture of the Tigers director of rugby sitting down in the West End to watch a three-hour production of a singing and dancing show. Stranger things have happened – but not very often.
2Saracens are the new favourites for the Aviva Premiership title at 6-4 with the likes of Leicester (2-1), Harlequins (3-1) and Saints (12-1). Sarries' performance in beating Quins makes those figures justifiable. They clearly have an advantage on their artificial pitch, but they have developed a game that can win anywhere with a blend of pace and power and incredible strength in depth. Tigers, Quins and Saints have the ability to beat them – but it is up to them to prove the bookies wrong.
3It is not often the case, but Tigers could do with the weather brightening up considerably for the local derby with Northampton at Franklin's Gardens this weekend. The Saints' 'wet weather game' has led them to four consecutive wins in the Aviva Premiership, and their favoured style of play is big forwards carrying off rucks and very impressive driving mauls off the back of line-outs. Stop that, and you go a long way to stopping the Saints – as Leicester have proved in recent meetings.
4Franklin's Gardens has always been an incredibly tough place for Tigers to visit over the years. But Saints have been a different beast at home in the last few months. They have lost three of their last six league games at home and any semblance of an edgy start has made both them – and their fans – visibly jittery. If Tigers can get ahead early and set the seeds of a seventh consecutive victory over the old enemy, that nervousness could start to emerge once more.
5Tom Croft's decision to run the ball from his own line with time expired after catching Gareth Steenson's failed last-minute kick at Exeter was greeted with horror from his team-mates. Ben Youngs said: "He must have seen something on that none of us did. He thinks he's Serge Blanco!"
