Former British and Irish Lion predicts who will be crowned the PREM and URC champions this season in 'unforgiving' title races
The Prem and URC have become the central focus for rugby fans once again after a short break for the Six Nations across February and March.
Clubs know any mistake at this point of the campaign could have a detrimental impact on their ambitions, particularly for those aiming to lift silverware at the end of the season.
Ugo Monye, the former British and Irish Lion, has experience lifting domestic silverware at the end of the campaign, as he was part of the 2012 Harlequins side that lifted the Premiership.
So, who better to ask who he believes will win the competition this season?
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When asked in an exclusive interview with Sportbible, the former England international seemed initially indecisive about who would have the privilege of lifting the PREM at the end of the campaign, as he contemplated between two sides.
Monye said: “I think the Prem. It's an unforgiving competition. It's why I believe it to be the best domestic competition on the planet.
"Well, I was going to say Northampton Saints.
“However, I think Bath will.”
Northampton and Bath currently occupy the top two spots in the PREM table and have been by far and away the best teams in the competition this season.
Saints demonstrated exactly how devastating they can be with ball in hand during the early stages of their victory over Saracens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yesterday.
While the sheer variation in which Bath can attack is frightening, from their talented backs with ball in hand to their powerful forwards bursting over the gainline, they are an incredible outfit.
It is no surprise the two teams that claimed the title in the past two seasons are involved again, and Monye would seem to agree.
Meanwhile, the former England international has also given his opinion on who will lift the URC, as the division starts to near the end of its regular campaign.
Monye was a lot more confident in his prediction for who would win this domestic trophy as he boldly said: “Glasgow Warriors”
The Scottish side have been phenomenal in the URC as they currently sit top of the division, but it has been their performances that have made people sit up and take notice, particularly with their victory over Toulouse in the Champions Cup early in the campaign.
Conversations have begun that Glasgow could be onto an unlikely double, as they have the ability to lift both the URC and Champions Cup; however, this will be some ask and truly test their squad depth.
Ugo Monye was speaking to Sportbible for the Same Side campaign. Ugo is one of many sports stars using the power of sport to reshape the conversation about what it means to be a man. Find out more: http://allonthesameside.org/
Topics: Rugby, Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan