If you travel up north wrap up warm. I know as I hail from the north all be it the other side of the Pennines. However when you get there the welcome is always warm apart from on the field.

I remember when we travelled north last time the Leeds supporters bombarded us with best wishes and hope fervently that we would come away with a win against the Falcons and this time I suspect we will be receiving the same good wishes from the Falcons fans but whatever we do we shall do for the Chiefs with no bias to any other side.

I expect that Leeds will play their usual grinding game which they seem to have played all season; whether that’s from fear of losing or a game plan that makes best use of their resources I don’t know but I don’t expect it to be any different this weekend.

As for our plans I am not privy to any prior team info but Rob Baxter tells us he will play every game as it comes learning from our limited experience of three quarters of a season in the Premiership. We might if we win three or four of our remaining games sneak into the top six and enjoy the delights of the Heineken Cup next season but I ask are we really ready for this yet.

So if I was picking the side, which I am not and never likely to, I might consider having a look at some of the fringe players in the squad to give them a genuine chance of proving their worth when we commence with season two in the Premiership. By this I don’t mean changes on the scale of an LV Cup game but maybe let Mieres, Gannon, Phillips and Nadolo have a start. I also don’t mean let them all have a start this weekend but let’s give them a proper chance.

Any two from those four and others won’t wreck the balance of the side and it gives them a real insight to what’s expected of them and gives the coaches a chance to see if they really want it. We have three new signings with I suspect more to come but these guys must be choking on the bit to go out and prove to themselves they really have a future.

But back to the game on Sunday; we have a pack that can compete with theirs in spades so ball should be reasonably plentiful but expect them to try to slow it up in the loose, legally of course or at least as legal as Neil Back sees it. And if it is slow let’s see whichever scrum half starts move the ball from the floor to the fly half and not stand up or even worse take a pace before passing. Get the ball into the centres hands one second quicker and we have the backs to wreak havoc at Headingley.

Great progress has been made this season and I expect it to continue this weekend and onwards.