Jeremy Guscott column

Former Bath, England & Lions centre

There's been a lot of talk this week about citing after incidents involving Neil Best and James Haskell in the Northampton v Wasps game, and I have to say I'm all for it.

James Haskell (left) and Neil Best have been in hot water this week

The guys know the laws and there are cameras everywhere.

If you purposely fight, kick, poke, gouge, or squeeze where you shouldn't, what do you expect?

Big Brother is all over the world and there are more cameras and people watching than before.

You know all these things are there and you've seen people get caught before.

The game is nowhere near as dirty as it used to be - in the olden days, if you dished it out, you expected to get it back, either in the game or the next time you met.

Some of it was nasty but a lot of it was just macho behaviour - these days there's less of it and coaches won't tolerate it.

It's your livelihood so stick to the laws and you'll be ok.

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The big game of the weekend is Newcastle v Bristol. In rugby terms, it's Man Utd v Chelsea - but at the wrong end of the table.

If Bristol win at Kingston Park, even at this early stage I think that would be the death knell for Newcastle, as I don't see Bristol losing too many home games.

Jonny Wilkinson has plenty to worry about at Newcastle

They're real sluggers and spoilers - they don't play anything too attractive, they're just hard working, and to go to Bristol and grind out a result there is harder than at Newcastle.

Bristol coach Richard Hill is quite good at targeting match by match and leaving players out for games he hasn't targeted, but he'll have his best team out.

I don't think Newcastle have been a threat since they won the championship a decade or so ago.

It's surprising when you consider the talent they have, I thought they'd make a bigger impact. I don't get the impression ambition is bursting at the seams at the club.

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Another big game this weekend is Leicester v Wasps.

Leicester haven't even fired completely for 80 minutes yet this season and Wasps certainly haven't but if the Wasps coaching staff ever wanted a game to get the team fired up, it couldn't be bigger than this one.

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They won't want to be embarrassed but if Leicester click, they could thrash Wasps. These two team have won so much between them that it's almost become the biggest game in the calendar for both of them. I'll go for a home win.

Some teams are taking a while to function, and that's certainly true of Sale.

They kicked themselves to victory over Bristol last week and they've only conceded one try but they've only scored one as well, and given the amount of internationals in the squad, that's embarrassing, and they know it.

Gloucester have started the season very well, while Sale have a championship-winning squad but have played stinkers - but with the way they're playing, I'd go for Gloucester.

This looks like being a good season for Worcester, but I think home advantage will prove vital when they travel to Bath, and the same applies for Harlequins v London Irish - but anyone going to The Stoop is sure to be entertained.

I also think Saracens' pack will just have too much for Northampton.

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Jeremy takes time out each week to answer questions from users on 606:

Last week you answered questions about the England centres, who do you think will be graced with the number nine shirt in the immediate future? Obviously Danny Care and Harry Ellis are the number one and two choices, but how do you choose between them? Form or experience?
wonderrob88

I like form rather than experience. It's a new era under Martin Johnson, we should draw a line under what's happened before, and here it starts, so people in form deserve to start.

Unfortunately for Harry he's injured again and Danny has zoomed into the new season and started well.

Do you think Tom Varndell's defence and positioning have improved enough - like Paul Sackey - to merit him starting the Autumn Internationals and Six Nations? In your opinion what must a good club winger improve upon to be considered for the Test arena?
fancyhaymaker

First and foremost, a winger needs to score tries and be a finisher.

Any aspiring England winger should model themselves on Sackey. He can score from anywhere, he just knows where the tryline is.

Varndell has been supreme in sevens, he just needs to be more consistent and score lots of tries.

Have you noticed any discernible difference in the way teams are defending the new laws? Also, what do you make of the rugby league signings so far this season? Chris Ashton had a strong season last year for Northampton in Division One, and Shontayne Hape is an exciting prospect for Bath.
goodNumber10

No, I've not really noticed any real difference with the new laws. As for the second part of the question, Ashton scored lots of tries last year in a weak league in a strong team and if he continues to score tries he will catch the eye but only time will tell.

Hape looks the part, unfortunately I've not seen him yet, but I'm really look forward to it.

Jeremy Guscott was talking to BBC Sport's Julian Shea