Christmas will set the tone for Premiership and Pro12 months ahead | Robert Kitson

Leicester, Exeter, Wasps, Munster and co face a crucial period because if you have a losing run it can become a hard habit to break as the temperature drops and the weather worsens• More rugby union newsHere are a couple of instructive Christmas case studies to ponder, with rugby’s festive season looming. At this point last year Exeter were quietly optimistic about beating Harlequins in the Big Game at Twickenham, having just produced decent home and away displays against Toulon and beaten Newcastle in their previous three matches. Instead, they were thumped by Quins and failed to win another …