Five Premiership storylines to watch including Marcus Smith’s reaction to Finn Russell spat and Bath’s brilliance

Lawrence Nolan
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Finn Russell and Marcus Smith going head-to-head in the Premiership clash.

Finn Russell and Marcus Smith going head-to-head in the Premiership clash.

It’s the first round of the return fixtures in the Premiership season, with Bath leading the table on bonus-points despite having won a game fewer than Sale.

The Sharks face a tough trip to Northampton in the Gallagher Premiership this weekend, while Bath are visitors at old foes Leicester Tigers and Saracens could steal a march on both with a home clash against struggling Newcastle…

Vakatawa the Joker in Bristol’s hand

‘Class is permanent’ was Pat Lam’s idiomatic response to questions about the impact of Virimi Vakatawa on Bristol’s win over Newcastle, a tight game until the French centre broke it open with a sumptuous try. The Bears’ campaign to date has been pretty stop-start, but Lam also insisted that the team had grown as a group, lauding the win and noting that few teams have it easy on a windy night in Newcastle.

Vakatawa’s influence on Bristol is undeniable though, not only with his own play but his threat and awareness helping to bring out the best around him, not least fly-half Callum Sheedy. All of those factors combined should encourage the Bears to think that victory over an Exeter team that is flying high but struggles on its travels is eminently achievable; it would be a far better statement of how Bristol have grown as well.

Falcons on a hiding to nothing

If you had asked Alex Codling what he’d like for Christmas (aside from a Premiership win), chances are around 100 per cent he’d have not listed a trip to a smarting Saracens. The Falcons are at times naïve and under-experienced, but at times also cursed; the Bristol clash, highly winnable, was preceded by a horrible trip back from South Africa which decimated training time – and quality recovery time – for the squad.

As he also pointed out, and in tune with Newcastle’s policy of developing their own, the Falcons had a 20-year-old fly-half, a 19-year-old centre and a new signing from the Championship up against Callum Sheedy, Bernard Janse van Rensburg and Vakatawa.

Assuming Saracens will demand a response after defeat to Sale and Newcastle pick a strong team, the next midfield combo to be faced by this raw trio will be Owen Farrell, Nick Tompkins and either of Elliot Daly or Olly Hartley. That’s representative of the difference between the teams. The Falcons are starting to become the team we all want to win, but Saracens off the back of a defeat to another title contender is not the place it will happen.

Next test for the title pretenders

“If you become one of Saracens’ long-term rivals then you are doing alright,” said Alex Sanderson after his Sharks downed the champions last Friday night. But Sale look to be a team going one better than just rivalry now. With the best win record in the league and a squad, bar the injury to Tom Curry, perhaps a little less-affected by the World Cup than others, Sale are giving this season a proper shot.

Sanderson learned his title-tilting skills at the aforementioned Saracens and Friday’s dogged win bore all the hallmarks of a team that refuses to lose. Next up Northampton, who have shown similar resilience in the European Cup win over Toulon and last week’s win over Gloucester, and will have a rocking Franklin’s Gardens behind them. Sale’s two losses have both been on the road this season; this is the sort of game that will confirm their title aspirations – and rivalry/similarity to Saracens – were the Sharks to win.

Smith’s temperament in the spotlight

He’s one of the finest natural talents around, yet every week seems to conjure up a new question of Marcus Smith. It might be his kicking game, it might be his ability to pick and choose moments, it might be whether he can win tight games for his team as well as open ones. Now, after Finn Russell got deep under his skin at Bath last week, the question mark hangs over his temperament: can he keep his head when all around are trying to make him lose it?

Bath is a tight place to play and there were definitely some little niggles focused in Smith’s direction, which likely caused both a scintillating try and a bit of an off-day for Smith – and his team – in general. The wide open spaces of Twickenham against Gloucester’s porous defence will be a great place for Smith to show more of the skill that got Harlequins the opening try last week, and much less of the rattled thinking.

Bath running riot

Finn Russell might be the player signing of the season, but the coaching signing might also be Johann van Graan. Bath top the table, not by dint of games won but by dint of tries scored; last week’s win over Quins ensured the team has notched more try bonus-points than anyone else.

The South African coach has not only overseen the rapid integration of Russell, but also the re-emergence of Joe Cokanasiga and a huge improvement in the forwards from one to eight, epitomised by the growing influence of Alfie Barbeary and Miles Reid.

Having lost at home to the Tigers on the opening day of the season, Bath will have something to prove against Leicester at Welford Road; for those of a more advanced age who remember these clashes from yesteryear, there would be no better or more nostalgic place for Bath to advance their own developing title credentials.

READ MORE: Five storylines to watch in the URC including the Coastal Derby

Bath Finn Russell Marcus Smith

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