Premiership: Grading each club’s league campaign as Bath ‘find another gear’ while Exeter endure ‘truly terrible’ season
From left to right: Henry Slade, Alfie Barbeary and Ellis Genge
Following the conclusion of the Gallagher Premiership regular season, here is the Planet Rugby report card on each club.
Bath: A+
Wow, wow, wow. What a season it’s been for Johann van Graan’s side. Aside from their success in the Premiership Rugby Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, Bath have taken the Premiership by storm this season and are fully deserving of their spot at the top of the table. Last year felt like a real momentum shifter for Bath after a difficult few years, notably finishing bottom of the table, but this year they have found another gear and taken their game to new heights. Everything has worked perfectly, be it the new bomb squad or the slightly more settled attacking structure; they seem to have found the perfect game plan to suit their players and got the best out of everyone within the group. They’ve also been able to blood in a few new faces, who have performed just as well as the rest of the star-studded regular 23.
Leicester Tigers: A
The progress Leicester have made in just one season is nothing short of exceptional. There was nothing but negativity coming out of Mattioli Woods Welford Road, a faltering attack, discipline issues costing them wins, and crucially the departure of Dan McKellar, but they have quickly rallied under Michael Cheika to become a serious title challenger again. Cheika’s arrival has seen a return to the old Leicester ways, built off a strong set-piece and red-zone precision, and they’ve reaped the rewards off it. Since the Australian’s departure was confirmed, alongside some high-profile player exits and retirements of club legends, the squad seem to have bought into the Last Dance mantra, which is a dangerous tool for any side.
Sale Sharks: A-
9%. That was the likelihood of them making the play-offs back in November, but now it’s 100% as Alex Sanderson’s side have yet again defied the odds to reach the top four. It’s almost been an exact replica of their previous two campaigns under the former club captain, a poor start threatened to derail their season and left them languishing in eighth, but a mince pie and sherry-inspired Christmas-time rally injected new life into their play-off hopes. Since December, Sale have built back their game plan bit-by-bit, starting with the scrum and the set-piece before moving slowly towards their attacking shape and then unleashing it all in these final stages. It wasn’t all plain sailing, but they could very easily be the ones to watch heading into the final rounds.
Bristol Bears: B+
When they’re on form, they are unbelievable, but they need to be completely 100% on their game to reach those levels; even if they’re at 99%, they can come up short. The Bears deserve high praise for their intent to play and unwavering commitment to that style, but they can sometimes get caught out by trying to overplay, and that leads to their own downfall. Bristol have certainly had a great season, though, and deserve their spot in the top four, but at the halfway stage of the season, they looked like title favourites.
Gloucester: A
This time last year, Gloucester had just brought the curtain down on a dark season, but now things are once again firmly on the up. The Cherry and Whites could easily have reverted back to an incredibly simple game plan, but they opted for the brave option and went all-out attack, which worked a treat. Their defence seemed to go backwards, granted, but they deserve a lot of praise for their intent to play positive rugby and completely put the woes of the 2023/24 season behind them. A spot in the top four might have eluded them, but nevertheless, they should look back fondly on this campaign.
Saracens: B-
A very inconsistent season from the usually robotic Saracens, who, aside from the year they were relegated, miss out on the play-offs for the first time since 2009. Mark McCall’s men began really strongly, winning four of their first five and playing a new attack-first style, but after that, they couldn’t quite piece a concentrated run together and eventually fell out of the play-off race. It was always going to be a strange year, though, considering the mass exodus of senior players from the squad in the off-season.
Harlequins: C
Tough campaign for Harlequins, who will likely want to put this season behind them. Quins’ DNA has been their positive attacking approach to the game, but this season they changed tact and went to focus more on their defence. It worked for a time, but then they found themselves falling well behind the pace in the play-off hunt. They did eventually turn back to their more attacking approach, notably against Gloucester at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, but they couldn’t quite hit their usual heights on a consistent basis. Questions should be asked in the off-season, as this Quins side should be finishing higher in the table.
Northampton Saints: C-
The reigning champions have endured a challenging Premiership season. Key injuries early on derailed their start, and Champions Cup priorities meant they couldn’t properly piece together a good run in the league. They did play a key role in the outlook of the season, though, spoiling Saracens’ season in the penultimate round, but still they just weren’t able to put their best performances together in the league, unlike their run to the title last year.
Exeter Chiefs: E
At least it’s over. A truly terrible campaign for the Chiefs has come to an end, and they will hope it will never be repeated again. Things got off to the worst possible start as they lost all eight of their opening fixtures, and while things did change with a win over Gloucester in December, there was something much worse around the corner. The reverse fixture against the Cherry and Whites in April proved to be existential for the Chiefs, as they fell to a 79-17 defeat and saw two coaches depart, added to one earlier in the season, and it just put all of their struggles under the spotlight. Rob Baxter has already said he won’t even look back at this campaign, which is probably for the best.
Newcastle Falcons: C+
It might seem weird to give the bottom-ranked club a higher grade than the team in seventh, but compared to last season, there are clearly positive steps being taken on the pitch at Newcastle. Steve Diamond’s side finally got that elusive win as they beat Exeter at Kingston Park, and backed that up with a second win of the campaign against Saracens, and also pushed the likes of Northampton Saints, Bath and Sale close too. Their away form was still a slight concern, but again, they were much more competitive in that regard than last season. Progress is progress at the end of the day, and that’s exactly what Newcastle have made.