Premiership power rankings: Harlequins and Gloucester big movers but West Country outfit slide down THREE spots
Bath, Saracens and Leicester Tigers sit atop the Premiership power rankings this week
Following the conclusion of Round Two of the Premiership season, here are our power rankings based on the teams’ results and performances from their respective fixtures.
10. Newcastle Falcons (-)
It’s hard going for the Falcons at the minute, but they stay bottom of the table after their defeat to Harlequins. Steve Diamond’s side are looking increasingly competitive, however Quins secured a pretty emphatic 28-14 win at the Stoop this weekend. Again, they’re probably more competitive than last season, but they still look a long way off the pace currently.
9. Exeter Chiefs (-)
Rob Baxter’s side are their own worst enemy at the minute, and they need to fix this quickly if they want to make the top four. The Chiefs are currently lacking that killer blow that we have become so used to seeing from them in years gone by, and it’s currently costing them games. Nothing summed this up more than their 30-24 defeat to Northampton Saints, where they could easily have wrapped the game up in the first-half with the amount of chances they made for themselves. They need to address their inability to turn territory into points.
8. Bristol Bears (-3)
A three-position drop for Bristol seems fairly harsh on paper, but that’s probably to do with the competitive nature of the Premiership more than anything. Despite a spirited comeback against Gloucester, Pat Lam’s side still haven’t quite come out of second gear in these early exchanges. The way they fought back late on should be the spark that kicks them into top form though, so watch this space.
7. Northampton Saints (+1)
Still not quite vintage Northampton, but the win over Exeter was built off pure grit in defence. The rapid improvement under Lee Radford was pinpointed as the big improvement last year, but the victory at Franklin’s Gardens over the weekend might just be their single best defensive showing in his tenure. They also produced some delicious attacking flourishes, which shows this new-look team are gelling.
6. Sale Sharks (-1)
Whilst there were some attacking improvements made from last week, Sale still came off on the wrong end of a hefty 45-26 defeat against Saracens – which pushes them down a spot in the power rankings. The worrying thing for Alex Sanderson’s side is how they let Saracens run up a score that big that quickly, with all of Saracens tries coming in the final 30 minutes of the game.
5. Harlequins (+2)
Much more Quins-like in attack this weekend, but they continued their defensive improvements too against Newcastle Falcons. The re-introduction of Marcus Smith into the starting side got their attack clicking into gear a lot more, and the partnership with Will Porter could be a fruitful one moving forward. An emphatic win is the best way to remedy a narrow loss, and they did just that.
4. Gloucester (+2)
The late comeback against Saracens clearly gave them some confidence, as Gloucester looked great against Bristol. George Skivington had been fairly open about their desire to play a more expansive attacking game this season, but the win on Friday night was the first true sign we got to see of it as they produced some delicious tries. They will need to be wary of letting teams back into the game like they did to Bristol, but they again showed they can put a score on teams in a matter of moments and that boosts them up in the power rankings.
3. Leicester Tigers (-)
They might not have made it two wins from two, but they certainly showed they are going to be in the title fight against Bath. The Tigers stayed in the fight for the full 80 minutes against Bath, and made them genuinely dig deep to secure the win, which simply wouldn’t have happened last year. Whilst they gave Bath a good run for their money, the frustrating thing is they could easily have won too (Ollie Hassell-Collins try-butchering will forever be remembered); but despite the loss they showed they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
2. Saracens (-)
Frighteningly good at times against Sale Sharks, as they laid down their first real statement win of the season. A lot has been made about the departures, but it’s the arrivals we should be talking about now. Fergus Burke has already injected a fresh dynamic to the attack, which in turn is getting the best out of the backline, and elsewhere Rhys Carre is showing why they brought him back to the club with some serious scrummaging. This new-look Saracens is a seriously talented team, and they are starting to prove a lot of the doubters wrong.
1. Bath (-)
Topping the charts yet again this week are Bath, who showed they could win dirty against Leicester. Johann van Graan’s side had to show genuine grit and determination to get over the line against Leicester, but these sorts of games are the sign of a champion team. They had their backs against the wall for decent chunks of the game, and also sustained some injury concerns, but they found a way to win and that’s what sees them retain top spot in the rankings.