Premiership power rankings: Saracens slump as ‘magnificent’ Bristol and ‘imperious’ Bath benefit from Derby Weekend performances
Bath, Harlequins and Bristol Bears were the big movers after Derby Weekend
Following the conclusion of Round Four of the Premiership season, here are our power rankings based on the teams’ results and performances from their respective fixtures.
10. Newcastle Falcons (-)
Things just seem to be getting worse every week for Newcastle Falcons, and you start to worry if they will get a win this season at all. They looked devoid of any intent on either side of the ball in their huge 43-10 defeat to Sale Sharks, and worryingly, it seemed they put in a more competitive showing against them in pre-season than in this fixture. Steve Diamond seems to think he can turn things around, but on this showing it’s hard to see how they can.
9. Exeter Chiefs (-)
What on earth is going on at Sandy Park right now? Exeter again should have had the game won, especially considering they led 32-12 with 65 minutes gone, but it comes back down to errors at crucial times for them. They just don’t have that killer blow we have come to associate with a Chiefs side this season, and they are capable of some really silly things. A huge game with Newcastle lies on the horizon for them now, and you hope, for their sake, they can end their rotten form at Kingston Park.
8. Gloucester (-1)
The Cherry and Whites have been very inconsistent this season, and nothing showcased that more than their loss to Bath. They were brilliant for large chunks of the game, but that was marred with some pretty poor moments too. Gloucester’s attack went well for the most part, but again it was their defence that proved their undoing as they shipped 38 points in the second-half to lose to their nearest rivals. Still, though, they look much better than last year.
7. Northampton Saints (-1)
You struggle to put your finger on Northampton at the moment, but against Leicester Tigers they just didn’t look like winning. They have become known for their crisp, fluid attack, but at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, they lacked their usual accuracy in this department and it cost them precious points. Northampton tallied 11 visits into Leicester’s 22, but through either error or ill-discipline only crossed the whitewash once – in the 80th minute. One good thing is they still have key players to come back into the fray, but as things stand it’s not been a fantastic start to their title defence.
6. Harlequins (+2)
1,722 days of torment finally came to an end for Harlequins and it sees them climb two spots up in our power rankings. The win, weirdly, was potentially the least ‘Quinsy’ win possible. If anything it was like a Saracens performance, as it came from sheer defensive effort. The introduction of Jason Gilmore as new defence coach has rapidly transformed their fortunes on this side of the ball, but the win against bitter rivals Sarries was the best we’ve seen of them this season. Lennox Anyanwu was superb in leading the charge, but the likes of Jack Kenningham and Will Evans also got heavily involved. We still need to see wins like this backed up, but it was a fine performance from Quins on Sunday.
5. Sale Sharks (-)
They might not be moving up our power rankings, but Sale Sharks are gathering some nice momentum in these early games. Sale have found scoring tries a problem in years past, but they have really struck gold in this department in recent weeks, and they left Newcastle with a tidy haul of six. This, in itself, is impressive, but it’s how the way they are scoring them which is exciting too. They seem to be developing a new brand of rugby, almost Quins-esque in its approach, but it’s also incredibly clinical and accurate. The challenge for them is if they can play like this against the top sides, but either way, it was an impressive win.
4. Saracens (-3)
A three-place drop for a seven-point defeat may seem a tad harsh, but that’s more of a reflection of the tightness of the Premiership than anything else. Saracens have looked imperious in their fixtures to date, playing a lovely brand of attacking rugby but maintaining the Saracens identity within it. However, against Harlequins they just couldn’t unlock the stern Quins defence. It wasn’t through a lack of trying, though.
3. Bristol Bears (+1)
A magnificent comeback from Bristol sees them climb above Saracens into third spot this week. They looked down and out at Sandy Park and were comfortably second-best for much of the game, but their never-say-die attitude was on full display with their brilliant 28-point turnaround. Bristol didn’t have much of the ball against Exeter on Saturday, but whenever they did get possession they posed such a massive threat, with the likes of Rich Lane, Gabriel’s Ibitoye and Oghre, AJ MacGinty and Joe Jenkins breaking away on multiple occasions. This victory was also their second statement in as many weeks, and they will now be heading into Saracens with a skip in their step. Their defence could do with some touch-ups though.
2. Leicester Tigers (+1)
It wasn’t a particularly pretty win from Leicester at the weekend, but they never looked like losing, and that’s why they sit in second. They just looked incredibly comfortable for most of the game against Northampton and were happy to absorb the pressure from the visitors and hold them out. In attack, they still weren’t particularly flashy, but they did what all good Leicester teams in the past have done and just did the basics very well to get them over the line. This win is their latest gutsy performance, and it’s certainly one they would have lost last year.
1. Bath (+1)
Retaking their spot at the top of the power rankings are Bath, who put that Bristol defeat to bed with a brilliant showing against bitter-rivals Gloucester. The Surf the Web/Caviar (I’ll never stop calling them this now) clawed their way back into it from a 21-10 deficit to clinch an impressive 55-31 win at Kingsholm, but the way they took the game away from Gloucester with ease will send a serious message out to the rest of the league. They balanced sheer might up front with some exceptional full-length tries, showing they have rediscovered their imperious all-court game from the opening win against Northampton.