Premiership power rankings: ‘Worrying’ Sale Sharks sink while ‘classy’ Harlequins climb ladder

Following the conclusion of Round Six of the Premiership season, here are our power rankings based on the teams’ results and performances from their respective fixtures.

10. Newcastle Falcons (-1)

Steve Diamond has, in fairness, said they will struggle away from home, but their defeat to Gloucester was SUCH a backwards step from last weekend. In their defence, Gloucester’s attack is really sharp when it clicks into gear, but Newcastle were just found wanting in all areas in defence and were too easily beaten. They also lacked that grit and determination they had against Exeter going forward. It was a real disappointment following their great win last weekend.

9. Exeter Chiefs (+1)

It was another loss for Rob Baxter’s side, but there were some signs of improvement. They had a lot more character about them, and for the first real time this season brought some physicality to proceedings. Elsewhere, the players drafted in, Will Rigg, Will Becconsall and, of course, Henry Slade, added a new dynamic to the team. Make no mistake, there are still huge issues at Sandy Park that need a fix. Their blitz defence was potentially too aggressive to beat a free-flowing Harlequins, and they managed to get through it with ease, but could this change with the exit of Omar Mouneime?

8. Sale Sharks (-1)

It’s starting to get a bit worrying for Sale Sharks at the moment, and you feel this Premiership Cup block has come at the perfect time. Alex Sanderson’s side have prided themselves on defensive solidity and physicality, but they lacked any sense of this against Bath and were simply picked apart with ease. They let it rip a bit more in attack – which was pleasing – but they need to fix their defence quickly if they want to turn their season around.

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7. Gloucester (+1)

A joy to watch when on song, and they certainly were against Newcastle. George Skivington has given them a license to play this free-flowing attack, and it’s rapidly transformed them into a real threat ball-in-hand. For the first time this season, they balanced this with some decent defensive efforts too and kept Newcastle to just one try. They are growing each game, so watch this space.

6. Northampton Saints (-1)

Despite the result, and dropping down a spot in these rankings, Northampton gave a decent account of themselves against Bristol, despite having a lot of core players away on England duty. The likes of George Hendy, Tom Pearson and especially young gun Henry Pollock all stood up with some seriously good performances, but on the whole they fronted up in defence, and pieced together some delicious tries too. More signs of improvement from the defending champions.

5. Harlequins (+1)

It’s been a long wait for a win at Sandy Park for the Londoners, but my oh my was it an impressive one. Their attack was in full flight in Devon, and they sliced through the Exeter defence pretty much at will with the likes of Lennox Anyanwu, Tyrone Green and Rodrigo Isgro all adding different styles of attack to proceedings. Annoyingly for them, Quins could easily have scored more, but overall a really classy performance.

4. Bristol Bears (-)

Pat Lam’s side have this strange ability to just run away with games with a flurry of tries, and they did exactly this against Northampton. They, yet again, played some outrageous rugby going forward, and were able to pull away from the Saints pretty easily despite the stern opposition. Bristol look like serious competitors this season.

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3. Saracens (-)

So close to a famous comeback, and given the amount of players missing this could have been a famous win. Saracens again showed their new-found intent to play fast, free-flowing rugby, but they also had some steel and character about them in defence too. This game was also a sign of the strength in depth at the club, even despite the loss.

2. Leicester Tigers (-)

Michael Cheika’s side ended their six-year wait for a win at the StoneX, and they looked brilliant at times. They are becoming ultra-clinical in the red zone, but it’s their strength up front that should be talked about the most. Their scrum was brilliant against Saracens and they also got a lot of change from their maul too. This then allows them to use those new trick-plays, which work really well. Clever, clever stuff from the Tigers.

1. Bath (-)

Once again topping the charts are Bath, who secured another thumping win. They never looked in any real trouble against Sale, but importantly they showed their ruthless edge in attack. Bath’s attack is brutally effective, but against Sale they loosened things up a tad more and got a lot more success out of it with some silky tries. This win also proved the point they can win in multiple ways, and that could just take them to the title.

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