Premiership stats leaders: Snubbed winger sends Steve Borthwick a message once again with ‘mighty’ attacking display

Louis Chapman Coombe 21 Oct 2024 5:37 PM

Following the conclusion of Round Five of the Premiership season, we take a closer look at the individual stat leaders and top performers from this weekend and all the games so far.

The blockbuster round kicked off with two great matches on Friday night, as Northampton Saints put Sale Sharks to the sword with an emphatic 47-17 win and Newcastle Falcons ended their torrid 25-game losing streak with a comfortable 24-18 win over Exeter Chiefs.

The action continued on Saturday, as Saracens beat Bristol Bears 37-35 in an all-time classic at Ashton Gate. Later on, Bath grabbed a 78th-minute winner to down Harlequins 26-24.

Rounding off the action was the latest instalment of the Ed Slater Cup, as Leicester Tigers came back to beat Gloucester 29-26 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

There were plenty of great individual performances on both sides of the ball; and here is a full run-down of the best performers from the round and the Premiership season so far.

Attacking stats: Points, tries, metres, carries, defenders beaten

Sitting pretty at the top of the points-scoring chart this weekend was England returnee Alex Lozowksi, as he notched an impressive haul of 17 points in Saracens’ comeback win at Ashton Gate. The clutch centre slotted seven from seven off the tee this weekend, with four conversions and three penalties to his name – including the decisive final kick of the game to claim the win for his side. Close behind him this week was Bristol’s Fitz Harding and Gloucester’s Max Llewellyn, who both notched 15 points.

The aforementioned duo of Harding and Llewellyn also sit atop the try scorers list this weekend, with both players grabbing hat-tricks in tight losses. This latest effort pulls the Welsh back up to joint-top in the try-scoring charts alongside Max Malins and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for the season, with five to his name thus far.

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For metres, look no further than in-form Bristol winger Gabriel Ibitoye, who once again sent Steve Borthwick a message with a fine attacking display. The Bears ace made a staggering 129 metres with ball-in-hand this weekend, with the bulk coming from his fantastic line-breaks.

Ibitoye also finds himself top of the tree for defenders beaten in Round Five, with eight casualties next to his name this weekend. He was closely followed by Elliot Daly, Luke Northmore and Joe Jenkins, who all beat seven.

Rounding off the attacking stats for the week is Leicester flanker Olly Cracknell, who led the way for carries. The back-rower made a whopping 25 on the way to victory on Sunday, in a performance fitting of the great Slater. Bristol duo Jenkins and Harding weren’t far behind the Leicester man on 20 for the day.

Defensive stats: Tackles and turnovers won

Changing the focus onto defence, we once again look to the Cherry and Whites, as Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson found his way to the top of the pile with a superb defensive showing. The back notched a whopping 24 tackles in their defeat to Leicester on Sunday, edging out Ross Vintcent (22) and Tom Pearson (17) in the process.

Last but not least, Bristol’s Joe Batley and Bath’s Guy Pepper finished the round as the turnover kings, with three to their names each this weekend.

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