Premiership Team of the Week: England’s ‘best 10’ selected as Nick Easter rewards Bath’s revenge over Northampton
With the first round of Premiership Rugby 2024/25 under our belt, former England number eight Nick Easter has picked out the 15 players who impressed him most.
For the second season in a row we have partnered with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby, to bring you a best XV from every Premiership round, each one chosen by a famous face from the world of rugby.
Fresh off the back of his first Championship win as director of rugby with Chinnor as they defeated Cambridge 57-24, here are Easter’s picks for Round One.
Premiership Team of the Week
15 Max Malins (Bristol Bears): A powerful display at the back in a memorable away win at Falcons saw Malins grab a couple of vital scores. George Furbank (Saints) and Freddie Steward (Tigers) also shone for their respective clubs, but I do like the way Malins searches for work.
14 Siva Naulago (Bristol Bears): Another Bear makes it as my right wing, just seeing off England’s Manny Feyi-Waboso, who was excellent in defeat for Exeter Chiefs. Naulago is one of those players who simply makes holes for others to follow into. Joe Cokanasiga also impressed me for Bath at the Rec.
13 Ollie Lawrence (Bath): Another magnificent display of the outside centre’s craft from a lad I coached at Worcester Warriors and has now emerged as a world-class centre. A shoutout to Luke Northmore for Quins – he put in a great shift in a narrow defeat.
Bath v Northampton: Five takeaways as hosts produce ‘masterclass’ against Saints side
12 Will Butt (Bath): Where have they been hiding this guy? He looks a proper prospect at 12 – big and powerful. His run for the Ted Hill try pulled apart one of the best defences in the Premiership. Quins’ Lennox Anyanwu was massive in defence in the loss against Sale and he also looks able to make a step up to a higher standard before too long. James Williams also looked decent in the Bears’ win in Newcastle.
11 Rotimi Segun (Saracens): The Sarries flyer nipped over for the opening score in an impressive away win at Kingsholm. Oscar Beard delivered a really big and bruising display in the wet of Sale, showing his versatility for Harlequins.
10 George Ford (Sale Sharks): A peerless display of percentage rugby in wet conditions from a master of his craft. Still the best 10 England have available. Finn Russell is unlucky not to get selected after another wonderfully controlled performance against Saints.
Sale Sharks: Alex Sanderson praises ‘composed’ George Ford following late Harlequins victory
9 Ben Spencer (Bath): Magnificent and my Player of the Round. He and Russell exerted a stranglehold on proceedings with Spencer nipping over for an opportunistic and characteristic short-range try. Ivan van Zyl is another who impressed me, steering Sarries home in the Kingsholm damp.
Impressive pack
8 Fitz Harding (Bristol): Few players have a bigger engine than this young lad and he made a great fist of playing out of position at eight. Jean-Luc du Preez is a force of nature and was outstanding in making the hard yards for Sale. Greg Fisilau also shone in defeat for Exeter Chiefs, reminding all of his England credentials
7 Olly Cracknell (Leicester Tigers): An immense shift from the Tigers seven shirt as both Tommy Reffell and Cracknell put in stellar performances. Six steals from Will Evans kept Quins in the game right until the last moment and this fantastic openside won his head-to-head with Sale’s Ben Curry by some distance. A shout out for Miles Reid, an unsung hero down at the Rec who created a try from a steal on his 100th match for the Blue Black and White and put in an impressive shift all game.
6 Andy Onyeama-Christie (Saracens): The hardest pick of the weekend with Ted Hill really impressing for Bath. Hanro Liebenberg is a key part of Michael Cheika’s new dawn at Mattioli Woods Welford Road and he put in a massive performance, but Onyeama-Christie aced a couple of tries in a really impressive showing.
5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers): England needs big Ollie fit and firing whether it be at six or at lock and once again he delivered a massively physical performance. A word for Charlie Ewels, who was as abrasive as ever for Bath in their win versus Saints.
4 Quinn Roux (Bath): Johann van Graan says Roux is his 50-minute glue player and I can see why. He’s one of those lads who just smashes everything all day. Maro Itoje gave a Rolls-Royce display leading Saracens, whilst Harry Wells gave another thundering showing for Tigers at Sandy Park.
3 Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints): Saints may have lost the war but Davison certainly won his battle against Beno Obano in a destructive performance. Asher Opoku-Fordjour was another who impressed me as he got the better of England’s Fin Baxter for Sale.
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks): It’s great to see Luke putting some time down after his horrendous injury issues. Bath’s Tom Dunn was another to grab my eye as he treated the Rec faithful to another classy demonstration of the tight arts of lineout and scrummaging.
1 Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks): If Rodd can maintain his improvement in scrummaging then he is so good around the park that he has to be right at the forefront of England’s thinking. A memorable showing from a fourth back-rower. Manny Iyogun has big boots to fill now Alex Waller has left Saints but he got the better of England’s Will Stuart on a number of occasions, whilst Wales’ Nicky Smith made an impressive debut for Tigers.
The Premiership Team of the Week is brought to you by eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby.
Tackle investing the smart way and join millions of UK investors on eToro today. The friendly platform for serious investors.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
READ MORE: Mark McCall’s verdict on Fergus Burke’s debut who has the ‘same skill-set’ as Owen Farrell