Premiership XV of the season
The regular season of the Premiership is in the books and it was a campaign headlined by some superb individual performances over the past eight months.
From the flair of Wasps and resurgence of Newcastle Falcons, to the ruthlessness of Saracens and successful relegation battling of Worcester Warriors, players have been putting their hands up for recognition throughout the season.
We have compiled a XV of the most consistent and impressive performers over the last 22 rounds of Premiership action but, do you agree with our final cut?
15 Tom Marshall (Gloucester)
After the highs of Charles Piutau, Alex Goode and Mike Haley last season, full-backs have not as consistently distinguished themselves this season. That said, Marshall has been a solid presence at the back for the Cherry and Whites, as well as a dangerous threat with ball-in-hand.
The former Chief has shown good chemistry with the Gloucester back line in his debut season at Kingsholm and narrowly sees off competition from fellow Kiwi Jason Woodward, who came close to injecting enough momentum into Bristol to see them beat the drop, before the team’s fortunes once again took a turn for the worse.
Honourable Mentions – Kurtley Beale (Wasps), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Jason Woodward (Bristol)
14 Christian Wade (Wasps)
As tough as the competition is at this position, how do you leave out the league’s leading try scorer?
Wade tops the try charts with 17, six more than his nearest rival, and his scintillating season has seen him move up to fifth in the all-time Premiership try scorers list with a total of 69. At just 25 years of age, he has plenty of time on his side to make it to the top and re-write the record books.
The speedster continues to thrive and create moments of magic, whilst improving with his defence and aerial games, and the lack of interest from Eddie Jones and England make him one of, if not the most valuable player in the Premiership.
Honourable Mentions – Olly Woodburn (Exeter), Denny Solomona (Sale), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath)
13 Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
This season has been a coming out party for Marchant, who has helped return the cutting edge to the Quins back line that it has been missing for the last couple of seasons. He has proven to be a nice contrast to the hard-running and line-straightening of Jamie Roberts at 12 and it’s a pairing which could prove even more successful next season.
Exeter’s Ian Whitten comes very close to pipping Marchant, having been the epitome of reliability this season, but Marchant’s accomplishments, in a Quins side that struggled to compete with Exeter for consistency, just see him nudge ahead. Without the outside centre, there’s a very good chance Quins would be preparing for the Challenge Cup, rather than the Champions Cup, next season.
Honourable Mentions – Ian Whitten (Exeter), Matt Scott (Gloucester), Jonathan Joseph (Bath)
12 Juan Pablo Socino (Newcastle Falcons)
The Argentine may not get too much time in the spotlight playing up in the North-East, but he is one of the driving forces behind Newcastle’s resurgence this season. He has become the perfect offensive triple-threat inside centre, capable of causing teams problems with his carrying, passing and kicking.
It’s his skill in all three of these facets that has helped Newcastle to their most league wins in 15 years and given them a foundation from which they can go into the offseason hoping to launch a foray further up the table, rather than fighting another relegation battle.
Honourable Mentions – Brad Barritt (Saracens), Jimmy Gopperth (Wasps), Ben Tapuai (Bath)
11 James Short (Exeter)
Short has turned into the potent finisher that every team hopes to cultivate on the wing and between his proclivities out wide and Woodburn’s eagerness to involve himself in the midfield, Exeter have developed a very effective and complementary partnership.
Short’s 11 tries this season were second only to Wade and he leads the way for the left wings, who, perhaps unsurprisingly, weren’t quite as threatening across the board as the right wings, where even the likes of Chris Ashton, Marland Yarde and Vereniki Goneva couldn’t even garner a mention, due to the competition at the position.
Honourable Mentions – Jonny May (Gloucester), Perry Humphreys (Worcester), Sean Maitland (Saracens)
10 Ryan Mills (Worcester Warriors)
It’s hard to dispute that Owen Farrell wasn’t the best fly-half in the Premiership this season, but with injury, European involvement and international call-ups all limiting the amount of games he played this season, it would be unfair to include him over some of the 10s that lit up the Premiership on a weekly basis.
Just as Francois Hougaard was the galvanising influence and focal point to Worcester’s successful battle with relegation last season, Mills was the club’s salvation this campaign. He was the steadying hand on the tiller when Bristol threatened to overtake the Warriors and he displayed all the skills necessary to be considered one of the top fly-halves in the competition.
Honourable Mentions – Billy Burns (Gloucester), Freddie Burns (Leicester), Henry Slade (Exeter)
9 Sonatane Takulua (Newcastle Falcons)
As with Socino, Takulua runs a little under the radar from a national perspective in Newcastle, but just like the Argentine, his consistently impressive performances have helped propel Falcons up the table.
If Socino is a triple-threat centre, then the same is true of Takulua at scrum-half. The Tongan is as dangerous a sniping scrum-half as there is in the league, his distribution off the base is crisp and precise and he offers plenty with the boot, both as a box-kicker and a goal-kicker.
Honourable Mentions – Jack Maunder (Exeter), Kahn Fotuali’i (Bath), Ben Youngs (Leicester)
8 Louis Picamoles (Northampton Saints)
The Frenchman arguably finishes the campaign as the signing of the season in the Premiership and whilst rumours swirling that he may be returning to Montpellier this offseason will concern Northampton fans, they must be ecstatic with the impact that he has had on a team that has performed well below potential of late.
Picamoles’ ability to offload accurately and keep phases alive has certainly been key to the mini-attacking renaissance that the team has gone through in the second half of the season, whilst his ability to consistently break the gain-line is up there with the Billy Vunipolas and Semesa Rokodugunis of the league.
Honourable Mentions – Mitch Eadie (Bristol), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Zach Mercer (Bath)
7 Thomas Young (Wasps)
Injuries to James Haskell and Sam Jones have given Young the opportunity to build on what he started last season and even when Jones returns to fitness next season and bids to re-join Haskell in the back row, Young will have a compelling case to keep the Englishman out of the XV.
Wales are far from short of openside flankers but based on form and the fact Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric are away with the Lions, interim head coach Robin McBryde could do much worse than give the jersey to Young this summer.
Honourable Mentions – Will Welch (Newcastle), Francois Louw (Bath), Tom Curry (Sale)
6 Michael Rhodes (Saracens)
It’s a mark of Saracens’ ultra-effective forward play that this position could have gone to either Rhodes or Jackson Wray. Rhodes may have had to fill in at lock at times this season, but he just narrowly edges out Wray with the intensity and accuracy of his play, particularly in defence.
The South African has been the glue in a side that has had to change a lot this season due to injuries and international call-ups and there are few players in North London who have been more vital to Saracens’ place in the Champions Cup final and the Premiership playoffs.
Honourable Mentions – Mark Wilson (Newcastle), Tom Ellis (Bath), Jackson Wray (Saracens)
5 James Horwill (Harlequins)
The Australian has revitalised his career since moving to London and his sophomore season in the capital was even more impressive than his debut campaign. He has given Quins a veteran leader in the second row and provides plenty of the ballast, which has seen the club begin to develop a set-piece, particularly at the scrum, that could become dominant in the coming years.
Given the significant losses Quins have to endure during the Test windows, Horwill has been a much-needed point of consistency for John Kingston and his role will be even more important next season, when the club returns to the Champions Cup.
Honourable Mentions – Will Spencer (Worcester), George Kruis (Saracens), Charlie Ewels (Bath)
4 Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
If you look up the word “consistency” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of Launchbury.
He may have missed out on Lions selection to three of his international teammates – and that’s another conversation on suitability for the Test game – but his performances at club-level with Wasps, particularly in the Premiership, have arguably outstripped any other second row playing in England.
Wasps got 100% from Launchbury every time they called upon him this season and given the potential preference for Maro Itoje and George Kruis, as well as possibly Courtney Lawes, by Jones and England, Launchbury’s already considerable value to Wasps could yet increase further.
Honourable Mentions – Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Dom Barrow (Leicester)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
This has been the season where Sinckler has realised his considerable potential. His scrummaging has come on leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Graham Rowntree and Adam Jones, whilst his play as a first receiver is every bit as impressive as many of the fly-halves in the competition.
That may sound hyperbolic, but Sinckler’s decision-making, carrying and passing from first receiver is extraordinary for a tighthead prop and is earning him very deserved comparisons to Charlie Faumuina of the Blues and New Zealand.
Honourable Mentions – John Afoa (Gloucester), Dan Cole (Leicester), Jon Welsh (Newcastle)
2 Jamie George (Saracens)
George has usurped his England teammate and captain, Dylan Hartley, for a place on the British and Irish Lions tour this summer and his play for Saracens in the Premiership will have had a strong bearing on that decision by Warren Gatland.
Fans and pundits alike eulogise Dane Coles’ ability to pop up in wide channels and the physical and technical skills he shows there to either score himself or set up a teammate, and George has that same skill set. In addition to showing that ability in the loose, George also had a very effective season at the set-piece and doesn’t sacrifice those traditional front row skills for his threat in the loose.
Honourable Mentions – Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter), Richard Hibbard (Gloucester), Tommy Taylor (Wasps)
1 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
This was one of the easiest selections to make and given the impressive seasons that England internationals Mako Vunipola and Joe Marler have had, that is saying something. Leicester’s season has been a story of fluctuations in form, but the one constant has been the remarkable development of Genge.
His scrummaging technique has shone through for a young prop, whilst his ability with ball-in-hand has been particularly eye-catching. He is the source of front-foot ball that Leicester need to maintain if they are to challenge in the playoffs and in the 2017-18 season.
Honourable Mentions – Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Ross Harrison (Sale)