Bath batter sorry Saracens
Bath 62-15 Saracens
The Prem returned with a bang on Friday night when Bath hosted Saracens. Saracens started spectacularly with an Elliot Daly try in the first minute, but that was as good as it got for the visitors. From that point, Bath dominated and never looked to be in any danger. This game quickly reminded everyone who follows Prem Rugby exactly why Bath have been a top contender for the past 3 years and why Saracens have been struggling to make the playoffs at all.
The thing that will cause most concern for other teams is how strong the Saracens team looked on paper before Bath ripped it apart. Obviously Saracens were missing some England stars, but not many teams could match that back row and the back line included several international stars. None of that was enough to equal Bath, or even avoid a crushing defeat. Josh Bayliss and Alfie Barbeary were big standouts for a team that looks set to waltz its way to another final at Twickenham.
Another dire day for Harlequins
Harlequins 29-36 Gloucester
Neither of these teams had any realistic hope of making the playoffs and Saturday's result did nothing to change that. This was a battle to secure 8th place which, unbelievably in a league of just 10 teams, is enough to qualify for the Champions Cup. Gloucester's victory means that they now sit 5 points ahead of Harlequins with 7 rounds left. To make matters worse for Harlequins, they are now closer to Newcastle with 7 points in 10th than they are to Gloucester in 8th. They will now have to focus on the Champions Cup if they are to salvage anything from this dismal season.
Neither of these teams has had a good season but at least Gloucester have hope moving forward. Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan headline an exciting group of signings that will bolster the team next season whilst George Skivington will move back to his preferred role with a focus on coaching rather than recruitment. Harlequins, meanwhile, are yet to announce a head coach for next season and have had added James Dun and George Furbank. Harlequins need some clarity. If the end of relegation hadn't just been announced, we would be seeing a Spurs-like panic in South West London.
Promising signs for the Red Bulls
Northampton Saints 28-27 Newcastle Red Bulls
This was very nearly a poor day for Northampton. Those who played throughout the Six Nations need to be rested in one of the next 3 games and Phil Dowson elected to rest all of his international stars at once for this game. Newcastle nearly took advantage of that decision, only missing out on their second victory of the season by a single point.
Northampton will be relieved to have taken 5 points from that game and will be much stronger moving forward. Newcastle remain bottom of the table but the vibes are good up north (as long as we ignore Salford) with the Red Bulls announcing new signings regularly and those already at the club performing very well on a consistent basis. Newcastle are the team to watch next season, but Northampton are the team of the moment and look to be on course for another meeting with Bath at Twickenham in June.
Exeter ease past suffering Sale
Exeter Chiefs 26-14 Sale Sharks
Exeter are the surprise package of this season and continued their good form on Saturday afternoon with a convincing win over a Sale side that just need the season to be over. Sale were never really that competitive in this game and found themselves under pressure right from the start. Exeter were just much more efficient and much quicker around the park. The Chiefs now sit 4th whilst the Sharks are languishing in mid-table irrelevance.
Exeter's big investments over the summer have really paid off and have put them in a good position to challenge Bath and Northampton. Sale will be hoping that their recently-announced big signings such as Nicky Smith and Joe Marchant will help them to do the same in 2026/27. The Sharks are still in the Champions Cup, but they are 20 points away from Exeter in 4th with just 7 rounds left of the season.
Full-strength Tigers stand strong against rotated Bears
Leicester Tigers 33-19 Bristol Bears
Leicester really targeted this game, bringing in their internationals straight away to take on their fellow playoff contenders who easily beat them in this fixture last year. This time it was Leicester who came out on top. Ollie Chessum is one of those stars, who will soon have to be rested, but he didn't look tired at all whilst he was putting in a dominant performance for the Tigers. Bristol will be disappointed with this result but will drastically improve with the re-introductions of: Ellis Genge, Tom Jordan and Louis Rees-Zammit.
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