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Round one delivered nine Northampton tries, four away wins and a reminder that scoring 38 points does not necessarily get you very far. Leicester can confirm. Five sides head into round two with maximum points, but Bristol and Saints now face each other, while Bath get an early reunion with the team that ended their title hopes. Elsewhere, Gloucester have a promising start to back up, and Newcastle, Leicester, Harlequins and Sale all need their first win.
Exeter’s last visit ended with a 27–26 semi-final win and Bath’s season being cut short. Nobody at the Rec is likely to need reminding. That result also ended Bath’s ten-match home winning run, so there is rather more behind this fixture than the opening-round table suggests. Bath started with a 33–17 victory at Harlequins, while Exeter conceded 45 points at home to Gloucester. The hosts’ forward work looks particularly relevant: they produced two maul tries and won 12 turnovers against Quins, giving them ways to create points and interrupt the opposition without needing something spectacular every time. Exeter still had some impressive individual carrying numbers in defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso made 35 post-contact metres, while Greg Fisilau carried 18 times. There is enough there to challenge Bath, provided those efforts become sustained pressure rather than isolated gains. Bath will want to keep Exeter defending their lineout and maul; the Chiefs need to make their own possession count. Winning here again would be a fairly effective response to last weekend.
Northampton put 94 points on Bristol when these sides last met in May. Bristol have won their last five home meetings with Saints. Both are true, which makes this considerably more interesting than simply asking how many the champions will score. Saints opened with a 59–26 win over Newcastle, with Tommy Freeman and James Pater collecting hat-tricks, while George Hendy made 135 metres. Bristol brought their own attacking threat to the opening weekend, with Harry Randall and Louis Rees-Zammit scoring twice each in the 34–24 win at Sale. There should be enough here to keep both defences occupied. The question for Northampton is whether they can reproduce their best work away from home: they have won only one of their last six away league games and have not won at Ashton Gate since November 2021. Bristol, meanwhile, have a chance to win their opening two PREM fixtures for the first time since 2023. Their home record deserves respect, but it will not do the tackling for them.
Gloucester’s 45–24 win at Exeter was an excellent start. Backing it up at home would make it a much more interesting one. Ben Loader and Dewi Lake both scored twice, while Seb Atkinson contributed a try, two assists and 16 tackles. Jac Morgan added 22 successful tackles, the most of anyone in round one, so the contributions extended well beyond the finishing. Quins arrive with a slightly awkward statistical combination: more defenders beaten than anyone last weekend, but no league points. Their running threat is clearly there; getting enough reward from it is the next job. Gloucester also kicked for more metres than any other side in the opening round, which makes the accuracy of that kicking worth watching. Keeping Quins working their way out of their own territory is one thing; giving them loose kicks to run back is another. Harlequins have not won at Kingsholm since January 2022, and Gloucester won both league meetings last season. The hosts have plenty in their favour, but treating Quins as harmless because they lost their opener would be a mistake.
Newcastle have already beaten Leicester this season, winning 36–24 in the PREM Rugby Cup to end nine successive defeats in the fixture. That is useful encouragement, although carrying it into the league is a separate assignment. Newcastle have one victory from their last ten PREM matches and conceded 59 points at Northampton. Leicester’s position is hardly comfortable either: the 40–38 defeat to Saracens made it six successive losses across all competitions. There are finishers on both sides capable of making this entertaining. Christian Wade’s opening-round double took him to 97 PREM tries, while Gabriel Hamer-Webb started with a hat-trick and scored five in the teams’ last league meeting in April. Newcastle would probably prefer not to give him another afternoon like that. Billy Searle’s kicking could be important in deciding where this is played, having led round one with 439 kick metres. For Newcastle, the Cup result offers belief. For Leicester, a strong league record against these opponents offers an opportunity. Neither is much use without a better defensive performance.
Sale have not lost their opening two PREM fixtures since 2017. A trip to Saracens is not the most comfortable way to protect that record. Their only league victory at StoneX came in May 2024, while the hosts arrive after edging Leicester 40–38. Winning at Welford Road was valuable; conceding six tries still leaves something for the review meeting. Fergus Burke supplied two try assists and five conversions, while Tomos Williams led the opening round with four offloads. There is already some attacking influence coming from that half-back combination. Sale have their own threat in Joe Carpenter, who made 120 metres and beat ten defenders against Bristol, with Tom O’Flaherty scoring twice. The issue is turning those contributions into enough points while keeping the other end under control. Sale’s 82 per cent tackle success ranked second in round one, but Bristol still scored five tries. A respectable percentage does not make the scoreboard any kinder. Saracens have an opportunity to build on an away win; Sale need to stop another promising individual display becoming the consolation.
