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Gallagher Premiership XV of the Week - Round 14

Rory Hutchinson of Northampton Saints is tackled by Zach Mercer of Bath Rugby as he dives in to score a try during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Northampton Saints and Bath Rugby at Franklin's Gardens. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

Gloucester were the story of Round 14 of the Gallagher Premiership season, as they continued their recent good run of form, knocking off Saracens just a week after doing the same to Exeter Chiefs.

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A young Northampton Saints side showed that you can win with kids as they held serve at home in a narrow and exciting victory over Bath, whilst Harlequins and Bristol Bears entertained in a high-scoring affair, with Paul Gustard’s charges taking the win and solidifying their spot inside the top four.

We have rounded up the top performers from the round in this weekend’s XV of the week below.

  1. Charles Piutau, Bristol Bears

Piutau was a constant threat for Bristol at the Stoop and though Quins were the more clinical of the two sides and in control of the game for the most part, the full-back gave Bristol a puncher’s chance. He slalomed through Quins’ defence on multiple occasions, as well as proving to be a creative option in the wider channels, linking well with Alapati Leiua and Luke Daniels.

  1. Alex Cuthbert, Exeter Chiefs

The Welshman was pushed very close by Zach Kibirige, who scored two excellent tries in the Sandy Park encounter, but Cuthbert just edges it on overall impact. Exeter were dangerous in the wide channels on Saturday and that was typified by Cuthbert’s powerful breaks, effective offloading and confidence to take on his man.

  1. Rory Hutchinson, Northampton Saints

Hutchinson’s second appearance in as many weeks and this one might be even more impressive given the performances stacked at the position this week by the likes of Billy Twelvetrees, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Marchant and Juan de Jongh. Hutchinson was again a potent dual-threat in that 13 channel, gouging Bath with big carries and then having the technique and composure to pull off difficult passes whilst moving at high speed.

  1. Mark Atkinson, Gloucester

The inside centre was a constant threat in attack, mixing up his game as a direct runner or distributor outside of Danny Cipriani. It was that variety which troubled the Saracens defence and allowed Atkinson to create space for others around him, whether through a clever pass on the gain-line or by tying in defenders as a carrier.

  1. Tom Howe, Worcester Warriors

Howe grabbed the match-winning try with less than a minute to go at Sixways, but he was also a threat whenever he got his hands on the ball. It was an error-strewn match and yet Howe was one of the saving graces, always looking dangerous to expose Leicester’s defence in the wide channels and showed good footwork and power to move back inside and avoid Tigers ushering him into touch.

  1. Marcus Smith, Harlequins

Statistically, Smith’s showing won’t match up to that of James Grayson or Callum Sheedy, both of whom had very good games, but there was a lethality to Smith’s play that set him apart. He grabbed a try, but it was the feints and dummies that Bristol were buying defensively that allowed the fly-half to create space for his teammates and put them in positions to score.

  1. Alex Mitchell, Northampton Saints

A statement performance from Mitchell, who showed that he has what it takes not only to cover for Cobus Reinach but also to push the South African for his spot. He made a number of breaks around the fringes, was regularly the first man supporting other Northampton carriers and helped his side play at a tempo that made them a struggle for Bath to defend against.

  1. Facundo Gigena, Leicester Tigers

The loosehead helped deliver scrum dominance for Leicester in the first half of their game with Worcester. Some of the angles looked questionable but he clearly had the referee onside, who was judging the Argentine to be winning the contest with Nic Schonert.

  1. Jack Singleton, Worcester Warriors

Singleton’s lineout work was accurate against Leicester and he delivered plenty of work in the loose as both a ball-carrier and in his contributions at the contact area. His handling work was also impressive, with the hooker able to keep phases alive with accurate passes on the gain-line and neat offloads, one of which helped set Worcester up for their decisive late try.

  1. Paul Hill, Northampton Saints

Hill dealt well with the potent scrummaging ability of Nathan Catt and came out on top of the contest multiple times. He brought the carrying grunt up front that kept Northampton moving forward and he was a busy man in defence and at the contact area for the 62 minutes he was on the pitch.

  1. Ben Glynn, Harlequins

A strong showing from Glynn against his former team, which was epitomised by his snaffling of a Bristol knock-on and galloping away to set Marchant free to go over for a Harlequins try. He was a potent carrying option at the Stoop, defended physically and was part of a smooth-running lineout.

  1. Ed Slater, Gloucester

The Englishman continues to form a strong partnership with Franco Mostert in the Gloucester engine room, and he played with an energy and physicality that surpassed that of Saracens on Friday evening. His carrying was pivotal to the Cherry and Whites in their bid to break the gain-line and get the Saracens defence retreating, rather than being set and able to utilise their usual line-speed.

  1. Jono Ross, Sale Sharks

Ross provided his side with a dominance at the gain-line, offering both powerful carries and impactful tackles in defence. He was making a nuisance of himself at the contact area, too, slowing down Wasps’ ball and providing clean presentation for Faf de Klerk to work with. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was effective.

  1. Jaco Kriel, Gloucester

There were plenty of flashes of what Kriel can bring to Gloucester and the Premiership in his side’s win over Saracens, where he was influential at the breakdown and in the loose as a ball-handler. He was able to help deliver quick enough ball for the Cherry and Whites to tame Saracens’ usually potent line-speed, whilst he exploited gaps that the defence showed him as a carrier, too.

  1. Ben Morgan, Gloucester

Morgan grabbed two tries in Gloucester’s win over Saracens, the first through cleverly identifying the undefended base of the post and the second on a similar close-range drive. His ability to make ground on the pick and go and as a one-out runner really helped Gloucester build momentum and challenge the usually watertight Saracens defence. He helped shut down Saracens offensively, too, making a number of dominant tackles on the gain-line.

Watch: Eddie Jones faces the press after England’s 21-13 loss to Wales in Cardiff

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A
AM 41 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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