Return of the Prem

With the Prem beginning last weekend, I thought it would be great to look at the best game of Round one. As some of you may know, I support Saracens, and for me, this season of the Gallagher Premiership has kicked off quite well. After last year’s disappointment of narrowly missing out on the playoffs, the opening match of this season showed definite promise for the rounds to come. Saracens travelled away on Sunday to Welford Road to face Leicester Tigers in a tightly fought, well contested game, playing a 12-try thriller.

Saracens went 0 – 14 up in the first 13 minutes, making the most of their visits to the host’s 22, a promising start for sure. Along with some long passes skipping out the Leicester defence, and good phase play, Saracens were able to secure two early statement tries, setting the tone for the Tigers. Leicester responded with two of their own, cutting through the Saracens defence to bring it up to 12 – 14 in the 26^th minute. Half time saw the score at 12 – 21 to the visitors after an excellent line break from Saracens with an easy try in the corner.

Leicester struck first after the break, with the two sides going try for try, bringing the score up to 24 – 28 with Leicester narrowing the gap, bearing down on Saracens as much more of a prominent threat. To compound this danger, Isiekwe was given a 20-minute red card by referee Ian Tempest, bringing Saracens down to 14 men for the rest of the game. A final exchange of tries followed until the 72^nd minute, where Segun scored for Saracens, bringing Saracens ahead by 2, and finishing the game 38 – 40, with Sarries clinching the close win.

This game for me was the highlight of the first weekend, for many reasons, but I do certainly see Saracens making great strides this year, given the new signings and learnings from last year, hopefully a top four spot. Other highlights from the weekend included Northampton Saint’s win over Newcastle, Gloucester’s surprise win over last season’s runners up, Exeter, and an amazing interception from Bath against Harlequins for what could be the try of the season already. This opening weekend also broke the record for number of tries scored during Round one, setting a record of 52 tries over 5 games, breaking the old record of 50 tries over 6 games from 2017. For me, this high scoring affair shows great promise for an exciting season ahead, and with the playoff spots looking wide open, nothing is certain from the start.

One to watch, the RHS 1st XV kick off for our first game of the season at 14:00 on Saturday against Brentwood, make sure to come down to support the boys. Round 2 begins this Friday in the Prem, with Bath facing Exeter, which will certainly be a closely fought game, as well as Saracens taking on Sale on Sunday. There are definitely some likely contenders for champion this year, can Saints do it again?