The Rugby Football Union’s decision this week to in effect ringfence the Premiership is disappointing to those fans who value a bit of jeopardy in their sport. By denying Ealing and Doncaster access to the top tier because they cannot hold the requisite 10,000 fans in their stadiums, the game’s governing body has sealed shut the trap door on the floor, creating a scenario where stodgy teams could drift on a breeze of mediocrity.
Like the fortuitous bounce of an oval ball, the fixture list has served up a contest that will distract dissenters for the weekend at least. Leicester Tigers, sitting imperiously at the top of the table with 15 wins from 17 games, travel south to play Saracens, 16 points behind but with a game in hand. Two dynasties with a combined 15 titles between them have forged their success on powerful packs, a strong maul game and well-drilled set pieces and are the standout sides this campaign.
“They’re the best team in the league,” Steve Borthwick, Leicester’s coach who represented Saracens 144 times as a player, captaining them to their first league triumph in 2011, said of his rivals. “Look at the squad they’ve got, the resources they’ve got, how long the team has been together. They’ve got incredible ability.”
In Vincent Koch at tighthead they have a World Cup winner. In Mako Vunipola and Sean Maitland they have two British & Irish Lions. Elliot Daly and Billy Vunipola would make many pundits’ best England XV, and Aled Davies and Nick Tompkins are Wales internationals. They are also fresh from a bye and will be desperate to avenge their 13-12 defeat to Leicester in October courtesy of a late penalty try.
Leicester’s last appearance in the semi-finals came in 2017. Their last title was in 2013. This season proves that Borthwick’s project has left base camp with last season’s European Challenge Cup final defeat an important stepping stone.
It is still a fresh squad, with nine of the starting XV having fewer than 40 caps for the club, though they are complemented by a clutch of mainstays that includes Freddie Burns, Harry Wells and George Ford, captaining Leicester in his 119th game for them.
The fly-half was released from the England squad by Eddie Jones and he is not the only player who has swapped the red rose for a club badge. Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Bevan Rodd (Sale) and Daly at Saracens add star power to their respective teams.
Luke Cowan-Dickie will not be among them. The England hooker could miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, which is bad news for Exeter, chasing a fourth consecutive win and ensconced in a crowded race for a top-four position.
Eight points separate Saracens in second and Sale in seventh who would move above Exeter in fourth with a win on Sunday. Gloucester are also in the mix in sixth with a game in hand over the surrounding teams. The Cherry and Whites have nine academy products in the squad for the visit of Northampton including Louis Rees-Zammit off the bench.
It is a testament to the competitiveness of the league that 64% of its participants could still feasibly reach the next round. But eyes shrouded by furrowed brows will be on bottom-placed Bath as they host Bristol.
Injuries to key players, including Taulupe Faletau, Joe Cokanasiga and Anthony Watson have played a part in their decline, but it is a damning sight when one of the league’s four original members are five points behind thrice-relegated Worcester. Yet Bath will not go down no matter what transpires over the next three months. At least there is jeopardy at the top.
