By Matt Hardy
It was not supposed to be occurring at this point in the year but the Premiership season has reached its half-way stage. Given the downfall of Worcester Warriors and Wasps, the 11 remaining sides hit the milestone at the weekend – albeit there were only four fixtures played.
There are just eight points separating second and eighth, while all teams placed ninth to 11th are level on points.
Here are some talking points as the runners and riders for the Premiership top four begin to set out their stalls.
Stylish Saracens
They’re top of the league and are yet to have a loss inflicted upon them, but it still feels like there could be more to come from Saracens.
Having been beaten by a last-minute drop goal in last year’s final, the north London side have really kicked into life this season.
They’ve played nine, won nine, have a positive points difference of nearly 100 and have scored a try bonus point in all but two of their matches.
Quite simply they’re on fire, and it’s scary. Even when Mark McCall’s side had players on international duty, they showed their strength in depth and remained unbeaten when others went winless.
The side have instilled a culture others envy and a quality of depth rivals could only dream of.
It is unlikely they’ll go the full season without a loss but at the half-way stage they’re 11 points clear and some would say that’s already unassailable.
Bottom three bonanza
Imagine if the Premiership had relegation; Newcastle Falcons, London Irish and Bristol Bears would be in one almighty scrap.
The three sides are all joint bottom of the league on 17 points – albeit with different points difference values – with Bath only one point ahead.
It points to a very competitive league where small changes in coaching styles and 50/50 decisions can make a huge difference on where teams are in the table.
Newcastle and Irish have some of the hottest backs in the league and Bristol boast England’s current pair of starting props in Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler. On paper none of these sides should be towards the foot of the table.
But if they weren’t, who would be? All teams have their strengths and it’s small margins that are making the difference.
Surprising Sale?
Some tipped Sale to be in semi-final contention at the beginning of the season but few thought they’d be such a strong side so early on.
They’re the closest team in the hunt to catch Saracens and have won seven of their nine matches this season – and they’ve done that without key player George Ford.
Sale are a really tight-knit group with few internationals away on duty throughout the season, and that’s put them in a strong position this year.
Under Alex Sanderson – a former apprentice to Saracens’ McCall – Sale have built a culture that has seen winning become an expectation.
They’re currently out of reach of fourth-placed Gloucester so have some leeway in their bid for a top-four finish. They could continue to be a surprise package this season.
Premiership underperformers
Exeter currently linger in seventh having announced the exodus of many of their star players across last and this year.
The current champions, Leicester Tigers, are fifth, though they’re just two points off the top four.
The league is congested throughout and that’s something the sport’s bigwigs will be pleased to see given the sad fact that they’ve lost a duo of teams to financial woes.
The English game is by no means out of the woods and competitive rugby could be the only selling point the league has in time. A competitive Premiership is paramount to any development elsewhere in the domestic game.
But there we are, at the half-way stage of the league, and just as it was in September it would take a fool to predict the top four with any real conviction.
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