Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Northampton dominate Premiership team of the season with five players

Ollie Sleightholme of Northampton Saints breaks with the ball with Fin Smith in support during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on December 30, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Five players from table-topping Northampton Saints have made the Premiership Rugby team of the season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Curtis Langdon, Alex Coles, Courtney Lawes, Fin Smith and Ollie Sleightholme are the five representatives from the Saints, who boast the most players in the team.

Of that quintet, Lawes and Smith were nominated for player of the season, while Sleightholme finished as the league’s top try scorer.

Video Spacer

Chasing the Sun on RugbyPass TV | RPTV

Chasing the Sun, the extraordinary documentary that traces the Springboks’ road to victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, is coming to RugbyPass TV.

Watch now

Video Spacer

Chasing the Sun on RugbyPass TV | RPTV

Chasing the Sun, the extraordinary documentary that traces the Springboks’ road to victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, is coming to RugbyPass TV.

Watch now

Newly crowned player of the season Henry Slade also makes the team alongside his Exeter Chiefs teammates Rusi Tuima and breakthrough player of the season Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

Bath and Harlequins have two representatives apiece in the team, with each club putting forward a prop. Quins loosehead Fin Baxter is joined by Bath tighthead Thomas du Toit in the XV. In the backline, Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer features, as does Quins fullback Tyrone Green.

Fixture
Gallagher Premiership
Northampton
22 - 20
Full-time
Saracens
All Stats and Data

Ben Earl is the sole representative from reigning champions Saracens, with the loose forward having a particularly remarkable season in an England jersey.

Earl is joined in the back row by Leicester Tigers and South Africa No8 Jasper Wiese, who played his final game in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

The final member of the team is Bristol Bears centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg, who was imperious in his side’s late surge up the league table in the second half of the season.

The three sides to not have a representative are Gloucester, the winless Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks, despite the latter finishing third in the league.

Premiership Rugby team of the season
15. Tyrone Green (Harlequins)
14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears)
11. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
9. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
1. Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
2. Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints)
3. Thomas Du Toit (Bath Rugby)
4. Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
5. Alex Coles Northampton Saints)
6. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
7. Ben Earl (Saracens)
8. Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers)

Related

ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

10 Comments
Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

c
cw 8 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



...

221 Go to comments
Close
ADVERTISEMENT