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Premiership Watchability Rankings October 2017
With so much rugby on nowadays, it can be hard to decide exactly which matches to watch, which to wait for the highlights of, and which to avoid entirely knowing it’ll be an ugly penalty-only slog with all the pace and skill of a tranquilised sloth. Fortunately, RugbyPass are here to break down the Premiership’s most “watchable” teams after the first six rounds. We’ll take into account factors like the number of points scored and conceded, the drama of the matches, skilful play and notable moments. Think of it very much like the Robot Wars criteria, but with slightly less flaming metal.
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4: Harlequins
Sitting at 7th in the league, with a 3-3 record and a points difference of only 9, Harlequins have been neither outstanding nor terrible. They’ve scored a respectable 20 tries and conceded a reasonable 19. Why then are such a middling team included in our most watchable list? It’s mainly due to the manner in which Quins’ games have played out – 5 of the Premiership’s 27 yellow cards have been brandished at them meaning you can bank on plenty of dramatic twists and turns with the Stoop side. Individually, Quins have been impressive too. Danny Care is probably the in-form Scrum Half in the league with the most passes (473) and joint most try assists (5), Marland Yarde has made 13 clean breaks and Marcus Smith has all eyes on him as he looks to fill Nick Evans’ sizeable boots. However, given that Quins have yet to really consistently demonstrate what they’re capable of, and because they’ve conceded more penalties (70) than anyone else, they only rank fourth in our list this time around.
3: Sale Sharks
It’s perhaps somewhat surprising to see the 9th placed team as part of our “most watchable” list, but Sale have scored 179 points and 24 tries this campaign and Byron McGuigan and Denny Solomona make up two thirds of the top three try scorers in the league. Sale may not be the most fun team to support with only two wins so far, but if you want to see plenty of high-scoring games and free-running rugby the Sharks should be your go-to. That being said, it really depends where the Sharks are playing – they’ve only conceded 30 points at home which is the lowest in the league, but on the road they’ve dropped a massive 133, the highest by a long way. If you’re looking for a points-fest, Sale are always good value for money.
2: Saracens
The league leaders, top points scorers (205) and top try scorers (25), it would be absurd not to include Sarries in our round up. They’ve only lost once so far this season, in an unexpected early round defeat away at Bath which more than fulfilled our dramatic criteria. Saracens haven’t always played the most exciting brand of rugby, but they always do the basic stuff really, really well meaning that anyone with an appreciation of the nuances of rugby will find enjoyment in their performances. They even manage to make defence exciting with their patented “Wolfpack” philosophy, smothering opposition attacks and winning turnovers before they can even build an offensive platform. It’s this latter point however that means Saracens don’t rank higher on our list: when they don’t even give the opposition a chance to attack it means the result is too often inevitable and thus doesn’t always command the attention like other teams here. Frankly, Saracens are too good and should stop being so bloody selfish. It’s boring.
1: Northampton Saints
Our most watchable team after the opening six rounds goes to the team with the fastest bottom-to-top turnaround in Premiership history. Saints were absolutely abysmal in the opening round clash with Saracens, conceding 55 points and looking for all the world like a Sunday league pub team who’d accidentally wandered into Twickenham by mistake. However, since then Saints have produced some excellent performances to pull off impressive wins against tough opposition like Leicester and Bath and played arguably the best attacking rugby in the league whilst doing it. Three-times nominees for the Citizen Try of the Week, Saints have recovered from their initial drubbing to become a team who can seemingly score from anywhere. Their recent resurgence was marred somewhat by a perhaps surprising loss to Gloucester, but if anything Saints’ defensive vulnerabilities make them more interesting to watch on a purely entertainment basis. Probably not great for the blood pressure of the Franklin’s Gardens faithful though.
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
7 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
7 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to comments