The Gallagher PREM debutant team of the season so far

When Sam Winters set foot on the lush Franklin’s Gardens turf a minute from the end of Bath’s agonising 41-38 defeat to Northampton in Round 14, he became the 98th player to make their PREM debut this season. At the same stage last season, there were just 62.

A glut of injuries across the league and the willingness to try out new blood given that the threat of relegation has been removed are possible reasons why there has been a 58% increase. And it’s perhaps instructive that the three bottom clubs in the league, Gloucester (15), Harlequins (13) and Newcastle (15) have fielded the most.

Gloucester handed out more PREM debuts in the first game, a 27-10 loss at Sale, than Bath in the whole of this season, with Archie McArthur, Harrison Bellamy, James Venter and Ross Byrne joining the cast list of thousands to have graced English rugby’s top-flight in its near 30-year existence. Of all the experienced players coming into the league for the first time, Byrne has perhaps been the biggest disappointment in terms of impact, with Exeter’s Len Ikitau running him close.

Newcastle’s glut of debutants is understandable, given that they are fashioning a new-look squad, while Harlequins have been beset by injuries and have needed new signings and academy graduates to step up to the plate.

Having made his debut in the Round 1 defeat at home to reigning champions Bath, new lock signing Guido Petti has got through a mountain of work, clocking up the most minutes of any first-timer (855) this season, with lock partner Kieran Treadwell not far behind on 812.

Some of the debutants, like Harlequins hooker George Turner and Leicester flanker Hamish Watson, are no fresh-faced youngsters and have enjoyed long and fruitful careers in other environments before tasting PREM Rugby for the first time. But for rookies like Winters, appearing in English rugby’s top flight for the first time could act as a springboard to something special.

Maybe it’s down to the depth they have at their disposal, but Winters is only the third PREM debutant fielded by defending champions Bath, well below the league average of 9.8 and easily the lowest tally in the league.

It wasn’t until Round 9, when Bath played Exeter, that they introduced their first new boy, giant lock Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, who would go on to achieve another first the following month – a Test debut for Italy.

After an injury-plagued start to life at Bath, ex-Stormers scrum-half Bernard van der Linde joined him in ticking off the career milestone in the next round, the 30-26 win at Gloucester.

Van der Linde felt straight at home in the PREM and scored three tries in his next four games to push ahead of Tom Carr-Smith as Ben Spencer’s principal cover at scrum-half, before needing ankle surgery after being injured in Round 14.

As the scorer of 18 tries in nine appearances in his debut season, the best PREM newcomer contest is a walkover. Noah Caluori, has taken the game to new heights, metaphorically and literally with his aerial ability, and looks certain to break Sam Simmonds’ record for most tries in a regular PREM season (20).

The cast list around the PREM’s star turn is also pretty impressive, and it’s likely that Northampton’s Edoardo Todaro would have been breathing down his neck in the try-scoring stakes had he not been injured on the eve of the Six Nations.

With Caluori and Todaro on the wings, we’ve selected Exeter’s breakthrough player, Campbell Ridl, to complete the back three. Londoners Caluori and Ridl, who’s of South African descent, are the only English-born players in our Debutant XV.

Bristol’s Kiwi playmaker, the Scotland international Tom Jordan, is paired in midfield with Sale’s Marius Louw.

At half-back, we’ve gone for an Argentinean-French combination of Simon Benitez Cruz, who’s made a big impact at Newcastle, and Anthony Belleau of Northampton.

In terms of props, Archie van der Flier has fast established himself as a regular in the Leicester front-row, while Georgian Bachuki Tchumbadze has got through a tonne of work and featured in all but one league game.

With not too many new hookers putting their hand up, the aforementioned Turner is our pick to pack down between them, based more on reputation than performance.

Two non-English locks are the standout choices for the second row, with Exeter ‘s Italian international Andrea Zambonin and uncapped South African man-mountain, JJ van der Mescht, given our seal of approval.

We’re spoilt for choice in the back-row, with two Antipodean Toms, Hooper and Christie, selected as the flankers, and Leicester’s versatile Puma, Joaquin Moro, as the No.8.

Tigers director of rugby Geoff Parling spoke highly about the impact made by Moro in this week’s media session: “He was an unknown for me, he was signed before I took the job. Was I surprised? I can’t answer that because I didn’t know what to expect.

“He’s has a raw intensity to what he does; he still has lots of growth in his game, but I think his collision work for a guy that isn’t actually the biggest back-row, has been exceptional.

“If you look at his ball carrying, the way he fights in contact, the way he uses his pace well, he is a good tackler. I think he has been really good and he seems to be really enjoying his rugby here.”

Parling will likely have to plan to negate the sizeable presence of JJ van der Mescht when Leicester meet Northampton in Saturday’s East Midlands derby. The South African behemoth is one of nine players that Northampton have introduced to the PREM for the first time this season, and another to make our debutant XV.

However, Zimbabwe prop Cleopas Kundiona, another one who’s fresh to the league this season, is unlikely to make it after being troubled by a series of stinger injuries, which would be a blow to director of rugby Phil Dowson, who is never afraid to give players a chance.

“The core of our team is around our academy as everybody knows, and then we bring in players that the academy can’t produce and those players have to contribute, so it is great to have debutants that we have signed,” said Dowson.

“Cleopas (Kundiona) is a great one because he was playing in ProD2 and has had a huge impact with us; I am delighted with how he has gone.”

RugbyPass’ PREM debutant XV (after 14 rounds): 15. Campbell Ridl (Exeter); 14. Noah Caluori (Saracens), 13. Marius Louw (Sale Sharks), 12. Tom Jordan (Bristol), 11. Edoardo Todaro (Northampton); Anthony Belleau (Northampton), Simon Benitez Cruz (Newcastle); 1. Archie van der Flier (Leicester), 2. George Turner (Harlequins), 3. Bachuki Tchumbadze (Exeter), 4. Andrea Zambonin (Exeter), 5. JJ van der Mescht (Northampton), 6. Tom Hooper (Exeter), 7. Tom Christie (Newcastle), Joaquin Moro (Leicester)
Bench (5-3): Joseph Dweba (Exeter), Boris Wenger (Harlequins), Cleopas Kundiona (Northampton), Guido Petti (Harlequins), Deian Gwynne (Gloucester), Bernard van der Linde (Bath), Ben Healy (Newcastle), Jack Bracken (Saracens).

Club-by-club debutants (in order of appearance):
Bath (3): Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, Bernard van der Linde, Sam Winters
Bristol (7): Josh Carrington, Tom Jordan, Aidan Boshoff, Luka Ivanishvili, Tomas Gwilliam, George Taylor, Kofi Cripps
Exeter (9): Andrea Zambonin, Bachuki Tchumbadze, Joseph Dweba, Ethan Burger, Julian Heaven, Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper, Campbell Ridl, Finn Worley-Brady.
Gloucester (15): Archie McArthur, Harrison Bellamy, James Venter, Ross Byrne, Hugh Bokenham, Jack Mann, Josiah Edwards-Giraud, Nepo Laulala, Mike Austin, Dian Bleuler, Will Knight, Rob Russell, Deian Gwynne, George Knowles, Rhys Price.
Harlequins (13): George Turner, Kieran Treadwell, Ludo Kolade, Zach Kerr, Boris Wenger, Guido Petti, Pedro Delgado, Harry Browne, Elliot Williams, Seb Driscoll, Jack Grant, Ethan Clarke, Hayden Hyde.
Leicester (10): James Thompson, Joaquin Moro, Josh Manx, Archie van der Flier, Ale Loman, Ollie Allan, Sam Williams, George Pearson, Hamish Watson, Harry Palmer.
Newcastle Red Bulls (15): Boeta Chamberlain, Jack Dickens, Simon Benitez Cruz, Rhys Beeckmans, Stefan Coetzee, Nathan Greenwood, Tom Christie, Connor Hancock, Finn Baker, Reuben Parsons, Harrison Obatoyinbo, Nicky Little, Ben Healy, Jamie Clark, George Bolam.
Northampton (9): Anthony Belleau, Edoardo Todaro, JJ van der Mescht, Cleopas Kundiona, James Martin, Amena Caqusau, Ollie Scola, Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, Charlie Ulcoq.
Sale Sharks (10): Tristan Woodman, Dom Hanson, Marius Louw, Ollie Davies, Joe Bedlow, Gurshwin Wehr, Patreece Bell, Jos Gilmore, Ralph McEachran, Dylan Hodkinson.
Saracens (6): Eoghan Clarke, Noah Caluori, Charlie West, Jack Bracken, Tietie Tuimauga, Alex O’Driscoll.

Top 10 Debutants (mins played):
1. Guido Petti (Harlequins) 855
2. Kieran Treadwell (Harlequins) 812
3. Andrea Zambonin (Exeter Chiefs) 805
4. Joaquin Moro (Leicester Tigers) 734
5. Edoardo Todaro (Northampton Saints) 721
6. Tom Christie (Newcastle Red Bulls) 718
7. Ross Byrne (Gloucester Rugby) 711
8. Tom Jordan (Bristol Bears) 702
9. Simon Benitez Cruz (Newcastle Red Bulls) 688
10. Tom Hooper (Exeter Chiefs) 669