Saints and Bath lead race for top four as Prem returns

1d ago | Source: BBC

Henry Pollock's Northampton Saints are top of the Prem after 10 matches

It has been eight weeks since we last had a game of Prem rugby, with the league taking its now annual break for the Six Nations.

We have had 10 rounds of the competition so far with eight still to come before the top four is finalised and the end of season play-offs confirmed.

Just 11 points separate sixth place from first, perfectly setting up an exciting race to clinch a spot in the top four over the coming weeks, while four teams already find themselves cut adrift.

BBC Sport looks at how things stand as the Prem returns.

Leading the way

It is perhaps not a surprise that the past two winners of the Prem title - Northampton and Bath - are the two clubs jostling for first place in the table.

The two sides have traded top spot every round since the third weekend of the competition, until Northampton opened up a slender two-point gap at the end of last year with a scintillating display to comprehensively beat Bath at the Recreation Ground.

Saints' attack has been blistering and they have scored the most points of any club, averaging 39 a game - they put 66 points past Harlequins and scored 43 away at Sale in January alone.

They will perhaps face the biggest hangover from the Six Nations, however - nine of their players were in England's squad, with scrum-half Alex Mitchell now out with an injured hamstring.

After their own all-conquering treble-winning 2024-25, expectations have been high on Bath to back it up.

They still boast arguably the strongest squad in the division with the ability to rotate a team like no other, but a narrow loss away to Leicester, a second-half collapse against Exeter and the defeat by Northampton when they looked off-colour show Bath are far from unstoppable.

Head of rugby, Johann van Graan, alluded after the Prem final last June that winning multiple titles is the goal though to create a real legacy - only Saracens and Leicester have won back-to-back Prem titles in the past 20 years.

They return with a home game against Saracens on Friday and then travel to Sale - two wins there and a top four spot will be very much in Bath's hands.

Top four contenders

Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall returned from injury in January after four months out

The chasing pack of Bristol, Leicester, Exeter and Saracens will all fancy they can at the very least make the top four, if not push for a home semi-final.

The Bears return to league action against the Tigers having won their past five Prem matches, and Pat Lam's side have been boosted by the return from injury of scrum-half Harry Randall and winger Gabriel Ibitoye.

Upcoming fixtures also look kind to Bristol - after their trip to Leicester this weekend they take on strugglers Harlequins, Gloucester and Newcastle in successive games.

Bears will hope to maintain the spot in the play-offs they got last season, but can they go one step further and make a first-ever Prem final?

Exeter have in many ways been the surprise package of the season after a disastrous 2024-25 campaign saw them finish second-from-bottom.

Twelve months ago, Exeter 2.0 had crashed, but the Chiefs have more than switched the Sandy Park computer off and on again.

Exeter 2.5 (if you like) has seen a new coaching staff under long-serving boss Rob Baxter get the best out of a squad that has had some key additions.

If they can get star centre Len Ikitau fit again from his shoulder injury he will form a formidable midfield combination with England's Henry Slade.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's fitness will also be key after he missed the Six Nations with a hamstring issue, but with impressive youngsters Paul Brown-Bampoe and Campbell Ridl on the wings - and the experienced Olly Woodburn - they still carry a try-scoring threat.

Chiefs face Sale and Newcastle in their first two games back before hosting leaders Northampton and then going to struggling Gloucester - three wins and some bonus points will be seen as a minimum from those matches and could propel them towards a play-off return after five years.

Geoff Parling's Leicester Tigers are fourth in the standings but face a tough run-in

In his first 10 Prem games as Leicester boss, former England and British and Irish Lions forward Geoff Parling has bettered his side's record from last season with seven wins and three losses this term versus six wins, a draw and three losses in 2024-25.

But they have arguably the toughest run-in of all the sides in the Prem - their last four games see them host champions Northampton, go to Sale, meet Exeter at home and end the regular season away at Bath.

If Leicester can command a play-off place after that run of games their title credentials could once again be realistic.

They return to league action off the back of a commanding win against an inexperienced Exeter side in the Prem Rugby Cup final, when they cruised to a 66-14 statement win, to add a first trophy to the cabinet since they won the Prem title in 2022.

You would never rule out Saracens, but even less so a Saracens side which will want to give departing director of rugby Mark McCall the send off his glittering time at the club deserves.

Bristol are the only title-chasing side they have beaten in the league this season - Leicester, Bath, Exeter and Northampton have all beaten the north London side - results that put them four points off fourth-placed Leicester.

But their 73-14 trouncing of Newcastle in their last Prem match shows that on their day they are still capable of beating anyone handsomely.

Their first two games could well make or break their season as they face the top two - first a trip to Bath and then a home game against Northampton.

If they come out of that double with two wins, expect the Saracens truck to be rolling towards the play-offs.

Quartet cut adrift

Sale have finished in the top four in each of the past three seasons but have not won the title since 2005-06

It is hard to fathom that Sale, the most consistent team in the Prem in terms of finishing in the top four every one of the past three seasons, are all-but out of the running for the play-offs already.

A bruising defeat in their last outing by Saints, who scored seven tries and left more on the pitch, leaves them 16 points off the top four.

Although director of rugby Alex Sanderson said his side were "not in freefall" he did concede their chances of making the play-offs were remote.

Poor away form has cost the Sharks with the team not recording a win on the road in the league this campaign - but they are still in the Champions Cup and a run through the knockout stages, as well as a top eight finish, will be some saving grace.

Trailing even further back are Gloucester, Harlequins and Newcastle who count only four wins out of 30 between them and whose combined points total would not even put them near the top four.

Bottom side Newcastle's league form is as it has been for the past few seasons with one win and nine losses but many fans will be looking at this as a transition season and the promise of better from the 2026-27 campaign following their takeover by Red Bull last summer.

They will have former Wales and British & Irish Lions fly-half Stephen Jones at the helm for the rest of the season after Alan Dickens' departure on Monday.

Harlequins have not finished as low in the table as second from bottom since promotion to the league in 2006

For Gloucester and Harlequins, positivity has been harder to find.

The Cherry and Whites have just one solitary win, against Harlequins, out of 10 games but a battling performance against Bath at the end of January suggests the tide might be turning.

Changes have been made to their leadership team in the shape of Chris Boyd, who spearheaded Northampton's previous title tilts, and Rob Burgess from Bath, with the hope of bigger picture improvements being made.

But bringing pride back to the Shed and securing a top-eight spot to ensure Champions Cup rugby next season is their only target between now and June.

For two-times champions Harlequins the spiral downwards seems even more deep-rooted. Ninth place - or second from bottom - would represent their lowest league finish since they were promoted back to the top tier in 2006.

They are searching for a new director of rugby and have not won in the league since beating Newcastle on 25 October.

This weekend's game against Gloucester could define how bad their season could still get, if they come away with another defeat.

Quins are also however still in the Champions Cup and it feels like they need to stay in the competition to retain any hope of their season not fizzling out next month.