Gallagher Prem Team Of The Week Round 4 | A New Sensation Emerges
Gallagher Prem Team Of The Week Round 4 | A New Sensation Emerges
Gallagher Prem Team Of The Week Round 4: Saracens surges behind five-try Noah Caluori, Leicester edges Bath, Exeter crushes Quins, Saints & Bristol impress.
Round 4 served up yet another round of breathtaking rugby that only served to remind English Rugby fans of the rude health their domestic game currently finds itself in.
Saracens ran riot, as a 19-year-old winger turned the StoneX into his personal stage.
Leicester outlasted the champions in a street fight decided with the clock gone.
Northampton kept its nerve in a hostile Kingston Park.
Exeter smashed Harlequins to zero and looked like the old Chiefs again.
Bristol won a wild one at Kingsholm on the back of ruthless finishing and a hooker who did not miss.
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The league now breaks for the autumn window with genuine momentum swings across the board.
There is only one place to start.
Noah Caluori scored five tries on his first Premiership start, climbed into the clouds for everything in the air and flashed serious pace on the deck.
Around him, Maro Itoje marked his 200th appearance, Ben Earl and Tom Willis battered the gainline and Owen Farrell ran the whole thing with icy control.
In Devon, Henry Slade scored two tries and created another, as Ethan Roots, Greg Fisilau and Tom Hooper tore into contact.
At Welford Road, Leicester’s scrum turned the screw, Olly Cracknell landed a poacher’s finish and Billy Searle nailed the winner.
In Bristol’s seven-try shootout, Gabe Oghre was everywhere, from mauls to turnovers to a second-half surge that broke Gloucester.
Newcastle’s crowd stayed with its side, Amanaki Mafi carried himself to a standstill, but Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith had the last word for the Saints.
Here is the Round 4 Team of the Week:
1, Nicky Smith - Leicester Tigers
Leicester’s scrum was the lever that moved the game, and Smith was central to it.
Strong body shape, clean hits and tidy footwork under pressure produced penalties and field position.
He finished his close-range chance with composure and was busy in the tackle as the Tigers wrestled momentum back.
2. Gabe Oghre - Bristol Bears
The heartbeat of a chaotic classic.
Eighteen tackles, three turnovers won, nine carries, two tries and a perfect feel for when to break from the maul.
His post-contact meters kept Bristol on the front foot, and his work over the ball turned phases that mattered.
3. Afolabi Fasogbon - Gloucester Rugby
A hard shift in a brutal contest.
Anchored the set-piece, worked for scrum stability against a smart Bristol pack and threw himself into contact on both sides of the ball.
Not a night for highlight reels, rather a young tighthead banking heavy minutes and hard lessons.
4. Maro Itoje - Saracens
On a landmark day, Itoje delivered a landmark performance.
Twelve carries, nine tackles, clean line-out takes, a turnover and constant disruption in the contest.
The Lions' skipper's movement around the ruck edge kept Sale guessing, and his standards set the tone for the 10-try surge.
5. Alex Coles - Northampton Saints
Closed the game with a long-range gallop, but the engine room work was the bedrock.
Twelve tackles, a line break, three line-out wins and accurate cleanouts in the red zone.
A calm presence when the match tightened, and Newcastle threatened to flip it.
6. Olly Cracknell - Leicester Tigers
Leicester’s contact point enforcer.
Twenty-one carries, a try from close range crafted through footwork, then leg drive and nine tackles.
His ability to win the first collision dragged the Tigers into Bath’s half and set the platform for the late swing.
7. Ben Earl - Saracens
Classic Earl.
Seventeen carries, 10 tackles, a try, line-out movement and constant link play.
Hit holes off Farrell, cleaned up scraps around the breakdown and kept Sale’s defense stretched, even when numbers tightened.
8. Tom Willis - Saracens
Seventeen carries and three turnovers won tell the story.
Dominated inside channels, punched through first contact, hit defensive rucks with snap and stayed clinical amid the noise around his future. A complete back-row display.
9. Kieran Marmion - Bristol Bears
Fifty-seven passes and two try assists as the metronome of Bristol’s attack.
Tempo when space opened, kicks when the edge closed and the composure to find the right carrier off a quick ball.
Managed the chaos and kept his forwards connected.
10. Fin Smith - Northampton Saints
Game manager and playmaker in one.
Two try assists, 12 tackles and the late penalty that put daylight between the sides.
Kicked when territory demanded it, attacked when Newcastle loosened and kept Saints calm through two yellow-card windows.
11. Ollie Hassell Collins - Leicester Tigers
Leicester’s yardage leader with 83 meters, two clean breaks and six defenders beaten.
Carried hard on exits, chased everything and turned half-chances into pressure.
A constant release valve when Bath squeezed.
12. Owen Farrell - Saracens
Thirteen points from the tee and a clinic in control.
Square to the line, variety in the kicking game and the cross-field pressure that drew a penalty try.
His distribution put his forwards onto soft shoulders, and his organization kept the pace relentless.
13. Henry Slade - Exeter Chiefs
Two tries, one assist and the touch of a player fully in command.
Kicked smartly to corners, found seams with late footwork and connected with the young Chiefs' back line.
One moment, in particular, that caught the eye was his pinpoint cross-field kick to an on-rushing Immaneul Feyi-Waboso, who dotted down under the posts.
The captaincy presence without the armband, guiding tempo and territory for a side that has rebuilt in quick order.
14. Noah Caluori - Saracens
Five tries, six line breaks, 221 meters and 13 defenders beaten.
Owned the air, burned the edges and showed a sharp football brain with a measured kick inside for Ben Earl.
A debut start that felt like a statement of intent.
15. Tommy Freeman - Northampton Saints
The best all-court back of the round.
He had 135 meters, three line breaks, a try and two turnovers won.
Won the aerials, picked lines off 9 and 10, and killed Newcastle’s late surge with cool decision-making in the backfield.
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