Last night marked the epic conclusion of the Gallagher Premiership’s fourth round, as Harlequins fought tooth and nail to end Saracens’ unbeaten start to the season.
The London derby was won by Quins for the first time since January 2020, with tries from England prop Fin Baxter and powerhouse centre Lennox Anayanwu building to the 17-10 triumph.
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Results: Gallagher Premiership Round 4
Sale Sharks 43 – 10 Newcastle Falcons / Exeter Chiefs 35 – 40 Bristol Bears
Gloucester Rugby 31 – 55 Bath Rugby / Leicester Tigers 24 – 8 Northampton Saints
Harlequins 17 – 10 Saracens
Here is RUCK’s Team of the Week, for the fourth round of the Gallagher Premiership
Premiership team of the week:
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
With an honourable mention to Sale Sharks’ fullback Joe Carpenter, who put in a solid performance upon his 50th cap, the 15 jersey this week goes to Freddie Steward. The Leicester Tigers man was pivotal in his side’s East Midland’s derby win over Northampton Saints, with his try after just three minutes setting the tone in the home triumph. Steward got the upper hand over his England positional rival George Furbank, with his high ball dominance second to none. Steward certainly put himself forward for an Autumn start.
14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
Seven tries were shared between three wingers, in the all-action affair between Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears. With Gabriel Ibitoye grabbing a hat-trick for the Bears, and break-out wing Paul Bram-Bampoe securing a brace for the Chiefs, Manny Feyi-Waboso was in flying form in the 14 shirt. The England wing looks dangerous ahead of the Autumn Series, as he contributed two tries of his own in the West Country derby.
13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Whilst the England centre takes up the 13 spot in our Team of the Week, we also award an honourable mention to Harlequins midfielder Lennox Anyanwu, who was awe-inspiring against Saracens. However, Lawrence gets the nod, thanks to his starring role in Bath’s triumphant trip to Gloucester. Watching live was Ruck’s Gloucester Reporter Ben Baker, who witnessed Lawrence’s impressive Player of the Match Performance.
“A game that has put Ollie Lawrence in the mixer for a Lions Jersey this upcoming summer, brilliant on the ball, making powerful runs, great passes, a high work rate in defence charging down kicks. An overall unstoppable performance.”
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears)
Once again, Bristol Bears midfielder Benhard Janse van Rensburg is proving his worth as one of the Premiership’s most reliable centres. With minimum 8/10 performances each week so far for the Bears, England fans are speculating as to whether the former London Irishman could soon get call-up, having been a Premiership resident outside of his native South Africa since 2021. Watching Bristol’s stunning comeback win was Ruck reporter Jon Page, who was impressed by the midfielder’s quality.
“Every carry today was brutal, Exeter repeatedly kicked to him off restarts and he just kept making metres. Throw in two try-saving interventions and his work in the build-up to Ibitoye’s tries and it’s easy to see why he is so highly rated by Pat Lam. The South African born centre becomes eligible for England in 2026, and it would be hard to imagine him not being capped if he continues his Premiership form.”
11. Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears)
With three tries in eight minutes, the rugby media ran out of superlatives to describe Gabriel Ibitoye’s unprecedented efforts in Exeter. Turning the match on it’s head with the dying embers burning out, Ibitoye’s trio of tries stunned the Sandy Park faithful, who thought they were heading for a fifth consecutive win against the Bears. Ibitoye had other ideas, and stunned Jon Page who reported on the match for Ruck.
“Although relatively quiet for most of the match, he came alive in the last 15 minutes. Each of this three tries was incredibly well taken and they all required plenty of work to finish. It is hard to imagine many other Premiership wingers scoring all of these chances in such a short timeframe, impressively clinical under pressure.”
10. Finn Russell (Bath Rugby)
An initial honourable mention goes to Bristol’s AJ MacGinty, as the Bears fly half kept a calm head under pressure, to nail each of the last-ditch conversions to wrap up the comeback. Bath maestro Finn Russell takes the 10 jersey this week, after his mercurial performance for the blue, black and whites. Whilst Russell’s ‘shhh’ antics divided the rugby fanbase over sportsmanship, there was no argument regarding Russell’s impressive distribution, in Bath’s win over the Cherry and Whites.
9. Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby)
Giving the honourable mention to Will Porter, as the Harlequins halfback kept Danny Care on the side-lines and took the reins in the London derby win. Tomos Williams was once again Gloucester’s best player, with the Welshman’s unrelenting efforts in Cherry and White shining bright on a dark derby defeat. Gloucester reporter Ben Baker certainly spied the halfback’s significant contribution for the Kingsholm club.
“Scored a try, assisted another, fast into the ruck and a brilliant performance where nearly everything he touched turned to gold. The Welshman’s impressive start to his Gloucester career continues.”
1. Beno Obano (Bath Rugby)
It was a close call between two England loose-heads, as both Bath’s Beno Obano and Harlequins’ Fin Baxter led the way in their club’s to respective derby wins. This one could have come down to a coin flip given the stand out performances of each man, yet only one could be this week’s number one. Given the England squad redemption arc Obano finds himself in, this impressive performance has put Borthwick’s loose-heads on notice after an initial England Autumn squad exclusion.
Reporting from Kingsholm, Ben Baker added; “Obano opened the scoring with an early try for Bath, and then scored his brace in the second, and he stole the ball on his own try line to prevent the Cherries from scoring a try while Bath were losing. A very strong performance from the prop despite coming off in the 57th minute.”
2. Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins)
Whilst there was no space for Harlequins prop Fin Baxter in our Team of the Week, his front row partner Nathan Jibulu gets the go ahead for the two jersey. Jibulu took up double duty against Saracens, after an initial run out during Jack Walker’s HIA, and then a half hour outing off the bench to see out the win. Speaking on the young hooker, Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson said;
“He’s been excellent. I’m really, really excited about him. He’s, again, a bit like some of the other younger boys. He’s still got a long way to go. He’s a little bit behind the likes of Fin (Baxter) but he’s moving in the right direction.
“He’s physically a beast. He’s can carry. He’s slowly improving his line, out, throw it and so on. So he’s one for the future, but I think we’ve got several boys. There’s a lot youngsters out there today, and I think several boys there that are really exciting for the future.”
3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Leicester Tigers tight-head Joe Heyes takes up the three shirt for the Team of the Week, after his impressive effort in winning the up-front battle against Northampton. Leicester were dominant at scrum-time over their East Midlands rivals, with Heyes at the heart of the action. Amongst all the excitement of England’s young tight-heads, Heyes will want to stamp down some authority before the likes of Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Afolabi Fasogbon progress into the England camp.
4. Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)
Ted Hill adapted to a new position this week, and proved that he is a well-rounded lock as well as being a talented back row. After packing down the engine room of the scrum for just the third in a starting squad, Ben Baker was full of praise for Ted Hill, and awarded the new-found lock an 8/10 in Ruck’s Gloucester v Bath Player Ratings. “A fantastic performance from Hill, showing his prowess at the line out, looking versatile on the ball in a really really impressive performance.”
5. Franco Molina (Exeter Chiefs)
Impressed by what he saw in the West Country derby, Jon Page wrote; “Last week Santiago Grondona announced himself to the Premiership for Bristol, this week it was Franco Molina’s turn for Exeter. An immense debut from the Argentina second row, it is a shame that his efforts have been overshadowed by the result.
“From taking line-outs, to massive shots in defence and even soft hands for Brown-Bampoe’s second try, his rugby pedigree is evident. Playing in the second row also allowed Richard Capstick to move back to flanker, a position that he seemed to flourish in today. Molina looks to be a genius signing by Rob Baxter.”
6. Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby)
There was not an abundance of stand out players on the blindside flank, with the number six jersey being the trickiest spot to fill out for round four’s Team of the Week. After much deliberation we agreed upon Bath’s Josh Bayliss, with Phillip van der Walt of Sale Sharks and Saracens replacement Hugh Tizard amongst those considered. Ben Baker wrote in his player ratings: “A strong performance from Bayliss, scoring a try and overall playing good rugby, physically dominating the Cherries.”
7. Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)
Harlequins flanker Jack Kenningham was brilliant in the win against Saracens, with his efforts in the spotlight as Chandler Cunningham-South started on the bench. Kenningham carried, offloaded and supported his Quins teammates in attack, and was rarely seen away from the breakdown the Stoop rallied in support of many a defensive campaign. Kenningham may not currently be on the England radar, but more performances like that could push towards an England A involvement at his home ground next month.
8. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Rounding off the Team of the Week for the fourth round of the Premiership is Tom Curry, as the Sale Sharks man was back to his best against Newcastle Falcons. It was brilliant to see the Curry and du Preez brothers all starring for Sale, with Tom Curry that strongest sibling at the Salford Community Stadium. Speaking after the match, Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said;
“I thought Tom’s first half performance was outstanding, he carried and he got turnovers, put some thumping tackles in. I was really happy talking to Tom as he was coming off.
When they (Tom and Ben Curry) are on form, there’s no better pairing to have in your team, particularly in the back five. They’re a menace, they’re everywhere. It’s good to see them smiling.”
