PREM Rugby: Team of the Week for Round 7 - Ruck
Gallagher Premiership Rugby News Team Of The Week

PREM Rugby: Team of the Week for Round 7

22 December 2025
Tom Sansom

The seventh round of Gallagher PREM Rugby is in the books, with the final weekend of action before Christmas delivering some real festive firecrackers up and down the country. Bath top the tree ahead of the Christmas break, as the blue, black and whites made light work of their trip to the North East as they dismantled bottom-placed Newcastle Red Bulls at Kingston Park.

Round Seven of the PREM commenced under the trademarked Friday Night Lights, as the coveted Slater Cup was contested at Welford Road. Leicester secured the trophy after defeating Gloucester, with the silverware marked to raise awareness and funds in the fight against Motor Nuerone Disease. The action remained in the East Midlands, as Northampton Saints hosted Sale for a triumphant return to domestic action, before Exeter Chiefs pulled out all the stops for a stunning away win against Saracens.

The PREM’s two resident entertainers then clashed in South West London, with Harlequins handed a heavy defeat by Bristol Bears at the Stoop. The action was closed out by the aformentioned efforts of Bath, as Johann van Graan’s side clipped the wings of the former Falcons to remain in poll position in time for Christmas. Once again, we have picked out the top performers of the round, with RUCK’s Gallagher PREM Team of the Week confirmed for the seventh weekend of the regular season.

FULL RESULTS: GALLAGHER PREM RUGBY ROUND 7

LEICESTER TIGERS 45-14 GLOUCESTER / SARACENS 24-30 EXETER CHIEFS

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 47-21 SALE SHARKS / HARLEQUINS 14-40 BRISTOL BEARS

NEWCASTLE RED BULLS 14-50 BATH

TEAM OF THE WEEK: GALLAGHER PREM RUGBY 2025/26 ROUND 7

15. Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears)

Honourable Mention: Olly Woodburn (Exeter Chiefs) and George Furbank (Northampton Saints)

The phenomenal return to rugby union continues for Louis Rees-Zammit, who looks to be pushing back to his very best with the 2026 Men’s Six Nations coming around the corner. The Welshman was unleashed in a newfound position of fullback last weekend, with Rees-Zammit delivering a stunning effort on the front foot in the one-sided win over Harlequins. The British & Irish Lion was at the heart of the Bears’ attack and capped off his day with a blistering try for Pat Lam’s side.

14. Noah Caluori (Saracens)

The Saracens sensation continues to make headway in the PREM, with another star-making performance in the bag for the England age-grade prodigy. The exceptional 19-year-old raced across for two tries, starting with a stellar intercept run in from 40m out, as Saracens stormed to a strong start against Exeter Chiefs at the StoneX. Unfortunalty for Mark McCall’s men, the North Londoners capitulated their efforts for a late comeback defeat. Nonetheless, Caluori’s efforts did deserved a place in our Team of the Week, with plenty of excitement around his upcoming U20s Six Nations campaign. Can emulate the likes of Chandler Cunningham-South and Henry Pollock with a fast-tracked England Test debut?

13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)

The man of the hour once again for Exeter Chiefs, Henry Slade dug his side out of the termoil with a true leadership masterclass in North London. Slade ran the back-line with his usual style, with the exception of a loose-intercept pass to one side, the midfielder was the integral cog that kept the Chiefs attack ticking. Slade bagged the match winning conversion to take his side into the lead with 10 minutes remaining, and then raced away for a stunning solo score to stamp clear daylight between a resurgent Chiefs and their dejected host. Plenty of promising signs once again, for a man deserving of an extended England run.

12. Solomone Kata (Leicester Tigers)

Leicester Tigers unleashed their Tongan wrecking-ball in the early goings of the Slater Cup match, with Solomone Kata on hand to deliver one of the tries of the season at Welford Road. The midfielder ran a commanding arch from nearly 40 metres out, before sending the Gloucester defence the wrong way with a neat display of footwork and secure a memorable score. Kata was at his very best for the Tigers in this latest effort, with his attacking intensity coupled by a fearsome presence at the gain-line in defence. Throw in a key involvement in James Thompson’s try, and Kata was dutifully deserving of his Player of the Match award come the full-time whistle.

11. George Hendy (Northampton Saints)

The ginger-haired flyer returns to RUCK’s Team of the Week for the second consecutive week in a row, as the Northampton Saints wing is enjoying some red-hot form out on the touchlines for Northampton. After bagging a hat-trick in the Saints’ Champions Cup demolition job of the Vodacom Bulls, Hendy was on hand to deliver two more tries for the men in green, black and gold, as Northampton made light work of Sale Sharks at Franklin’s Gardens. It’s only a matter of time until Hendy gets his England flowers, with a training squad spot expected for the 2026 Six Nations camp.

10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)

Sticking with the Saints, and another man who is hoping to roll his recent club form into a return to England vigor is Fin Smith. The former first-choice 10 in Steve Borthwick’s plans has fallen behind George Ford in the pecking order, since the Sale man had a sensational Summer tour and Smith was ‘down under’ with the British & Irish Lions. Whilst Smith did not go tee-to-tee with Ford on Saturday, the out-half did out-class Rob du Preez with some metronomic sharpshooting. Smith slotted six of seven conversions, which he coupled with an ice-cold management of the Saints attacking structure to dismantle the Sharks.

9. Stephen Varney (Exeter Chiefs)

Pivoting away from the England hopefuls, but still keeping well within the remit of those who are out to leave a mark upon the 2026 Men’s Six Nations, we hand Stephen Varney the reins to this week’s back-line. The hot-stepping halfback was in electric form for Exeter Chiefs, with plenty of excitement building around his expected return to the Italy squad in the new year. Varney skipped free from the Saracens grip to bag a well-taken try, whilst keeping the ball distribution at a high rate of knots throughout the Chiefs’ comeback win in North London.

1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)

Joining George Hendy with the unique accolade of accruing back-to-back appearances in RUCK’s Team of the Week, there does not seem to be a better loose-head prop in the world right now than Ellis Genge. The England and Lions man has had a calendar year to remember, and would feel hard done by to miss out on the World Rugby Team of the Year to Ox Nche. Genge had another barn-burning of a shift in the Bristol front row, with his physiciality proving to be simply too much for Quins. Genge dominated the scrum and barraged across the whitewash for a try, as the West Country men flexed their muscles in the nation’s capital.

2. Dan Frost (Bath Rugby)

The first of two Bath front rowers to make our Team of the Week, in what was a dominant forward pack outing for the blue, black and whites in the North East. Dan Frost was handed the two jersey by Johann van Graan, as the Bath coach sent a somewhat rotated side up to Newcastle yesterday afternoon. Frost made the most of his opportunity, as he bundled the pack onward for a personal brace of tries, with his first effort igniting the afternoon’s one-sided win for the reigning Premiership champions. The 28-year-old starred upon his chance, and will be hoping for more efforts like this throughout 2026.

3. Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby)

In a similar fettle to Dan Frost, the tight-head jersey goes to a Bath man who made the most out of his chance to shine in blue, black and white. Despite being a proud representative of the Welsh national side with 11 caps to his name, Archie Griffin plays third-fiddle in a stacked Bath tight-head pecking order, that includes Springboks man Thomas du Toit and England prop Will Stuart. Griffin is getting an extended run after Stuart sustained a ruptured Achille’s, and will be looked upon further once du Toit returns to South Africa at the end of the season. Griffin excelled for Bath against Newcastle, with a commanding display at the scrum and he capped off his efforts with a well-taken try against the Red Bulls.

4. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)

Honourable Mention: Dafyyd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs)

Regardless of their personal club affiliations, England fans across the country rejoiced to witness the return of Ollie Chessum back to full flight. In what was his first match since sustaining a foot injury in the second week of the Quilter Nations Series against Fiji, Chessum exploded off the bench for a fit-and-firing 30 minute performance against Sale Sharks. The lock made his mark upon the match with some exciting runs out-wide, as he cantered free from the Manchester side time and again. Chessum etched his name upon the score-board and was one of the more popular names read out to the Welford Road faithful.

5. Joe Batley (Bristol Bears)

Joining Ollie Chessum in the engine room for our Team of the Week, is a man who many Bristol fans believe has long on the brink of a Test match run. Joe Batley continues to grind out hard-nosed efforts week after week for the West Country side, with the lock once again delivering for the Bears and getting onto the score-sheet in their one-sided win over Harlequins. Batley got a long overdue England call in the Autumn for an England A run out against the All Blacks XV, with New Zealander Pat Lam amongst the first to back the 29-year-old for a Test debut in the upcoming 2026 Men’s Six Nations.

6. Josh Kemeny (Northampton Saints)

The twice-capped Australia international put in a tremendous shift for the men in green, black and gold, as the Saints cascaded a torrent of tries to sweep aside Sale Sharks. Kemeny was apart of the try-scoring, as the former Wallabies man crossed the whitewash shortly before the half-time break. In a back row that includes the enigmatic Henry Pollock and England hopeful Tom Pearson, it could be easy for Kemeny’s work to fly under the radar for the Saints, however, nothing of the sort happened for the bruising blindside who emptied the tank with a physical shift against the Sharks.

7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers)

With so much talk around Wales flanker Jac Morgan’s upcoming arrival in the PREM, Tommy Reffell reminded the English top flight about how they already had a battering back row imported from the land across the River Severn. Reffell was peerless against Gloucester, with a brilliantly brutal effort across the gain-line leaving many a Cherry and Whites man in his wake. Onto the score-sheet for a well-taken finish, Reffell combined an exhaustive work rate with an undying effort at the break-down. Exciting times ahead for Wales fans with the Leicester back row gearing up for a Six Nations return.

8. Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)

We cap off our Team of the Week for the seventh round of the Premiership, by once again singing the plaudits of a man that Steve Borthwick could well unleash next year. Greg Fisilau was a phenom against Saracens, with two tries under his belt in the hard-fought win at the StoneX. With Tom Willis now out of the Test match picture for good, Borthwick has looked to Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry and Ben Earl to fill the void at number eight, albeit in hybrid-flanker roles.

Greg Fisilau offers the out-and-out eight-man option that could deliver a breath of fresh air to the England pack. Physical, explosive and dominant in the carry, Fisilau has 14 U20 caps and four England A apperences, to his name and no stranger to the England set-up. Borthwick could pull the trigger on the Exeter man in the upcoming Six Nations – watch this space.

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