Premiership launched its 2026-2027 season with just one home win in five matches, that of Northampton. The last match, on Sunday at Welford Road, was the most spectacular.

Courtney Lawes’ last Premiership match was a final, the one on 8 June 2024, won 25-21 by Northampton against Bath. It took 840 days and two seasons at Brive to see him back in the English league, this time in a Sale shirt.

The first round’s results

Match Score
Harlequins – Bath 17-33
Northampton – Newcastle 59-26
Exeter – Gloucester 24-45
Sale – Bristol 24-34
Leicester – Saracens 38-40

Le résultat est excellent, mais ce que nous avons vu dans le caractère, en particulier sur certaines séquences défensives, est un bon aperçu de ce que nous leur avons demandé cette saison.

George Skivington | RugbyPass

Fifty-two tries in five matches

The opening weekend was prolific: the five matches produced fifty-two tries, more than ten per match. Northampton scored nine on their own, Gloucester seven at Sandy Park, Bath and Bristol five each away from home, and Leicester and Saracens six each.

Saracens win with fourteen men at Welford Road

The closing match lived up to its billing. Saracens scored inside the first minute through Juan Martín González, then had to play twenty minutes with fourteen men after Nick Isiekwe was shown a red card for a head-on-head collision with Freddie Steward (54th minute). The Londoners nonetheless won that period 12-7 and snatched victory thanks to a brace from Rotimi Segun (60th and 72nd minutes). For the Tigers, Welsh wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb scored a hat-trick in vain, and Leicester came away with two bonus points, offensive and defensive.

194 Premiership matches for Lawes

The return of the 37-year-old back row was not rewarded: Bristol won 34-24 at Salford, with five tries including braces from Louis Rees-Zammit and Harry Randall. Lawes is now on 194 Premiership appearances, all with Northampton until this Saturday.

Gloucester’s first win at Sandy Park since 2015

Gloucester recorded their biggest win of the campaign in Devon, 45-24, with seven tries, a brace from Ben Loader and another from new captain Dewi Lake, who arrived this summer along with Jac Morgan and Jean Kleyn. Exeter, missing several players and hit by illness, still managed four tries.

Nine tries for Northampton

The reigning champions launched their season with a 59-26 win over Newcastle, with hat-tricks from Tommy Freeman and James Pater. Christian Wade scored twice for the promoted side. Henry Pollock, 21, played his 50th match for the Saints, according to the club, just days after signing a contract extension.

Bath, meanwhile, won 33-17 away at Harlequins, where Santiago Carreras scored a try after intercepting a kicked pass.

Key figures

840 days between Courtney Lawes’ last two Premiership matches

40 tries scored across the four opening matches, ten per match

3 out of 4 opening matches won by the away side

2015 Gloucester’s last win at Sandy Park before this one