Points pile-ups, old-school Saracens and a royal pint - Prem talking points
After a try-filled round of action, how high can scoreboard inflation climb and what is behind it?
Key points
- Northampton beat Bath 71-48, the second-highest aggregate score in English top-flight rugby history.
- Five of the ten 100-point games in the league have come since the 2023-24 season.
- Saracens kept previously unbeaten Bristol to seven points in a 30-7 win.
Northampton's 71-48 win over Bath on Saturday produced a 119-point aggregate score, the second highest in English top-flight rugby history. The teams scored 18 tries between them. The only higher total was Northampton's 94-33 win over Bristol in May.
The weekend's five Premiership games featured 50 tries, an average of 10 per match. That is up from an average of 9.3 tries per game in the first two rounds of this season, the highest-scoring start to a campaign since Opta began gathering the statistic in 2007-08. Five of the ten top-flight games to have breached the 100-point barrier have come since the start of the 2023-24 season.
What Vesty said
Northampton head coach Sam Vesty told BBC Sport the game can be too slanted to attack. He said he does not want to watch basketball but saw fantastic rugby on both sides.
Vesty attributed the scoring spike to laws of the game and team philosophy. He said the offside line is being reffed hotter, tackle height is lower so players can keep the ball alive more quickly, and the ball is on longer so players are more fatigued. He also said there is more intent from teams to score points.
The game can be too slanted to attack
— Northampton head coach Sam Vesty
Saracens defence and scrum-halves
Saracens' defence coach Adam Powell aimed at the start of the season to change how the game is played in the Premiership. Only Gloucester have conceded fewer points, and Saracens' 30-7 win over previously unbeaten Bristol was their most impressive defensive display of the season. Bristol rested Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua because of concerns about their bodies holding up on the artificial surface at Stonex Stadium.
Archie McParland, 21, started Northampton's first two games but was benched against Bath and played the final 20 minutes. Charlie Bracken, 22, got 40 minutes on his first start of the season for Saracens against Bristol. Both face competition from British and Irish Lions Alex Mitchell and Tomos Williams at their clubs.
