{"id":722930,"date":"2026-06-08T11:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/722930\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T11:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:18:13","slug":"prem-rugby-team-of-the-week-springbok-star-the-best-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/722930\/","title":{"rendered":"PREM Rugby Team of the Week: Springbok star ‘the best around’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Barbarians<\/a><\/p>\n

Following the conclusion of round 18 of the 2025\/26 PREM Rugby season, here is the latest Planet Rugby Team of the Week.<\/p>\n

There were big wins for Bath, Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester, Harlequins and Sale Sharks on the final day, as the final league table was settled following a breathtaking regular season campaign.<\/p>\n

Without further ado, here is who made our\u00a0PREM<\/a>\u00a0XV!<\/p>\n

PREM Rugby Team of the Week<\/p>\n

15 Ben Redshaw (Gloucester):\u00a0A hat-trick against Newcastle Red Bulls sees the former Falcon get in ahead of Olly Woodburn\u00a0this weekend, but it\u2019s a richly deserved inclusion. Redshaw was just everywhere for his side in their thumping win over the North East outfit, popping up in just the right spots to score and contributing a healthy tally of 79 metres from seven carries, three linebreaks and five defenders beaten.\u00a0James Pater\u00a0also caught the eye for Northampton Saints.<\/p>\n

14 Ben Loader (Gloucester):\u00a0Pretty much did everything except score a try, really. The former Stormers man was another huge contributor in the Cherry and Whites\u2019 win over Newcastle, notching 106 metres from his 10 carries while also beating eight defenders and making four linebreaks, and got involved in the defensive efforts with seven tackles and a turnover too. A pretty complete performance, which sees him beat Cassius Cleaves\u00a0into the team.<\/p>\n

13 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs): This display will surely leave Steve Borthwick with an ultimatum heading into the Nations Championship. When Slade plays like he did against Saracens on Saturday, there is no better English outside centre. The classy back was the beating heart of their win at Sandy Park, tallying 17 of Exeter\u2019s 32 points alongside 17 carries for 70 metres, which drove his side to victory. There will be riots on the streets of Exeter if he is not included in England\u2019s starting XV this summer, you feel.<\/p>\n

12 Len Ikitau (Exeter Chiefs):\u00a0This partnership is peaking at just the right time, with Ikitau pretty much matching the impact of his number 13 against Saracens. Seemed to channel all the pent-up frustration from his injury absence into this effort, adding proper punch to their midfield with 10 carries for 30 metres, and again added a touch of flair with his offloading. Rekeiti Ma\u2019asi-White went well for Sale as well.<\/p>\n

Exeter Chiefs coach reveals how Rob Baxter turned around fortunes and the \u2018different animals\u2019 that made it possible<\/a><\/p>\n

11 Tom O\u2019Flaherty (Sale Sharks):\u00a0Arron Reed\u00a0might have been in the tries for Sale, but O\u2019Flaherty\u2019s work across the park was a major factor in their win over Bristol. The winger just consistently made positive things happen for his side ball-in-hand, posting 116 metres from his 14 carries while beating three defenders and making two linebreaks, and that just allowed Sale to play on the front-foot across the game.<\/p>\n

10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins):\u00a0Normally in the headlines for his attacking output, but it was his defensive work that sees him come in over\u00a0Harvey Skinner\u00a0this week. The England international was kept really busy on that side of the ball, but dealt with the demands to post 16 tackles at a 94% completion rate.<\/p>\n

9 Stephen Varney (Exeter Chiefs):\u00a0Jonny Weimann was really close to the side this week, but Varney\u2019s second-half effort was a real driving force behind Exeter\u2019s win and he just gets in ahead. His try at the death served as the final nail in the coffin for Saracens, but his play across the half swung the game on its head and dragged Exeter over the line.<\/p>\n

The forwards<\/p>\n

8 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins):\u00a0A proper Gritty, industrious effort from the Quins skipper, on a day where it was needed the most. Packed a proper punch in the tight with 12 tackles, three turnovers and eight carries for 22 metres, and got the rewards for that with two tries. Leicester Tigers man Olly Cracknell\u00a0and Bath\u2019s\u00a0Alfie Barbeary were not far behind, though, while\u00a0Kane James\u00a0made a strong cameo off the bench for Exeter.<\/p>\n

7 Will Evans (Harlequins):\u00a0Like his back-row partner, Evans was a real menace in the tight in Harlequins\u2019 win over Northampton and just gets in ahead of James Venter\u00a0in the process. Evans\u2019 defensive efforts, contributing 17 tackles and winning three turnovers, helped lay the foundations for that victory at the Stoop, and serve as a reminder of what he can do at his very best.<\/p>\n

6 Tom Hooper (Exeter Chiefs):\u00a0Arguably his best outing in a Chiefs shirt, which is some doing considering just how brilliant he has been this season. Had the bit between his teeth across the 80 minutes and took the fight to Saracens, ending with a ridiculous stats sheet of 15 carries, three defenders beaten, two turnovers and eight tackles. Hanro Liebenberg went well for Leicester.<\/p>\n

Quins boss makes bold Nick Evans \u2018head coach\u2019 prediction and calls for \u2018chalk and cheese\u2019 reaction to difficult season<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Ted Hill (Bath):\u00a0An understated but big effort from the England hopeful, who gets in ahead of JJ van der Mescht\u00a0in the process. Did all the ugly stuff superbly well for Bath in their win over Leicester Tigers, ending with a healthy 22 tackles, a turnover and six carries, as he continues to show himself as the jigsaw man in this pack.<\/p>\n

4 Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks):\u00a0Dafydd Jenkins\u00a0can probably feel hard done by to miss out, but the towering Bamber gets the nod this week. The lock threw his body around with no real regard for his own safety at times against Bristol, ending his shift with 21 tackles for good measure, and contributed well to the lineout as well.<\/p>\n

3 Thomas du Toit (Bath):\u00a0Proved himself as the best tighthead around on Saturday, producing an outright blockbuster against Leicester. His hat-trick will dominate the headlines, and deservedly so, but it was almost the embodiment of his career in the West Country, as he left a notable mark on the Rec.\u00a0Josh Iosefa-Scott\u00a0enjoyed a decent outing against Saracens, in keeping with his recent form of late.<\/p>\n

2 Seb Blake (Gloucester):\u00a0A second successive inclusion in the Team of the Week for Blake, who has ended the PREM season with a real bang. Again, let his defensive work do the talking with a strong count of 12 tackles at a 100% completion rate. Harry Thacker\u00a0was a standout for Bristol Bears in their loss against Sale.<\/p>\n

1 Will Hobson (Harlequins):\u00a0This felt like a really mature performance from the young loosehead prop, and he gets in ahead of\u00a0Scott Sio in the process. Like his fellow Quins inclusions, it was his defensive work that gets him into the team this week, posting a healthy 13 tackles across his shift.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: PREM Rugby semi-finals confirmed: Fixtures, dates, kick-off times and how to watch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following the conclusion of round 18 of the 2025\/26 PREM Rugby season, here is the latest Planet Rugby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,17345,36467,39989,1379,39990,39991,818,39694,10668,44,39992,20248,760,176848,39279,85],"class_list":["post-722930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bath","tag-bristol","tag-exeter-chiefs","tag-features","tag-gloucester","tag-harlequins","tag-home-page","tag-leicester-tigers","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-northampton-saints","tag-premiership","tag-rugby","tag-sale-sharks","tag-saracens","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}