Following the conclusion of round one of the new Gallagher PREM season, here is the latest instalment of the Planet Rugby Team of the Week.<\/p>\n
The new era kicked off on Thursday night as Sale Sharks got the better of Gloucester, before Bath and Saracens also secured wins over Harlequins and Newcastle Red Bulls, respectively, on Friday night.<\/p>\n
With the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup final taking place on Saturday, the PREM resumed with two games on Sunday as Northampton Saints and Exeter Chiefs played out a dramatic draw, while Bristol Bears overcame Leicester Tigers.<\/p>\n
There were some seriously good displays right across the league, as you would expect, making this a particularly hard call, but without further ado, here is our PREM<\/a> Team of the Week.<\/p>\n Gallagher PREM Team of the Week<\/p>\n 15 Joe Carpenter\u00a0(Sale Sharks): A delicious performance from the newly-capped England international, who has done his autumn chances no harm at all. He led the way for metres across the game with 102, while also setting the tone for his side with a team-high 17 carries ball-in-hand.\u00a0George Hendy\u00a0was a close second.<\/p>\n 14 Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears):\u00a0On another day, it would be Paul Brown-Bampoe\u00a0or\u00a0Edoardo Todaro in this spot after their strong outings on Sunday, but Rees-Zammit gets into this side. His late try was the highlight of his day\u2019s work, but he was right at the heart of Bristol\u2019s attack with 148 metres from his 11 carries, while also beating four defenders and making two linebreaks.<\/p>\n 13 Ollie Lawrence (Bath):\u00a0Wow, what a return to the PREM for Ollie Lawrence after a horrific injury lay-off. The Bath man was like a man possessed at times, smashing through defenders with six months of pent-up desire. He finished his shift with a remarkable 18 carries for 71 metres, which for 66 minutes is some going. Cruelly had a try chalked off and was held up for another as well, but this will get Steve Borthwick<\/a> salivating. Tom Litchfield\u00a0also deserves a shout.<\/p>\n 12 Fraser Dingwall\u00a0(Northampton Saints):\u00a0Northampton\u2019s attack was at its silky best in the first-half against Exeter, and Fraser Dingwall was right at the heart of it. His desire to step in at first receiver just gave the rest of his side time to adjust and find their desired holes, while also allowing his playmaking skills to shine with 14 passes and one assist.\u00a0Benhard Janse van Rensburg\u00a0was also on top form for Bristol.<\/p>\n 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso\u00a0(Exeter Chiefs):\u00a0Another PREM returnee in this side is Exeter\u2019s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who showed exactly why the Chiefs were so desperate to get him back at Franklin\u2019s Gardens. His ability to break through tackles and drive his team forward was on full display on Sunday, beating seven defenders and making three linebreaks, but he also found himself on the scoresheet with two lovely efforts. He crammed a lot into a 70-minute runout.\u00a0Adam Radwan\u00a0wasn\u2019t far off.<\/p>\n 10 George Ford\u00a0(Sale Sharks):\u00a0Anthony Belleau\u00a0can feel hard done by to miss out here, but we couldn\u2019t not have George Ford in after yet another masterclass in fly-halfery. His kicking game was once again on point, both out of hand and off the tee, and around that, he just orchestrated Sale\u2019s attack well to get them playing some lovely stuff come the full-time whistle.<\/p>\n 9 Ben Spencer\u00a0(Bath):\u00a0The talk after Bath\u2019s resurgence against Harlequins might have been on the Bomb Squad, but Ben Spencer certainly played his part. Once he properly got into his rhythm, Bath were unplayable. He just effortlessly controlled their attack, be it with a clever kick or just changing the tempo to stunt the impact of Quins\u2019 aggressive linespeed; his fingerprints were all over their comeback.<\/p>\n Northampton v Exeter: Five takeaways as \u2018drastic drop-off\u2019 prompts return of the \u2018Chiefs of old\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n 8 Ross Vintcent\u00a0(Exeter Chiefs):\u00a0Tom Willis,\u00a0Benjamin Grondona\u00a0and\u00a0Callum Chick\u00a0were very close in our minds, but Exeter\u2019s Ross Vintcent stood out above the rest with an awesome display. He seamlessly blended close-quarter brutality with a desire to act as an extra midfielder, helping him cross the whitewash twice. Around that, he also notched a game-high 20 tackles for good measure.<\/p>\n 7 Will Evans\u00a0(Harlequins): His first-half hat-trick was enough to get him in this Team of the Week by itself, but he was on his A-game in almost every department too on Friday night. He was one of his side\u2019s key defensive leaders, notching 20 tackles across his shift, and his work at the breakdown really caused Bath some issues too. Saracens\u2019 Andy Onyeama-Christie also impressed in a try-scoring display in Newcastle.<\/p>\n 6 Fitz Harding\u00a0(Bristol Bears):\u00a0Slightly cheating with this one, with Harding technically playing with seven on his back, but he oozed class against Leicester. He simply dominated his Leicester counterparts in almost every facet at Ashton Gate, particularly at the breakdown, which in turn helped the Bears play their trademark game plan. His work ball-in-hand also impressed, beating three defenders.<\/p>\n