Following the conclusion of round one of the 2026\/27 PREM Rugby season, here are our five key takeaways from the opening block of fixtures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New signings, new kits, same vibes<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always a lot of interesting headlines, takeaways (aha, get it?!?) and general chit-chat after the opening round of the PREM<\/a>, but the main one should be the fact that this season, this young, new-born season, has already broken a record with the most amount of tries in the opening round. Ever, be it a 10-team, 12-team or however many-team league.<\/p>\n In total, 52 tries were scored across the five games, an average of 10.4 tries-per-game, while three players got hat-tricks and five players grabbed braces.<\/p>\n The league has certainly had a face-lift this off-season, with new kits and some flash new signings coming in, but the vibes are the same. It\u2019s all about attack.<\/p>\n Is that saying defences are poor? Not really, nor should it be really. If anything, it just reflects the overarching theme of the English league in recent years. Attacks have been on top, and it doesn\u2019t seem like shifting anytime soon.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just a lot to like about the way most teams are going about their business on that side of the ball. Crucially, it\u2019s all slightly\u00a0different but contains the same basic principals. Create space, throw in some shape and play at tempo. There are intricacies within that, for instance Northampton\u2019s and Gloucester\u2019s catch-pass skills, Bath and Saracens running with a playmaking nine and a slightly freer fly-half or even Bristol being, well, Bristol. Even this weekend\u2019s losers showed nice flashes, namely Newcastle Red Bulls scoring some truly audacious tries.<\/p>\n If this weekend has proved anything, it\u2019s that the league\u2019s vibes are staying the same. If anything, the attacking identity of the PREM as a whole is only going to grow. Let\u2019s all just pull up a chair, grab a drink and just enjoy.<\/p>\n The Welsh connection<\/p>\n There might be trouble brewing on the other side of the bridge, but the Welsh connection that have come over to the PREM have made themselves known. They are not here simply to take part; no, they are here to take over.<\/p>\n Fehi Fineanganofo makes decision on All Blacks future ahead of 2027 World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n Looking at their performances in isolation, they were all brilliant. Dewi Lake, named Gloucester captain mere weeks into his spell at Kingsholm, getting Player of the Match on debut and bagging two tries. Jac Morgan, similarly promoted to a leadership role in the South West, made a huge difference to the Cherry and Whites (or pinks?) pack and was influential in their win over Exeter Chiefs. Aaron Wainwright looked right at home at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on debut, producing a standout performance despite his side ending on the losing side.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the new boys, either, with Leicester\u2019s Gabe Hamer-Webb bagging himself a hat-trick, Tomos Williams impressing in his new colours, Louis Rees-Zammit getting himself back on the scoresheet and recent Test debutant Kane James also going well for Exeter in a losing cause.<\/p>\n This will only have a positive effect on Steve Tandy\u2019s national side too, with most of this contingent primed for key roles in the match-day 23 come the November Tests.<\/p>\n The Welsh contingent are not in the PREM to mess around; they are here to take it over. This weekend was a sign of that.<\/p>\n Most improved award?<\/p>\n One side more than others stood out this weekend, and it\u2019s not what you think. Yes, Northampton Saints looked every inch the title favourites they came into the season as; yes, Bath looked to have clicked back into gear; and yes, Saracens showed play-off credentials. But it\u2019s none of them.<\/p>\n That team is Gloucester. Do they already get the award for most improved?<\/p>\n They just looked a team reborn, rejuvenated and re-energised at Sandy Park, which has for so long been a hard place for them to travel to. Their attack was slick, calculated and clever, built on simple foundations of catch-pass, drawing the defence in and pulling the trigger when the opportunity arose. Ben Loader\u2019s two tries came in virtually identical fashion, albeit with the assist coming via a kick and a pass, and it was in exactly that style of just pulling the Chiefs defence in and giving him space out wide to waltz over the ludicrously large in-goal area at Sandy Park (I\u2019ve scored there, so I know it\u2019s big). There was also a hint of inventive, curious touches in there as well, but yet built on clever play. Little kicks in behind when they seemed to be shaping to run it wide or just deft inside offloads. It was lovely.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n Gloucester\u2019s maul was executed almost to the point of perfection across the 80, too, used to both get them out of trouble in their half and as a weapon in Exeter\u2019s. It told, too, with Lake grabbing two from the base of them.<\/p>\n But the big shift, the main shift at that, was in their defence. It was as connected, efficient and outright brutal as Gloucester\u2019s defence has been for a number of years, with Joel Tomkins\u2019 changes already bearing fruit. It wasn\u2019t so much in its intricate systems, take the fashionable blitz defence as an example of what I mean, but it just felt like everyone was on the same page. If someone shot up, they had two or three either side of them. If someone sat back to just swallow the attack, they had two or three either side of them. That then played into their breakdown work, allowing the likes of Morgan et al to properly nause the ruck and be a fiend in that area. It was so, so clever.<\/p>\n This could be reading far too much into one game, and the opening game of the season at that, but it was a marked difference. It was a notable difference. It was a performance that showed Gloucester are making those necessary changes to improve. Watch this space.<\/p>\n Bonus points matter, people<\/p>\n As attack continues to dominate the league, bonus points are going to matter come the end of the season. This weekend has already proved how important they are. Eight of the 10 teams picked up at least one point this weekend, either a try bonus point, a losing bonus point or both, and they now have a bit of a leg up as a result.<\/p>\n