Gallagher Premiership Round One: What did we learn?

TRU contributor Greg Boon picks out some of his key moments from the opening round of the Gallagher Premiership.

It only takes a few minutes of rugby for fans and pundits alike to be writing off teams and hyping up players.

This season the temptation is even stronger with the World Cup just around the corner, and the Premiership becoming further contested with each season that passes by.

How much can we take from just one round though? Are Bath and Leicester going to be fighting it out for Premiership survival? Is Matt Kvesic the openside to answer every England fans dreams?

Bristol Bears got off to a perfect start in front of a bumper crowd of 26,000, but for me, there is still work to be done at Ashton Gate. Bristol has to back it up and looking at the performance in isolation, the Bears were dogged but beatable.

??| Here's how social media reacted to Friday's West Country derby win at @ashtongatestad. ??

— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) September 4, 2018

They gave away too many penalties, invited pressure, gifting Bath possession and territory. That Bath was unable to capitalise, says more about Bath’s blunt attack and poor decision making, than Bristol’s defence. Scenting a win, Bristol improved in the second half, led mainly by the game management of replacement scrum half Andy Uren.

The Bears didn't see much of the ball as Bath dominated every facet of play apart from the scoreboard until Luke Morahan, in for the injured Charles Piutau, took his opportunity.  It was a moment of magic from Morahan. Picking the ball up just outside Bath’s 22, the Australian beat several defenders as he worked his way into space, creating just enough room to find Alapati Leila, who crossed for the game-clinching score. John Afoa earned his price tag, but the cover provided from the bench puts an emphasis on his fitness and ability to play week in week out.

Bath will improve. No matter how competitive the preseason is, there are always cobwebs going into your first competitive game. However, a loss to the Premiership newcomers invariably means Todd Blackadder will have no breathing space. More will be expected from a star studded XV containing Welsh trio Rhys Priestland, Jamie Roberts and Taulupa Faletau. Players make mistakes, none more painful than dropping the ball in the act of scoring, but Tom Homer’s mistake was just one in an error strewn performance. Bath were architects of their own downfall in a disjointed and inaccurate performance that resulted in not a single score in the first half. They still had a chance to walk away with a win only to be let down by a wayward line out.

It summed up their night.

The biggest concern was that this was a performance airily similar to the Bath of last season. They desperately miss the cutting edge of Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph. The good news is Todd Blackadder should have no problems focusing his players with the West Country derby coming up next weekend. You would expect the hurt of last Friday, combined with a clash against Gloucester, to bring an edge to their performance.

Leicester Tigers head coach Matt O’Connor has left the club with immediate effect.

Read the official club statement online now ?? https://t.co/6OymZf2KZK

— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) September 3, 2018

Another coach feeling the pressure was Leicester’s Matt O’Connor on Saturday night. Hs comments to BBC Sport in his post-match interview were bizarre. His remarks that it was “closer in large parts than it appeared on the scoreboard” were wide of the mark and on Monday night, he was sacked by the Tigers after their humbling 40-6 defeat to Exeter Chiefs.

The Tigers were toothless. Matt Toomua tried valiantly while George Ford’s kicking from hand was tactically astute but he was a long way from the composer of beautiful attacks we know he can be.

It’s really quiet something to say an attack containing Ben Youngs, Telusa Veainu, Manu Tuilagi and Jonny May looked cumbersome. I said in my Premiership preview for TRU last week that the Tigers pack looked under powered but their signings had gone some way to reverse this. Yet despite the additions of Will Spencer and Dave Denton, they could land just a few counter punches to unsettle the Chiefs. As bodies and minds adjust to the demands of the Premiership after a summer off, Leicester now find themselves without a head coach and with Geordan Murphy currently in charge. You wonder where the spark will come from otherwise the Tigers will be looking at a bottom half of the table finish, and yes, I really am that worried for the Tigers after just one performance and it will be interesting to see who takes the hot seat at Welford Road.

In terms of the performance, it was a typical display from Exeter in every sense, physical, clinical and relentless built on a platform of possession and tempo. The performance of Matt Kvesic also stood out. Since leaving Gloucester, the openside has barely made a handful of performances. This was not the Matt Kvesic we know though, this was Kvesic 2.0 - a man that did everything a 7 should, not just a jackal. He was the link man between backs and forwards and a dynamic carrier out from the ruck as his colleagues fought the Tigers on the fringes.

Five English try-scorers for the Chiefs in Simmonds, Woodburn, Cowan-Dickie, Kvesic and Slade

How many in Eddie’s thoughts? Should be all five...#PremRugby #Exeter #Leicester #rugby

— Will Kelleher (@willgkelleher) September 1, 2018

This is the first time we have seen Kvesic answer Eddie Jones’s longstanding criticism that he needs to have more than just breakdown play in his armoury. As a result, he is a long way down the pecking order with Jones likely to call upon his “six and a halves” before taking a look at the Exeter man.

That said the Curry twins had no impact as Harlequins brushed aside Sale, securing 100% of their rucks. England is hardly in a position to turn players away. The good news for England is that Saracens’ England contingent looked every inch the Champions. To a man they were fantastic against a Newcastle side that refused to lie down. Keep an eye on Alex Lozowski this season, he looks settled at 13 and could provide an interesting option outside Owen Farrell.

After just one game, it’s hard to look past Saracens for the title.

At the other end of the table, neither Bath nor Leicester will be in a relegation battle even though they lost in Round One. However, despite an early win for Bristol and a close defeat for Worcester Warriors, it’s hard to look past these two sides for who will be battling it out at the bottom. Worcester were much improved but missed out on a golden opportunity to beat a rusty Wasps. They won’t get many of these chances and have to take them going forward.