Underrated Premiership XV

The 2016/17 Aviva Premiership season kicks off this weekend and expectations are high for another compelling and entertaining campaign.

Whilst attentions are understandably drawn to the new, high profile signings, both domestic and foreign, we spare a thought for some of the more underrated players in clubs up and down the country.

These guys make their teams tick with little fanfare in return, so highlighting them for a little recognition just before the tournament gets underway seems fitting.

15. Mike Haley, Sale Sharks

The Sale full-back does get his fair share of plaudits but with England having two such consistent and established 15s in the forms of Mike Brown and Alex Goode, the buzz around Haley doesn’t quite reach the levels he deserves. His counter-attacking ability may be the best at the position in the competition and were it not for the two aforementioned incumbents, Haley would be lauded as one of the brightest talents in English rugby and be subject to calls for a senior test cap.

14. Chris Wyles, Saracens

Wyles is the Swiss Army Knife of the Saracens back three, doing everything required of him well, without necessarily excelling in any one area. He provides the Premiership and European champions with tries, defensive awareness and a strong ability in the air. The American is consistently one of the top performers at his position in the league but is rarely talked about amongst the premiere wingers in the tournament.

13. Sam James, Sale Sharks

The former fly-half has made his breakthrough at senior level by moving to outside centre and there is a clear link between the increased productivity of Sale’s wings in the 2015/16 season and James’ playmaking skills being stationed just inside them. He doesn’t bring quite the same physicality as Johnny Leota or Sam Tuitupou but he has the power and size to make a dent, not to mention the hands to keep play alive with offloads and the speed to make the most of defensive gaps.

12. Ryan Mills, Worcester Warriors

Brad Barritt gives Mills a real run for his money here but the former Gloucester man was pivotal in keeping Worcester in the Premiership last season and delivered both offensively and defensively. He dovetailed superbly with Tom Heathcote and Wynand Olivier in that campaign but will now face increased competition for a starting spot, with both Ben Te’o and Jackson Willison arriving at Sixways.

11. Tom Varndell, Bristol

There is strong competition for this last wing spot from Sale’s Nev Edwards and Bath’s Matt Banahan but Varndell pips them both upon his return to the Premiership. He is just five scores away from equalling Mark Cueto’s record of 90 Premiership tries and barring injury, he could well surpass that tally this season. Far from just a prominent try scorer, Varndell also delivers defensively, with his try-saving tackle against Bath in the 2011/12 season saving Wasps from relegation and, as a result, administration.

10. Freddie Burns, Leicester Tigers

Burns was the great fly-half hope of English rugby before the trio of Owen Farrell, George Ford and Henry Slade made their breakthroughs and subsequent to their rises, his abilities have tended towards being overlooked. The move to Leicester shored up some of the weaker areas in Burns’ game and he is showing his considerable potential in the Aaron Mauger-coached Leicester back line.

9. Will Chudley, Exeter Chiefs

Once the scrum-half plaudits have been dished out to the England pairing of Ben Youngs and Danny Care and Wasps’ exciting duo of Dan Robson and Joe Simpson, there aren’t many left over for Chudley. The Exeter man has been one of the most consistent performers in an extremely consistent side and is an integral part of his club’s game plan.

1. Ross Harrison, Sale Sharks

Harrison was the unsung hero of the Sale set-piece last season, excelling alongside hooker Tommy Taylor and tightheads Vadim Cobilas and Brian Mujati. The loosehead scrummages straight, anchors the contest and allows the tighthead to go to work and is hungry for action in the loose, giving you everything you could require from a modern front row forward.

2. Ashley Johnson, Wasps

Bath’s Ross Batty and Leicester new boy George McGuigan both have claims on this spot but Johnson is one of the heroes of Wasps’ rise from relegation battlers to title contenders. He drew more praise and attention when he was putting in thumping runs from the back row – a position he may return to with James Haskell’s injury – but his work filling in at hooker was critical for Wasps last season. Johnson is well on his way to being one of the more effective Premiership signings of all-time.

3. Jake Cooper-Woolley, Wasps

The tighthead will have a tough battle on his hands for playing time this season with Wasps bringing in Marty Moore from Leinster. If there were not so many impressive young tightheads queuing up behind Dan Cole for England selection – Paul Hill, Kyle Sinckler and Kieran Brookes – Cooper-Woolley would make an able deputy to Cole at test level.

4. Dom Barrow, Leicester Tigers

If you’re regularly playing in the second row of a club that has Ed Slater, Graham Kitchener and Mike Fitzgerald on its books, you must be doing something right. Barrow plays as physically as any lock in the Premiership, fitting the enforcer mould perfectly, whilst also having the technical ability to flourish. Comparisons to Danny Grewcock are on the money and were it not for the plethora of talent in England’s second row stocks, Barrow would be knocking on the door for a cap.

5. Charlie Ewels, Bath

Just like Barrow, Ewels is a player who would probably have an England cap by now in a different era. Even at just 21 years of age, Ewels is already one of the most technically proficient second rows in the Premiership. He can run a lineout with the best of them and as with Haley, it’s only the quality of the players ahead of him that prevent Ewels getting the recognition he deserves. At the other end of the career spectrum, Northampton lock Christian Day is a player who has excelled for over a decade now and often misses out on the plaudits.

6. Cameron Neild, Sale Sharks

Newcastle’s Will Welch and Saracens’ Mike Rhodes would be valid options here but Neild really shone at the position after beginning to make the transition from hooker last season. He might have been the most impressive player that no one talked about in that campaign and it will be interesting to see if he continues to flourish this season and at what position he predominately plays.

7. Luke Wallace, Harlequins

In a back row where everyone talks about Chris Robshaw and Jack Clifford, it’s perhaps not too surprising that Wallace goes under the radar. In terms of what he provides on the pitch, however, he deserves every bit as much recognition as his two England teammates. Wallace’s work over the ball is comparable to fetchers like Matt Kvesic and Will Fraser, whilst his energy and work rate in the loose is as eye-catching as any flanker in the Premiership. 

8. Mark Wilson, Newcastle Falcons

Mr Reliable of the Falcons back row, Wilson has been a staple at eight for a number of years now and compliments Welch and Nili Latu superbly. He doesn’t fit the ‘flashy’ mould that a number of modern eights do and he’s not going to cause problems for defences that the likes of Nathan Hughes or Billy Vunipola do, but he is going to graft for 80 minutes, making the tackles and hard yards that help keep Newcastle competitive.