Premiership Team of the Week: Saracens dominate after London Derby blowout as George Chuter impressed by ‘complete ten’ Owen Farrell

James While
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George Chuter selects his Premiership Rugby Team of the Week.

Our Premiership Team of the Week, brought to you by eToro.

After an enthralling weekend of Premiership Rugby action, we sat down with ex-England and Leicester Tigers hooker George Chuter to get his Team of the Week from the action.

We have teamed up with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby, to launch a new feature that will see us name a best XV from a famous face after every Premiership round for the remainder of the season.

Last week, Chuter also made his predictions for this round of action, and while he correctly called the winner for four of the five games the last time we got his predictions – he got just three from five this time around.

He correctly called wins for Exeter Chiefs, Saracens and Bath but incorrectly predicted a win for Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers.

With the Premiership now back in full swing as it approaches The Run In stage, Round 13 saw an interesting reversal in fortunes as table-toppers Saints conceded 50 on the road at Bristol and Saracens simply pulled Harlequins apart at Tottenham in a stylish display of running rugby.

Chastened by some of his predictions on Friday, former England hooker and a man with 262 Premiership appearances, Chuter rejoins us to select his team of the round.

So, without further ado, let’s see who Chuter has picked in his selection.

Premiership Rugby Team of the Week – Round 13

15 Elliot Daly (Saracens): Daly is one of those players that enables others around him. He was absolutely brilliant against Harlequins; he grabbed one himself but made a couple of others. Freddie Steward answered his critics with 157 metres of carries for my old club, Tigers, but that wasn’t enough to see off Gloucester in a fine Ed Slater Cup match.

14 Joe Cokanasiga (Bath): I am sure he won’t get away with blowing what would have been a hat-trick with a run in in the dying moments, but big Joe carried brilliantly all afternoon. He still needs to work on his defence, but at the moment he’s the form winger in the Premiership. I admit I didn’t see the Bristol result against Saints coming, but Gabriel Ibitoye shone in that match, grabbing the Bears’ last try.

Powerhouse midfielders and veteran winger

13 Ollie Lawrence (Bath): Absolutely brilliant all afternoon and created some real problems for Sale, one of the best defences around. Lawrence’s superpower is his deft footwork just before contact, and that led to his first try down the middle. Lucio Cinti was one of six Saracens to get onto the scoreboard in a brilliant display from the Puma.

12 Solomone Kata (Leicester Tigers): Tigers may have lost at home, but Kata wasn’t the reason for that as he was in barnstorming mode against Gloucester. Another man who was on the wrong side of the result, Manu Tuilagi, was also in great form for Sale down at the Rec, whilst Joe Hawkins put in a fine shift for Chiefs as they overcame the Falcons.

11 Sean Maitland (Saracens): Maitland is an arch-finisher and does so many things so well in Saracens’ ambition in attack. He grabbed yet another brace in the Spurs rout. Will Muir once again showed his physicality as he created a couple of tries for Bath in a really physical display at the Rec.

Owen Farrell celebrates milestone in style

Saracens captain Owen Farrell.

Our Premiership player of the round, Owen Farrell.

10 Owen Farrell (Saracens): In his 250th match, Owen made it a game to remember personally as he showed what a complete ten he is in a wonderful performance, making him my Player of the Round. Hugely impressive in every aspect, although both Bath’s Finn Russell and Sale’s George Ford enjoyed a memorable dual at the Rec, with Russell slotting his first professional drop goal in twelve seasons!

9 Harry Randall (Bristol Bears): Randall has pace to burn, and he was at his best with the ball in hand at Ashton Gate, as his running ignited the Bristol attack. A word too for Ben Spencer—his hold-up tackle on the line might not get the headlines, but Sale were pressing hard at that moment in the match, and his intervention was key. Stephen Varney was at the centre of everything for Gloucester.

Loose forwards

8 Zach Mercer (Gloucester Rugby): Mercer polarises opinion like few others. He was quite magnificent at Welford Road, getting the better of World Champion Jasper Wiese on a day where he beat 12 players with the ball in hand. Should England give him a shot? Well, he can’t do much more than he’s doing! Greg Fisilau, another England hopeful, impressed for Exeter also crossing for a try.

7 Ben Earl (Saracens): With regards to my previous comment on Mercer, Earl is one of the reasons the Gloucester man isn’t getting a shot, and once again, Earl was fantastic, but this time on the flank of the scrum. Sale’s Sam Dugdale has been around for a fair time now, and he topped the carry and tackle count in defeat at the Rec, putting in a huge individual performance.

6 Juan Martin Gonzalez (Saracens): A pair of Sarries flankers and Gonzalez was in massive form for the Men In Black as he crossed for one and made another. Steven Luatua was both tireless and inspiring for Bristol in their decimation of Saints.

Locks

5 Joe Batley (Bristol Bears): The hugely likeable lock started the rout for Bears as his side delivered their best performance this season. Batley was absolutely massive for his club and reminded all of his class. Bath’s Charlie Ewels’ leadership and work-rate is often underappreciated as he put in a big shift versus Sale.

4 Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs): The former U20 star keeps smashing it up with the ball in hand and grabbed another try as the Chiefs moved to fourth place. Batley’s locking partner, James Dun, joined his teammate on the scoreboard as both of the big Bears had a night to remember.

Front rowers

3 Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears): Kyle is almost the forgotten man of English rugby after some form setbacks, but he was in rumbling mode for Bristol as he crossed for a welcome score and scrummaged well. I was delighted to see Marco Riccioni back for Sarries, and his return will boost their run-in chances after a shocking injury for the big tighthead.

2 Theo Dan (Saracens): There seems no limit to how far this youngster can go. He has the lot as a hooker, with the uncanny ability to pinball through tackles like a fourth backrower. Absolutely outstanding, although Tom Dunn also had a memorable performance for Bath down at the Rec.

1 Scott Sio (Exeter Chiefs): The big Wallaby had an impressive day at Sandy Park, scrummaging powerfully but also getting his name on the scoreboard against the Falcons. At the Rec, both looseheads impressed me, with Bevan Rodd giving Thomas du Toit plenty to think about and Beno Obano his usual explosive self in the loose.

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READ MORE: RFU to investigate Saracens v Harlequins TMO controversy as Joe Marler wades in

Bath Ben Earl Elliot Daly George Chuter Harry Randall Joe Batley Joe Cokanasiga Juan Martin Gonzalez Kyle Sinckler

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