Following the conclusion of the 12th round of the 2025/26 PREM season, here are our five key takeaways from the latest blocks.
Big Match Bonanza is a lot of fun
PREM has made great strides this season across the board, and Saturday’s Big Game Bonanza was another example of this new era.
Big events are nothing new at PREM. In addition, Quins have had 18 Big Festival Matches as well as four Big Summer Kick-Off’s, while Saracens have had five editions of The Showdown and Bristol also enjoyed a Big Day Out last year. But there have never been three major arrests on the same day, consecutively.
That’s what happened on Saturday, and it proved to be a crowd pleaser with an attendance of around 120,000 over the three games.
PREM needs to keep attracting things like this; it needs to keep trying new ideas and trying to push the boat out. It shows the desire to support the action on the field.
Credit where credit is due, this weekend was a success.
Geoff Parling-gate
If you haven’t seen Geoff Parling’s event with TNT Sports, live or on social media, you must be living under a rock.
While much talk has, and rightly so, focused on rugby this week, it’s hard to ignore that the only viral moment came in an Alan Partridge-esque moment before the Leicester Tigers vs Gloucester game at Villa Park.
I won’t go into detail about it, because it’s been used by every rugby website and every Fleet Street publication you can think of, but the whole thing was funny when you think about it.
You’d think it was like a big referendum from the way the talk has been done on social media, but it’s actually very simple. Was Parling right to be upset? Yes. Was he right to push the TV presenter? No.
Who’s hot and not hot: Saints ‘smart box’ with Henry Pollock, ‘music lights up’ URC and Geoff Parling ‘changes the blue air’
Should the matter be settled now that both sides have apologized? Really.
But let’s use memes because, let’s face it, it was pretty funny in retrospect.
Days away
Although there were only two teams playing ‘at home’ this weekend, all five games were won by the ‘away side’ in a rare occurrence.
Winning at home has become a tough question for PREM. Only Bath and Northampton have won five on the road, while Exeter, Leicester and Bristol have won just three of their six games.
On the other hand, domestic awards are common. Leicester remain unbeaten at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, while Northampton, Exeter, Bath and Bristol have lost just once on home soil. Even below them, Saracens and Sale have won three of their six home games this season.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a Google favorite to your favorites list for quality content you can trust.
This weekend showed that teams can really do business in their travels, and maybe they can change something in that regard, which will add more fuel to the fire towards the final stages and playoffs.
Set in stone?
After game 11, there seemed to be five playoff hopefuls. After round 12, it looks like the top four are starting to be set in stone.
However, Bath, Leicester and Exeter got plenty of points for their efforts against Sale, Gloucester and Newcastle, while Northampton also picked up big wins at Saracens. However, Bristol lost to Harlequins, and it is a victory that can have great consequences for them going forward.
As a result of the loss, Pat Lam’s side sit seven points behind fourth-placed Exeter and eight points behind third-placed Leicester with just six rounds of the regular season remaining. It may seem like a huge gap, but Bristol will now have to get at least two more wins than the teams above them to get back into the top four.
When you look at running, it seems easier said than done. Bristol have Gloucester, Newcastle, Saracens, Northampton, Bath and Sale to come between now and the end of the regular season.
On paper, that I can be a run of six wins from six, but you think three of them are not at home. The Bears have struggled to find similar form away from Ashton Gate this season in the PREM, winning three of their six so far, but have shown they can do it.
In addition, they did the Investec Champions Cup for the Bulls in Pretoria. A realistic run for Bristol is probably four wins from six, meaning they need one of the sides around them to win just two.
The British and Irish Lions and the World Cup winner Springbok EPCR list other players as teams that are preparing to strengthen.
It is possible to watch the games of Exeter and Leicester, while the Kings will meet Northampton, Gloucester, Bath, Harlequins, Leicester and Saracens and Leicester will play Newcastle, Saracens, Northampton, Sale, Exeter and Bath. Either way, Bristol will now be hoping the teams slip up rather than commit to their future.
The end of the play-off race is in the hands of those currently in the top four going forward.
Going down
Although the gap between the top five is still tight, the drop between them and the chasing pack got bigger over the weekend.
Only one side from the bottom five in the league won, with Harlequins beating Bristol in the Principality, and only two of the remaining four came away with bonus points, with Sale getting two and Saracens getting one. However, it said that both sides were in a winning position before conceding.
All of their defeats have had the same feeling as them, which is amazing. They were a far cry from the sides we saw last year. Gloucester lacked accuracy in attack, which cost them their chances, but also gave Leicester some potential, while Sale and Saracens could have closed their respective games.
It serves as a realistic comparison of where each team is now.
After analyzing their results, the gap between each side is surprising. Saracens sit 11 points above Sale, who in turn sit six points above Harlequins and seven above Gloucester, who are also eight and nine points above Newcastle.
If it wasn’t clear, PREM is currently a two-tier league and the 12th just confirmed that feeling.
READ MORE: PREM Rugby Team of the Week: England ‘hard to ignore’ after latest blockbuster as Henry Pollock ‘shushes’ critics.
#PREM #Rugby #Alan #Partridgeesque #incident #Geoff #Parling #caps #weekend #extraordinary #action