PREM Rugby makes history after extraordinary opening weekend
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Trytime.
PREM Rugby made history on the opening weekend of the new season as the competition produced a record-breaking number of tries across Round 1.
A remarkable 52 tries were scored across the five matches, setting a new record for an opening round of the competition.
The action began with two games on Friday night, as Bath started their campaign with a 33-17 victory over Harlequins at The Stoop.
Defending champions Northampton Saints made an even bigger statement, running in nine tries during a 59-26 victory over Newcastle Red Bulls at Franklin’s Gardens.
The scoring continued on Saturday.
Gloucester hit the ground running with an impressive 45-24 victory away to Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park, while Bristol Bears also secured an away win with a 34-24 victory over Sale Sharks.
The opening round was then rounded off by an extraordinary contest between Leicester Tigers and Saracens at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Twelve tries were scored as Saracens eventually emerged with a dramatic 40-38 victory, despite playing part of the game with 14 men following a 20-minute red card for Nick Isiekwe.
Leicester winger Gabriel Hamer-Webb remarkably finished with a hat-trick on the losing side.
By the end of the weekend, the five fixtures had combined to produce 52 tries – the most ever scored in an opening round of PREM Rugby.
It comes at the beginning of a significant new chapter for English club rugby, with the competition now operating as a closed 10-team league and undergoing a major push to grow its audience and profile.
If the opening weekend is anything to go by, entertainment certainly shouldn’t be a problem.
