Five Premiership Rugby talking points

George Ford does not want to rest.

The 32-year-old had played only 93 minutes of rugby in 2025 before Sale's meeting with Newcastle.

He has spent a whole lot longer holding tackle shields for England, with Marcus Smith and Fin Smith restricting him to only a second-half cameo against Wales during the Six Nations.

Ford came on at the Principality Stadium and produced some touches of 24-carat quality, setting up a pair of tries, the first with a bullwhip mispass and the second with a disguised inside pop.

There was plenty more for his highlight reel at Kingston Park. Ford snapped an inch-perfect cross-kick for Joe Carpenter to score out wide after putting Tom O'Flaherty in with blurringly quick hands.

Afterwards, Sale boss Alex Sanderson was talking up Ford's potentially last shot at British and Irish Lions selection.

"If George plays like that in the next seven games, it would be very hard not to pick him," said Sanderson.

"You learn best from your peers and particularly in a Lions squad where you've got to bring people together, George is a brilliant character at doing that.

"He helps me out all the time with that. There are loads of factors that lead into him being a good option for the Lions."

Doing it against Newcastle and Wales – both bottom of their tables – is one thing.

However, if Ford can produce similar magic away to Toulouse in the Champions Cup on 6 April, then Lions coach Andy Farrell, who has known Ford since he was a boy, will find his case even harder to resist.

4,739 days.

Harlequins' wait for an away win over London rivals Saracens has been a long one, going back to March 2012 and a showpiece game under the Wembley arch.

In the shining surrounds of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it seemed like Quins' losing streak at the neighbours might stretch even longer.

Saracens, who included England captains past and present Maro Itoje and Jamie George, among a host of internationals in their line-up, led 12-0 at half-time.

But unheralded 22-year-old fly-half Jamie Benson, making only his fourth Premiership appearance, stole the show by the end, steering Quins home via five out of five successful kicks off the tee.

Having played for England Under-20s alongside Quins team-mates Fin Baxter and Chandler Cunningham-South, Benson's progress has been slowed by his completing a Natural Sciences degree at Cambridge University.

During his time as a student he has also played in three Varsity Matches, a fixture which in its 1980s heyday featured future internationals Rob Andrew and Stuart Barnes facing off at fly-half.

Could Benson revive that tradition?

Meanwhile, Saracens are in danger of breaking their own tradition.

You have to go back 16 seasons to find one, unaffected by their 2020 points deduction and subsequent relegation, in which they have failed to make the Premiership play-offs.

Currently seventh, they play Leicester, Gloucester and Sale, all above them in the table, in their next three matches.

"We'll just have to do it next year now."

At the end of last year's Premiership final, Finn Russell made a vow to head coach Johann van Graan that Bath would return and go one better than their defeat by Northampton.

They certainly are going the right way about it.

Eleven points clear of third, they surged on towards a home semi-final with a 42-26 win over Gloucester, in which flanker Guy Pepper was superb.

It wasn't as comfortable as that scoreline might suggest. After an hour, Bath's lead was just two points.

For that they had Will Muir to thank. The wing had produced an extraordinary charge-down of Santi Carreras' first-half conversion, flying off the line to block from bang in front.

It was an act that summed up the hunger of a team that has won eight of their past nine matches.

England coach Steve Borthwick has said that the Premiership's stand-and-deliver slugfests are not ideal preparation for tighter Test rugby.

He could probably ignore much of Bristol's 52-38 win over Exeter. It was hard for anyone else to take their eyes off it though.

The first 18 minutes alone featured seven tries.

Bristol conceding a score before centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg caught Harry Byrne's restart and cantered straight in at the other end summed up a madcap opening.

The impressive Josh Hodge showed deft footwork to control the ball on the bounce before scorching in for the visitors.

Featuring 64 points, it was the highest-scoring first half in Premiership history. And it was always likely to happen at Ashton Gate.

No team has scored more tries than Bristol this season. But only one – Newcastle – has conceded more.

All a bit 'defence optional' as the critics say.

Bristol number eight Viliame Mata might beg to differ though. His shuddering, legal hit on Henry Slade was wince-inducing.

Add in the first instance of a mic'ed-up referee making a call to a Premiership crowd over the tannoy, with Karl Dickson dismissing Santiago Grondona with an almost old-fashioned straight red, and everyone got value for money.

Even Henry Pollock couldn't rescue Northampton's Friday night.

The 20-year-old flanker, fresh from scoring two tries on his England debut, was brought on off the bench early in the second half against Leicester, with the Tigers already 23-0 up.

Two minutes later, a trademark electric burst almost brought him a try.

He went under the sticks shortly after, only to see his score ruled out for a knock-on earlier in the passage of play.

In all, he made 89 metres ball in hand, the fourth-most of any player this weekend.

Ultimately though, his tapped penalty and fluffed pass, close to his own line, handed Leicester their fourth try and a bonus point late on.

Leicester prop Dan Cole, who enjoyed his evening at Franklin's Gardens, clapped heartily as he and Pollock watched the mess unfold from the floor.

It was a brutal evening for Saints fans, who saw their side fail to score a single point at home for the first time in Premiership history.

A story linking fly-half Fin Smith with a move to Leicester at the end of next season capped a miserable weekend., external