Following the conclusion of round three of the 2026/27 PREM Rugby season, here is the latest Planet Rugby Team of the Week.
There were big wins for Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, Saracens, Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks across the league this weekend, pulling the table closer together once again and ending the last remaining 100% records in the process.
Without further ado, here is who made our PREM XV!
PREM Rugby Team of the Week
15 James Pater (Northampton Saints): Back in the Saints starting XV and back in our Team of the Week! The youngster yet again looked incredibly steady and mature in back-field and made several significant attacking contributions in a big win over Bath. Also got a try for his efforts, which capped off a nice display. Sam Harris went well for Exeter.
14 Christian Wade (Newcastle Red Bulls): He’s getting ever closer to that record, and a fine hat-trick against Exeter on Sunday put him in touching distance. Aside from his try-scoring exploits, Wade seemed a real point of difference in the Red Bulls’ attack at Sandy Park, with his pace and quick-feet making him a real handful for the Chiefs defence. Noah Caluori had the shirt until Sunday.
13 Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints): Quietly impressive work from the Scotland international, who edges in ahead of Lucio Cinti this weekend. Just seemed to be on hand whenever Northampton needed him, be it in the carry or with his extra playmaking skills, and got himself a try along the way.
12 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs): We’re cheating slightly here given he actually played at 13, but Slade gets the nod at 12 this weekend after a strong outing against Newcastle. Always seemed to make something happen for his side whenever given time on the ball, particularly in the carry, and also bagged himself a tidy haul of 14 points in the process. Sione Va’eneku can feel hard done by to miss out this weekend, though.
11 Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints): A roaring return to form for the England international, who would have sent a message to Steve Borthwick ahead of the November Tests in the process. He was unplayable at times in Saints’ win over Bath, blending serious pace to glide past defenders in the wide channels with genuine power and punch in the tight to make metres a back-rower would have been proud to chew up. Jack Bracken impressed for Saracens.
10 Fin Smith (Northampton Saints): The hardest position to choose this weekend, with Finn Russell and Marcus Smith catching the eye, but we’ve just got Northampton’s Smith in the side. He again had absolute control of Saints’ attack in their thumping win over Bath, injecting proper pace and tempo into their play and offering his own threat at the line when needed. He also got himself on the scoresheet with a tally of 22 points to cap off a fine day’s work.
9 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints): It’s an all-Northampton half-back pairing, with Mitchell getting the nod at scrum-half over Charlie Bracken. His desire to play quickly from the base of the ruck added a lovely dynamic to Saints’ play on Saturday, combining beautifully with F. Smith in the process, and that played a crucial role in their runaway score.
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8 Ben Earl (Saracens): A good weekend for number eights, with Olly Cracknell and Arthur Green both close to this side, but Earl gets the shirt this weekend. Worked his absolute socks off in a game that called for grit and determination, contributing massively on both sides of the ball and ultimately helping drive Saracens to victory.
7 Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs): You wouldn’t have known this was his first game of the new season, with the Italian international deservedly named Player of the Match in Exeter’s win over Newcastle. His two tries will take the headlines, but that was the result of some lovely work ball-in-hand, blending a role as Exeter’s wide forward with steel in the tight exchanges, and he also threw his body on the line at the breakdown too. Tommy Reffell had the shirt until Sunday.
6 Maro Itoje (Saracens): It seems it doesn’t matter where you deploy Itoje, he will have a huge effect on the game, and that was the case on Saturday with a Player of the Game performance at blindside flanker. The England skipper just made himself a real thorn in Bristol’s side at the StoneX, getting stuck into the breakdown and defensive work while bossing the lineout as Saracens ran away with the game. Aaron Wainwright again impressed for Leicester.
5 Alex Coles (Northampton Saints): The headlines from Northampton’s win might be dominated by their backline, but Coles was a real standout in their win over Bath. The lock offered his services in a slightly different way to normal, being shifted out wider, but he had a huge impact there and got himself on the scoreboard in the process. That also came after some lovely work in the tight, too. Ernst van Rhyn was not far off.
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4 Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks): George Martin was very close, but Bamber yet again made himself known in Sale’s win over Harlequins. Just rolled up his sleeves and went looking for work in the tight, which played a key in their big comeback and victory.
3 Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers): Could have been a number of players, with Bachuki Tchumbadze, Josh Iosefa-Scott and Cleopas Kundiona impressing, but Heyes is our man at tighthead. This just felt like a statement display from the England international, who is in great form at the moment, and his power upfront stemmed Gloucester’s flow and helped power the Tigers to victory.
2 Nathan Jibulu (Sale Sharks): Another big weekend for the Sale hooker, who is taking a giant stride towards the England squad. Just seems to be maturing at a rate of knots this year, looking immensely powerful in the tight and going pretty well at the set-piece, the area where hookers should be judged above all. Curtis Langdon and Kepu Tuipulotu both went well at the DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
1 Archie van der Flier (Leicester Tigers): The rarest of accolades for a front-rower to win Player of the Match, but England hopeful Van der Flier was full value for the gong against Gloucester. Nailed the nuts and bolts of a loosehead and always looked for ways to get involved in the loose. Phil Brantingham caught the eye for Saracens as well.