From Feyi-Waboso to Evans: the 2023-24 Premiership team of the season

We look at the XV who have lit up the Premiership this season, including Henry Slade and Courtney Lawes

15. Tyrone Green (Harlequins) Quins have the ability to cut any team apart and the revved-up Green has been brilliant all season. Increasingly confident under the high ball and an expert in picking “killer” lines, the 26-year-old looks a player with top-level instincts, whether it be for his native South Africa or England, for whom he will qualify via residency next year. Elliot Daly and George Furbank have also enjoyed fine campaigns.

14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter) The fastest-rising star in the land, having ripped it up for club and country since swapping life in National One with Taunton Titans for the Premiership last summer. Saturday’s thumping of Quins at Sandy Park summed up the all-court threat he now poses: strong in the tackle, alert to potential opportunities and hungry for the ball. All while studying medicine at Exeter University. As his coach, Rob Baxter, keeps stressing, he still has loads more improvement in him.

13. Henry Slade (Exeter) Plenty of competition for this jersey, with Bath’s Ollie Lawrence and Bristol’s Bernhard Janse van Rensburg among those jostling for it. No one has closed out tight matches this season more reliably, however, than Slade who has rebounded impressively following his omission from England’s World Cup squad. In addition to his assured all-round game he has also graduated as a first-rate goalkicker, having succeeded with his past 24 attempts from all angles.

12. André Esterhuizen (Harlequins) No departing Premiership player will leave a bigger hole than Esterhuizen when he heads back to South Africa at the end of this season. It will not only be Marcus Smith who misses his straight-running colleague: when Quins are at full throttle their Springbok centre is invariably a key cog. André The Giant was a World Cup winner with South Africa last autumn and will be forever remembered fondly in south west London.

11. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton) Some players are just natural-born finishers and Sleightholme is clearly in that category. The league’s top try-scorer has benefited from Saints’ positive-minded approach and looks to have the ability to follow his father, Jon, into international rugby. Fit, fast and purposeful, he has bagged 14 tries in 12 Premiership appearance this season. Sale’s Aaron Reed and Bath’s Will Muir have also been consistently sharp operators.

10. Finn Russell (Bath) Rugby is not a one-man game and neither are Bath wholly reliant on one individual. The difference in mindset since Russell has arrived at the Rec, however, has been impossible to ignore and the Scotland fly-half has more than justified his hefty salary. It is glaringly obvious how much Bath miss him when he is unavailable; when he plays the likes of Lawrence and Cameron Redpath come alive. Owen Farrell, Marcus and Fin Smith and Exeter’s steadily improving Harvey Skinner also deserve recognition.

9. Ben Spencer (Bath) The nod could easily go to Alex Mitchell, such a buzzing threat for Northampton, but Spencer has played significantly more minutes in the league and, in company with Russell, has transformed Bath’s self-belief. Whether it is his box-kicking, his defence, his support running, his captaincy or, when required, his goal kicking, there is an assurance about Spencer’s game that puts others at ease. Bristol’s Harry Randall has been a consistent menace, too.

1. Beno Obano (Bath) Plenty of worthy contenders for the No 1 jersey, with Quins’ Fin Baxter not far behind Feyi-Waboso as the breakthrough player of the year. Obano, though, has had such wretched luck with injuries that it has been a joy to see him play a full Premiership season and earn a Six Nations recall with England. When their big loosehead goes well, Bath generally do the same.

2. Curtis Langdon (Northampton) It helps to be playing in a table-topping team but Langdon has been at the heart of Saints’ improved fortunes. Having served his apprenticeship at Sale, Worcester and Montpellier he has propelled himself into the England tour conversation with a series of energetic performances and has also scored nine tries in all competitions. Leicester’s estimable Julián Montoya always gives his all and Jack Yeandle remains one of Exeter’s central pillars.

3. Thomas du Toit (Bath) The true gauge of Du Toit’s value will become apparent if he helps propel Bath to a first Premiership final for nine years. Johann van Graan has sought to rotate his pack but Du Toit’s 21-stone presence and strength close to the line – he has contributed 11 tries in all competitions – make him a potentially major end-of-season weapon. It says everything about the 37-year-old Dan Cole’s durability that he still merits a place on the podium.

4. Maro Itoje (Saracens) Two tries against Bristol at the weekend underlined the revitalised contribution Itoje has made to Saracens. Instead of saving the best of himself for England in a busy World Cup season, the 29-year-old has come back strong and motivated and seems determined to ensure that Farrell and the Vunipola brothers enjoy an appropriately successful send off. On his current form he remains a certain Lions tourist next summer.

5. Charlie Ewels (Bath) Has not been seen in an England jersey since receiving an early red card against Ireland two years ago. His post-injury desire to reinvent himself, however, has been admirable: he has been trying to get quicker and to attack the breakdown more effectively and his hard work has been paying off. There are few better restart catchers and an educational spell in South Africa with the Blue Bulls has also given him a new lease of life.

6. Courtney Lawes (Northampton) Soon he will be off to France but Lawes’s swansong season at his home town club has been memorable. If the Saints do march on to Twickenham this year the 35-year-old’s enduring excellence will be one of the main reasons why. It is a harsh call, nevertheless, on Juan Martín González, who has been outstanding for Saracens, Bath’s Ted Hill and Quins’ Chandler Cunningham-South, who could yet be Lawes’ long-term replacement for England.

7. Will Evans (Harlequins) Few put their body on the line as unstintingly as Evans, whose impact around the breakdown has been consistently influential. Persistent, skilful and brave, he also tops the league’s tackle charts and has featured in every one of his side’s Premiership games. It will not be his fault if Quins ultimately miss out on the play-offs, with Ben Earl and Andy Christie similarly influential for Saracens.

8. Zach Mercer (Gloucester) This has not been a season to remember for Gloucester, regardless of the outcome of next week’s Challenge Cup final. In a team that have spent lengthy periods under the cosh, however, Mercer has shown why the Cherry & Whites were so keen to lure him back from France. His consistent ability to make ground off the base of the scrum, allied to his highly versatile skillset, just edges out Bath’s Alfie Barbeary, Quins’ Alex Dombrandt and Exeter’s Greg Fisilau.

Ninety degrees

How best to assess Gloucester’s 90-0 – yes, that’s right, 90-0 – defeat by Northampton on Saturday? Of course Gloucester were resting players in preparation for their Challenge Cup final next week but even so. Squad rotation is part of the modern game and no other club, aside from rock-bottom Newcastle, have been so comprehensively flattened. But hold on. Saracens shipped 65 points to Exeter on the opening weekend and look where they are now. Harlequins also copped 58 points in Devon on Saturday, just six days after playing in a Champions Cup semi-final. There would appear to be a couple of dynamics at work here. Yes, Gloucester clearly fell below the standards required at this level. But, equally, English club teams are becoming more expert at preying on defensive weakness. Where once 50 points felt like an absolute thrashing it can now happen relatively easily if a side are only a couple of percentage points off. Gloucester clearly now need to win back the faith of their supporters but a 90-0 scoreline also partly reflects the quality and ruthlessness of the opposition.

One to watch

The final weekend of the regular Premiership season could yet yield a late twist or two. Saracens should beat Sale to cement a home semi-final but if the Sharks pull off a surprise win and Bath lose at home to Northampton there could be a very different look to the semi-finals. It has been a stop-start season, with the World Cup also looming over the early stages, but the run-in could be spectacular. The Breakdown’s predicted last four? Northampton, Saracens, Bath and Exeter.

Memory lane

On this day 26 years ago … Michael Lynagh and Philippe Sella wrapped up their outstanding careers at Vicarage Road. A raucous crowd of 9,117 was on hand to see them contribute to Sarries’ 43-20 victory over Northampton that took them to the top of the Premiership. With the pair having won the Tetley’s Bitter Cup final against Wasps four days earlier, Lynagh converted five tries and added a penalty to keep their side’s hopes of the league trophy alive.

Those hopes were dashed when Newcastle tonked Harlequins a few days later to secure the title by one point. But the pair still had their day, as Tony Diprose, Steve Ravenscroft, Richard Wallace and Marcus Olsen (two) all went over to make it a day of celebration. The France centre Sella signed off with 111 international caps to his name, and the Australia fly-half Lynagh exited with a career tally of 911 points. Both were world records at the time, and though since surpassed, plenty who saw them in their pomp would justifiably argue that they could have done a number on the modern game.

Still want more?

“I’d also love to play for the Lions. That’s every rugby player’s dream in the northern hemisphere. It would be amazing and unbelievable. But, again, there are so many good wingers out there” – the Exeter flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in conversation with Donald McRae.

Manu Tuilagi on his highs and lows in England as he prepares for a new start in France. “I won’t miss the weather,” he tells Aaron Bower.

Premiership action: Maro Itoje led Saracens to a commanding victory over Bristol; Exeter made light work of Harlequins, while Bath and Sale also brought up wins to keep the drama in the playoffs race rolling on.

The Wallaroos’ season got off to a sad and soggy start as they were defeated 33-14 by Canada.

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