Blowouts in the Prem; consolidation in the URC and Top 14. April 19, 2026
The top teams in the Gallagher Premiership are doing their best to draw away from the pack. 4 of the top 5 had bonus points win in the 13th (of 18) rounds, only Exeter Chiefs failing to win but picking up 2 bonus points anyway which was enough to keep them in 4th place, 4 points ahead of the Bristol Bears. Apart from Exeter’s narrow home loss (28-25) to the league-leading Saints, the other top clubs fighting for the playoffs had blowout wins. Bristol scored 7 tries against Gloucester (53-12); Leicester Tigers scored 10 in a 62-3 win over Newcastle; and #2 Bath scored 8 tries against 9th-placed Harlequins. In addition, the 1 team, Saracens, who have a chance of catching the leaders put an extraordinary 13 tries past Sale Sharks, in Manchester. So with 5 rounds to play: 1) Saints on 57 pts; 2) Bath 56; 3) Tigers 51; 4) Exeter 47; 5) Bears 43, and 6) Saracens 38. Match of the weekend: Exeter vs. Saints , 14-14 at half-time and 28-28 until the 79th minute when Finn Smith scored the winning try, Key matches next weekend: #6 Saracens vs, #3 Tigers, and #1 Saints at home to #2 Bath.
In the United Rugby Championship, Glasgow Warriors and the DHL Stormers remain 1 and 2 despite both losing at the weekend, to the Lions and Connacht respectively. Leinster, winners at Ulster moved up a spot to 3rd as did the Lions, to 4th on their Glasgow victory; Ulster dropped 2 spots to 5th. Munster (now 6th) and Cardiff (now 7th) swapped positions despite both winning at the weekend and having identical records, the only differentiator being points difference. The Bulls stay in 8th, the last qualifying spot just 1 point ahead of Connacht whose victory over the Stormers in South Africa was a fine result indeed. With 3 rounds left to play before the QFs on May 30, Connacht is the only team with a realistic chance of making the playoffs. Next round (16 of 18), April 24 and 25.
In France’s Top 14, the top 2 places are unchanged with Stade Toulousain, winning at Castres and staying 12 points clear of Section Paloise who won away at Aviron. Montpelier moved back into 3rd after beating Perpignan while losses from Stade Francais Paris and UBB knocked them to 4th and 5th respectively. A bonus point win by ASM Clermont consolidated their 6th spot and Stade Rochelais bumped Castres out of 8th with an impressive win over last weekend’s Investec winners over Toulouse, UBB. With 5 more rounds to play there are plenty of clubs who could squeak into the playoffs commencing with the “Barrage” on June 13 and 14. Meanwhile, Toulouse looks impregnable at the top despite their QF loss in the Champions Cup.
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