2024/25 Rugby season underway: early standings and Internationals to come
The Gallagher Premiership, England’s 10-team professional league is 3 rounds into its 18 game season. While early days, some teams are stating their intentions with the promise of an exciting tussle ahead. Saracens head the table with a 3-0-0 record and 15 points including 3 bonus points. The Bristol Bears lie second, at 2-0-1 and 12 pts (4 bps)and Leicester Tigers and last year’s Runner-up, Bath are in third with 10 points and 2 bps apiece. Of particular note is the number of tries scored so far; 52 by these top 4 clubs alone including 15 by Bristol, no doubt pleasing for the spectators. Last year’s champions, Northampton Saints lie 5th in the table with 9 pts.
The URC, with teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, S. Africa and Italy, are also 3 games into their 18 game season and Irish powerhouse, Leinster are on top. With a 3-0-0 record and 3 bonus points they sit at 15 pts ahead of defending Champion Glasgow Warriors, Munster, Connacht and Cardiff, all with 2-0-1 records, 3 bps and 11 points apiece. The South Africans have yet to make their mark being a game behind due to an international season that stretched into late September. The Lions, Sharks, Bulls and Stormers will soon be in the headlines, no doubt. An abundance of tries here too with 73 scored so far by the top 5 teams.
France’s Top 14 started their season earlier than the others and are 5 games into their 26 match season. Union Bordeaux-Begles, last season’s runner-up, are on top with a 4-0-1 record and 18 pts sharing the honors with Stade Rochelais. 3 Teams have 3-0-2 records and 15 points: Castres Olympiques; RC Toulon and Stade Toulousain, last season’s Investec and Top 14 Champions.
After an intense Rugby Championship, South Africa have reinforced their standing as the best team in the world (even if World Rugby says its the Irish), dominating the opposition (except for 1 defeat in Argentina) and winning the competition by 8 points. New Zealand’s All Blacks have looked vulnerable losing twice to S. Africa and once to Argentina and were only able to take second place based on higher scoring than Argentina. Australia had a miserable campaign losing 5 of their 6 matches amid growing apprehension about the British & Irish Lion’s visit next year.
The major southern hemisphere teams will head north in November for a series of internationals against the cream of the northern. hemisphere crop. Key European home team matches are as follows:
ENGLAND: New Zealand 11/2; Australia 11/9; S. Africa 11/16; Japan 11/24
IRELAND: New Zealand 11/8; Argentina 11/15; Fiji 11/23; Australia 11/30
FRANCE: Japan 11/9; New Zealand 11/16; Argentina 11/22
SCOTLAND: S. Africa 11/10; Australia 11/24
WALES: Australia 11/17; S. Africa 11/23
ITALY: Argentina 11/9
Results and updates to follow.