Prem Cup: What we learned from the opening round

The opening round of the Premiership Rugby Cup provided plenty of excitement as the race to follow in Gloucester Rugby’s footsteps got underway.

There were derby battles, emerging stars and plenty more across 10 intriguing encounters.

Here are the big takeaways:

Saints kids are alright

In Henry Pollock and Archie McParland, Northampton Saints have two of the brightest young talents who lined up for England Under-20s last season.

They both impressed in the 31-12 derby win over Leicester Tigers, but it is a third Under-20 graduate who showed just how valuable he could be.

Fly-half George Makepeace-Cubitt was something of an anomaly last season, included in the Under-20s set-up while playing his club rugby for Rams in the National Leagues.

He clearly impressed, and has looked good for Saints as Fin Smith’s back-up in the early weeks of the season.

With Smith currently in the England set-up, Makepeace-Cubitt had greater responsibility, and ran the game against Tigers.

His passing range stood out, notably in the lead-up to a try for Tom Litchfield, and he looks to have the skillset to slot straight into the Saints attack.

Ealing mean business again

A year ago, Ealing Trailfinders were the only team from the Championship to make it to the semi-finals.

If the opening round of this season’s competition is anything to go by, they will fancy their chances of doing it again.

A 29-19 win at home to Saracens was a dream start, with Reuben Bird-Tulloch crossing twice, including Trailfinders’ second try just five minutes in.

He had another, followed by a penalty try as Saracens failed to deal with the rolling maul, leaving Ealing 24-5 up at the break.

Angus Kernohan stretched the lead even further in the second half, and despite some late tries from Saracens, it was a comfortable Ealing win.

Next up is another London derby and a trip to the Stoop. Beat Harlequins and they will fancy their chances of another chance at a semi-final.

Chiefs look to build momentum with big win

It has been a tough start to the season for Exeter Chiefs, still searching for a first success of the campaign in Gallagher Premiership Rugby.

For a trip down to Mennaye Field, they named a strong side and the confidence should start to build after a 68-7 success.

The backline might have been filled with many first-team regulars, but 24-year-old Tommy Wyatt, on the comeback trail from injury, was still the oldest of the lot.

He might not have got on the scoresheet, but some of his colleagues certainly did, with Josh Hodge and Will Rigg grabbing two tries apiece. The star of the show was Paul Brown-Bampoe though, who managed a hat-trick as he continues to impress in his first season at the highest level.

Next up is a home clash with Hartpury as Chiefs look to start a cup run, two years on from winning this competition.

Sharks on top in match of the weekend

There was no question what the pick of the matches was this week, as Sale Sharks came from behind to earn a 43-37 win away to Doncaster Knights.

Trailing 27-17 at the break, with debutant Tom Currie among the scorers for Doncaster, Sale had it all to do.

They started a comeback, only to see former Shark Telusa Veainu get over to make it 37-29 just before the hour mark.

It remained that way until seven minutes to go, when Fred Davis went to the bin for collapsing a maul, conceding a penalty try in the process.

And there was still time for Jos Gilmore to win the match on debut, getting over with two minutes left to seal a dramatic comeback.