Round 7 takeaways: Chiefs charging as Bath lock in Christmas No.1

Christmas is always a significant junction in the Gallagher PREM season and the first batch of this year’s Festive Fixtures certainly lived up to the billing.

Exeter Chiefs scored three late tries to snatch a famous win at Saracens in one of the performances of the season to move second in the table.

Bath Rugby ensured they are the Christmas number one with a handsome win at Newcastle Red Bulls, while Northampton Saints blew away Sale Sharks.

Elsewhere, Bristol Bears stunned Harlequins in Big Game, and Leicester Tigers eased past Gloucester Rugby on Friday night.

CHIEFS ARE BACK

Christmas tends to be a time for reliving old memories and anyone at StoneX Stadium on Saturday certainly did that.

Saracens and Exeter Chiefs once ruled the Gallagher PREM and match-ups between the two behemoths were must-watch TV, with three PREM Finals contested in the second half of the 2010s.

Saracens came out on top each time, while Chiefs won two titles of their own, and it was the Devonians who laid down a marker here with an immense comeback victory for their first success at the StoneX in eight years.

After an awful 2024-2025 season, the Chiefs showed everyone they are back, and quicker than anyone thought possible. They struggled to a ninth-place finish in the league last season and made headlines when they suffered a record PREM defeat – 79-17 at Gloucester in April.

That loss brought change. Rob Baxter was placed back in charge of coaching and the effect has been dramatic. This was their fifth win of the season and they head off for their Christmas turkey second in the table.

Saracens seemed to have this sewn up. They led 24-13 with 20 minutes to go but Exeter scored three tries, including a double from Greg Fisilau and a late bonus-point-clinching score from Henry Slade.

That Chiefs had three players in the bin and conceded 16 penalties in the match made their win all the more remarkable.

"The lads never look down and out do they?” said Baxter.

“They get on with it, they get up and they fight, and we've talked a lot at times about sometimes just getting off the floor and getting a fight and a little tackle gets made, forcing a knock-on, you force one more error, you just stay in the fight and I think today was a perfect example.

"We stayed in the fight long enough to get things to go our way, then eventually they did."

BEARS BURST QUINS’ BIG GAME BUBBLE

With so much attention on PREM giants Bath and Leicester, perennial champions Saracens, and a rejuvenated Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints, Bristol Bears have flown somewhat under the radar.

Perhaps no more. Their 40-14 takedown of Harlequins at Big Game certainly grabbed the attention as they racked up their fifth win of the season to underline their title credentials.

Bears were excellent. They tore Harlequins apart in the first half with some ruthless attacking rugby that proved to be Quins’ nightmare before Christmas.

Everything Bears tried came off. Even Ellis Genge scored a stunning 50-metre try at Allianz Stadium, while Kalaveti Ravouvou, Joe Batley, Gabriel Oghre and Louis Rees-Zammit helped them to a 26-0 half-time lead.

Bears’ early-season injuries – with key first-team players like AJ MacGinty and Harry Randall ruled out long-term – has certainly hurt them but they now have back-to-back home games against Newcastle Red Bulls and Sale Sharks.

Take 10 points there and they will surely leap into the play-offs and be sitting very pretty ahead of a crunch late-January trip to Exeter.

On this evidence, you would not back against them.

HENDY UNDERLINES STAR CREDENTIALS

While rumours surrounding George Furbank’s future continue to persist, Northampton Saints fans can take solace from the fact that, if he does leave next summer, they have a more-than capable replacement.

George Hendy was once again outstanding as the Saints eased past Sale Sharks 47-21 to further strengthen their position inside the top four at Christmas.

Hendy, who played on the wing while Furbank was at full-back, has now scored six tries in his past three games, with a mixture of pace, tenacity and intelligence making him a nightmare for defenders to play against.

Furbank’s injury-hit year has opened the door for Hendy to play at full-back and while he is versatile enough to play across the back three, No.15 might well end up being his home.

"I won't be eating too much at Christmas with Bath two days after!" Hendy said.

"As a winger, crossing the try line is always good fun. We put in a good performance to get a good result against Sale, especially in that first 20 minutes, we really came out firing.

"We knew it was going to be a scrap against Sale because they pride themselves on physicality, similar to the Bulls and Pau the week before that so we had a good run of form in Europe and wanted to take it into the PREM.

"We're a team where if we do our basics well, only good things are going to happen.”