PREM Round 5 review

It is time to take a breath in the Gallagher PREM after five action-packed weeks – but not before we have taken a look back at Round 5.

Northampton Saints head into the mini-break at the summit after beating Saracens under Friday night lights while Bath Rugby are on their tails following a derby win over Bristol Bears.

Exeter Chiefs sit third following their latest impressive victory, this time over Gloucester Rugby, while Leicester Tigers edged out Sale Sharks 36-35 in a thriller and Harlequins eased past Newcastle Red Bulls.

Here are 10 of the standout statistical headlines from Round 5.

• Henry Slade was the round’s top performer, scoring a match rating of 9.3. He scored two tries and a total of 22 points.
• There were four players who achieved 9+ match ratings, all of whom have been named in the England squad: Henry Slade (9.3), Maro Itoje (9.3), Tommy Freeman (9.2), and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (9.1).
• Henry Arundell recorded the round's highest metres per carry at 20.8 (1st in round) while making 146 carry distance (3rd in round).
• Tom Willis has made more carries than any other player this season (81) and beat 9 defenders in the latest round (most in round).
• Tommy Freeman topped the latest round with 8 initial breaks (1st) and 197 metres of carry distance (1st).
• JJ van der Mescht recorded 35 post-contact metres in the latest round (1st) and ranks 2nd in the league for dominant carries this season (17).
• Immanuel Feyi-Waboso leads the Premiership in tries scored (7) and offloads (15) this season.
• George Ford topped the kicking charts in the latest round with 444 kick metres (1st) while maintaining a perfect 100% goal kick success rate (joint 1st).
• Fitz Harding made 31 successful tackles in the latest round (most in round) and contributed 9 defensive ruck entries (4th).
• Marcus Smith was influential in the latest round with 3 try assists (joint 1st) and 6 successful goals (most in round).