Premiership Rugby Statistics

After a record-breaking performance for Leicester Tigers on the opening day of the new Primiership season, edging out Gloucester Rugby 38-31, Richard Cockerill’s men have won seven of their last nine league matches against the Cherry & Whites.

Trailing 31-7 with half an hour remaining, Leicester punched back the 24-point deficit to win the game and notch up the biggest comeback in the club’s 136-year history.

Gloucester meanwhile have lost the last four Premiership games in which they have led at the break.

New signing JP Pietersen was directly involved in three of Leicester’s tries, scoring one and assisting two, which was more than any other player over the whole weekend.

Powerful forward Billy Vunipola made the most carries of anyone with 23, as Saracens started the defence of their title with a 35-3 win over Worcester Warriors.

Saracens won on the opening day for the fifth time in a row, stretching their dominance over Worcester to six straight wins, accumulating more than 30 points each time.

Sunday’s 25-20 victory over Exeter Chiefs maintained Wasps' home record – which has seen them win every Premiership game at the Ricoh Arena in 2016.

The two sides have built quite the rivalry in the last two seasons, and the first win in four league encounters will taste extra sweet for Wasps after losing in the semi-final to the Chiefs last season.

Dai Young’s men also banished their opening-day blues, which has seen them lose their last four round one matches.

Elsewhere, fly-half George Ford kicked off the Todd Blackadder era at Bath Rugby with a narrow 18-14 win at Northampton Saints.

Ford slotted over two drop-goals, just two shy of last season’s entire tally of four, while the result ended Bath’s ten-game wait for a win.

Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks played out another close battle, with the home side’s 19-17 win becoming the latest of ten consecutive games where the margin has been eight points or less, including two draws.

Sinoti Sinoti put in an eye-catching performance and no other player beat defenders more than him and Sean Maitland with seven.

Elsewhere, Bristol Rugby became the latest newly-promoted side to lose to Harlequins, who extended their favourable record to ten wins from 11 matches against the Aviva Premiership Rugby’s new boys – with last season’s defeat to Worcester the only blemish.

And Bristol fly-half Tusi Pisi gained 137 metres, more than any other player and the most by a fly-half since Shane Geraghty’s 167 against Northampton in April 2014.

Tackles
Marco Mama (Worcester), TJ Ioane (Sale) – 19
Tommy Taylor (Wasps) – 18
 
Carries
Billy Vunipola (Saracens) – 23
Tom Marshall (Gloucester Rugby), TJ Ioane (Sale Sharks)  – 18
 
Metres Made
Tusi Pisi (Worcester) – 137
Sinoti Sinoti (Newcastle) – 100
Christian Wade (Wasps) – 93
 
Defenders beaten
Sean Maitland (Saracens), Sinoti Sinoti (Newcastle) – 7
Tom Marshall (Gloucester Rugby) – 6
 
Offloads
Billy Vunipola (Saracens) – 5
Louis Picamoles (Northampton), Chris Harris (Newcastle) – 4
 
Lineouts won
Calum Green (Newcastle) – 7
Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Maro Itoje (Saracens) - 6