"Derby Delight" - Five England Hopefuls Who Impressed in the Premiership Last Weekend

We were treated to two matches under the 'Friday night lights', with the Somerset and Northern derbies kicking off the weekend's fixtures. Bath secured a narrow 20-19 win over Bristol Bears, with England centre Ollie Lawrence continuing his fine run of form back in blue, black and white. Newcastle looked out of their depth against Sale Sharks, and continue to search for their first win of the Premiership season. A rampant Sharks side did not relent in the 40-22 win, and are back at the surface as league leaders.

The East Midland's derby was a milestone match for Ben Youngs, as the Leicester Tigers scrum-half ran out for a record setting 28th derby-day match against Northampton Saints. The Tigers achieved the win at Welford Road, as the 26-17 triumph wrote the latest chapter in this storied Premiership rivalry. This was followed by Saturday evening's London derby, which saw a ruthless Saracens side run riot on Harlequins at the Stoop. Sarries were not hindered by the pre-match injuries to England stars Ben Earl and Elliot Daly, as Owen Farrell's remarkable performance inspired the North Londoners to victory.

Rounding off the weekend's matches was an exhilarating contest down in Devon, as Exeter Chiefs secured the win over Gloucester by the skin of their teeth. A penalty in the last kick of the game was expertly slotted by Henry Slade, which handed the Chiefs a one-point lead for the 25-24 win. Slade's classing showing at Sandy Park is one of our five picks for the weekend's top performers, as England hopefuls continue to impress in the Premiership, ahead of next February's 2024 Six Nations.

Here are RUCK's picks for the five England hopefuls, who impressed in Round Six of the Gallagher Premiership.

Last seen in the England fold back in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final, Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer has certainly stepped-up in recent performances in blue, black and white. Spencer had a stunning run out against Bristol Bears on Friday, and got the upper hand on his opposite man Harry Randall throughout the contest. With Ben Youngs stepping down from international duties, a vacancy has opened up in the England camp that both the Bath and Bristol scrum-halves are eager to fill.

Spencer distributed quick-ball at a rate of knots against Bristol, with the Recreation Ground faithful delighted by their number nine's work rate around the park. Spencer was a popular try-scorer as he crossed over after 17 minutes. The break away began through the red-hot Lawrence making a line-break, with the centre linking up to Cameron Redpath, who then off-loaded in contact to Spencer. The 31-year-old kicked into top gear from the Bristol 10m line, and showed electric pace to win the foot-race against Randall, before sliding into the corner.

Spencer has four tries to his name already this season, following the stunning hat-trick against Newcastle on the Premiership's opening weekend. The scrum-half ran out a clinical display in the West Country clash, and was ever-present to provide the ammunition for Finn Russell at first receiver. An excellent performance, Spencer won the positional battle with Randall, and has certainly thrown his hat into the ring as an outside shout for the 2024 Six Nations.

The Sale Sharks wing has had another excellent performance, and makes our list of five impressive England hopefuls for the second consecutive week. Reed now has five tries in three games, and has been integral in Sale's recent rise to the top of the Premiership table. Flying down the left wing like a bullet from a gun, Reed's raw pace must be on the radar of Steve Borthwick by now.

The 24-year-old added two more tries to his tally for the season, which including the Premiership Rugby Cup win against Bedford Blues, sits at six for 2023/24. Reed's first score against Newcastle came after just 10 minutes, and saw Sale respond to the Falcon's early try through Premiership debutant Louis Brown (a contender for our list). After Tom Roebuck stabbed the ball through the Falcons defence with a grubber kick, Reed chased the ball down, and was fastest to react to a fumbled recovery for the try.

Reed's second score showcased his power over the gain-line, as a move straight from the training ground tore through the Falcons defence. After retaining the ball with a scrum, possession was shipped to Rob du Preez, with Reed into the midfield off his touchline for a blistering carry up the centre channel. Reed exploded through the first tackle attempt, and his momentum took him over the try-line to strech Sale's lead with a first half brace.

3. Joe Heyes - Leicester Tigers

Leicester's bruising tight-head prop, Joe Heyes could well have stamped his name on an England return, for the 2024 Six Nations after an epic contribution in the East Midland's derby. Given the nod to start ahead of veteran prop Dan Cole, Heyes once again looked like a serious contender for the future of England's number three jersey last Saturday. Heyes was immovable at scrum-time, and often sent experienced Leicester loose-head Alex Waller onto the back-foot.

Heyes also presented a strong base at the line-out, elevating Ollie Chessum to new heights to win the arial battle at the set-piece. Heyes drove his mauling pack down field, and looked to have instigated an opening try for Charlie Clare, yet the hooker's efforts were ruled out after Solomone Kata's obstruction. The tight-head impressed the Welford Road faithful in the early Premiership rounds whilst Cole was away on World Cup duties, and continued to show his battering talents in his hard-hitting derby classic.

After being given his England debut by Eddie Jones in the Summer of 2021, Heyes has often been on the international fringes. The 24-year-old has not yet gained selection from of his former Leicester Tigers Head Coach Steve Borthwick, with his latest England cap to date coming in last Autumn's against Japan. However, England have entered a new World Cup cycle, with Cole's time in an England jersey looking to be winding down. Also, Kyle Sinckler has been heavily linked with a move to Toulon ahead of the 2024/25 season, which could open up two tight-head vacancies for Heyes, in the not so distant future.

4. Tom Parton - Saracens

One of the stand-out talents of a star-studded derby, Tom Parton had an impressive run-out against Harlequins to take the capital city's bragging rights back up to North London. Predominantly a fullback, Parton's presented good versatility to move out to the left wing as Elliot Daly was injured in the pre-match warm-up. Despite this late change to the script, Parton did not forget any of his lines. He lit up the Twickenham Stoop with some exciting runs along the left touchline, and crossed over the Quins try-line to score with the match all but won.

Coming on the hour mark, the plaudits went to Alex Goode for the assist, as the fullback juggled the ball and fizzed a pass out wide to find Parton. The 25-year-old had bounds of space to cruise into, and dived to score, despite the last-ditch efforts of Marcus Smith to make a covering tackle. A new arrival at the Stone X Stadium, Parton has long been begrudgingly known by Harlequins fans, due to his tenure as London Irish's first choice fullback.

Parton was promptly snapped up by Saracens following the financial collapse of the Exiles, and he has previously enjoyed seasonal spells at London Scottish in the Championship. His well-rounded game was presented against Quins, as he was confident under the high ball and made his first up tackles on the Harlequins danger-men. Parton is in an idyllic position to push on for a spot in Borthwick's wider-training squad, and could well get a call-up for the Six Nations.

Rounding off our picks for round six is Henry Slade, who looks like a back-able bet for a re-calling to the England squad. Slade has taken his Rugby World Cup exclusion in his stride, and in the off-season must have worked tirelessly to improve his game ahead of the new season. The 30-year-old has also taken over the kicking duties at Sandy Park, following Joe Simmonds' exit to Pau back at the end of last season. Slade struck the match-winning penalty to seal a late victory against Gloucester, with Exeter returning to winning form.

Called into Borthwick's wider training squad for the trip to France, Slade was a suprising cut following the opening Summer Nations Series defeat to Wales. Borthwick is currently lacking a specialist outside centre, with Joe Marchant's departure to Stade Francais writing him out of any future England involvements. The Chiefs man is a front-runner for the vacancy, and could well re-unite with Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence, to jostle amongst the midfield pecking order.

Slade was a class act against Gloucester, and shone brightest in his try-assist for Daffyd Jenkins. Making a smart move inside to split the Cherry and White defence, Slade broke away from the visitors, before playing in his captain to score a simple two-on-one finish. The centre kept his nerve to nail the final kick of the game, and sealed the Devonshire club a memorable derby day win with the clock in the red.