1) Width could help Goode oust Brown
Eddie Jones has talked about how he wants to evolve England’s attacking game and take it beyond the Premiership norm, keeping the ball in hand more and developing moves. It is one reason he has talked about needing players to come through and not just challenge those who won the grand slam but in some cases oust them. He may this summer have a decision to make at full-back where Mike Brown, the last line of defence for the last three seasons, is being challenged by Alex Goode. The two were on opposite sides at Wembley, Brown his usual bustling self, breaking out of challenges and taking the game to Saracens while Goode, who was named man of the match, has more subtle qualities, beating defenders through stealth rather than power. He is also, as a converted outside-half, the more adept passer with greater spatial awareness and it was Saracens who found the wide spaces at Wembley. Jones admires Brown’s bulldog spirit and the full-back is one of England’s leaders but it is Goode who better fits his attacking plan and the head coach will have a decision to make at 15. Paul Rees
• Match report: Saracens 22-12 Harlequins
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2) Gloucester and Exeter must define themselves
The final rounds of the Aviva Premiership will soon determine whether this battling home win at a damp Kingsholm was just a blip for both clubs. Exeter found it hard to stir themselves after the disappointment of their last-gasp European defeat by Wasps but opponents are also starting to work out ways of countering their rolling maul threat. The play-offs still loom but Exeter now need to beat Wasps at home and, probably, Harlequins away to have a chance of hosting a semi-final. Gloucester? Working out what the Cherry and Whites are going to do next is a puzzle which would strain the combined brains of Pythagoras, Einstein and Stephen Hawking, never mind poor David Humphreys. To lose dismally at home to Newport Gwent Dragons and then turn over the league’s second-placed team within a few days suggests a side with a split personality and the former Ireland outside-half is desperate to instil more consistency. “Talking to people who have been around the club for a few years it’s not necessarily a recent conundrum,” acknowledged Humphreys, whose side are eighth in the table. “It’s been the case for many years. The challenge for us is to find out why and then fix it. We know how good this team can be but something has been missing. We know that’s not acceptable and won’t get us to where we want to go.” Players like Ben Morgan and Matt Kvesic were among the forwards who rose to this particular occasion. “We said in midweek that in tough times you find out which players are willing to stand up,” said Humphreys. “Those are the players we want to drive this club forward.” Robert Kitson
• Match report: Gloucester 16-9 Exeter
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3) Thacker’s talents could be wasted in joke that is the scrum
If 50-metre tries and pinpoint cut-out passes were integral to the role of the hooker, Harry Thacker would be straight into the England team. The try he scored against Northampton, breaking from halfway and deceiving and out-pacing a number of defenders, might have been beyond most centres. “He’s a great footballer, isn’t he?” said Richard Cockerill. “And if he can cope in the scrum, which he’s managing to, his ability is as good as anybody’s.” The 22-year-old has put on a stone over the last year, bringing his weight up to just shy of 15st. For now he packs down at club level between two of the best props in the world. It remains to be seen whether he can translate his talents on to the international stage. But this was a bad day for the scrum in general. Aren’t they all? Tim Wigglesworth, the referee, was awarding penalties as if he were a weather vane. Rugby has many problems but the distribution of points according to a referee’s guess is the most damaging to its credibility as a serious sport. Never is that more obviously exposed than at the scrum. For the record Leicester benefited on the scoreboard 6-3, according to innocuous penalties conceded at scrum time, but there were more awarded beyond kicking range. Michael Aylwin
• Eddie Butler: Carter’s Racing have steel to survive deep in Leicester territory
• Match report: Northampton 24-30 Leicester
4) Relegation has to be sacrosanct
Newcastle’s managing director, Mick Hogan, is, hardly surprisingly, not an advocate of relegation from the Premiership, pointing to successful leagues in the United States and Australia that thrive without losing one club at the end of every season. This match would have had nothing on it but for the fear of the drop, a ghoulish attraction maybe but one that spooked the paying public into making it the biggest crowd of the season at Kingston Park. Would the Premiership gain from sacrificing emotion on the altar of corporatism? When the London Irish coach arrived at the ground it was met by many of the hundreds of supporters clad in green who had made the long journey to the north-east. How many would have been motivated to do so but for what was at stake? It is going to be difficult for most of the clubs in the Championship next season coping with opponents, assuming the Exiles do not pull off what would be the greatest of escapes, with facilities many Premiership sides cannot match. But rather than going on about the drawbacks of a system that allows those outside the elite to dream, should not attention be paid to investing some of the extra money pouring into the top flight into making the Championship fit for the purpose of a principle that is enshrined in the agreement between Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union? Paul Rees
• Match report: Newcastle 13-6 London Irish
