Points pile-ups, old-school Saracens and a royal pint - Prem talking points

It is worth taking a step back to fully appreciate the scale of scoring in the Prem currently.

Ten seasons ago Northampton hosted Bath in round three.

As on Saturday, Saints won to end Bath's unbeaten start to the season. The score then was 24-6.

Northampton scored four tries - from Courtney Lawes, George North and David Ribbans (twice). Bath had only two penalties from Rhys Priestland to show for their visit.

This weekend it wasn't just a different game. It was like a different sport.

Between them the teams scored 18 tries en route to a ludicrous 71-48 scoreline.

The 119-point aggregate score was the second highest in English top-flight rugby history, beaten only by Northampton's 94-33 win over Bristol in May.

Those two games are part of a recent trend.

Five of the 10 top-flight games to have breached the 100-point barrier have come since the start of the 2023-24 season.

Looking back at that round of games from 2017-28, there were 26 tries in total across six matches, an average of 4.33 per game.

This weekend there were 50 in five games, an average of 10 per match.

That is an increase on even the first two rounds of this season, which delivered an average of 9.3 tries per game - the highest-scoring start to an English top-flight campaign since data specialists Opta began gathering the statistic in 2007-08.

"The game can be too slanted to attack," Northampton head coach Sam Vesty, whose speciality is attack, told BBC Sport after his side's win.

"I don't want to watch basketball, but we saw some fantastic rugby on both sides."

Vesty believes the current scoring spike is a product of laws of the game and the philosophy of the teams playing it.

"I think officiating [is one factor]," he said.

"The offside line is being reffed hotter; tackle height is lower so therefore people can keep the ball alive more quickly. Then there is the speed of the game - the ball is on a little longer so people are more fatigued.

"I also think there is more intent from teams, going out to score points, when that has not always been the case."

Former England head coach Eddie Jones was always sceptical about how well the Prem prepared players for the grind of Test rugby, where scores are invariably harder earned.

The flip into international action may take some acclimatisation for England's stars this autumn.

Saracens' throwback era

It isn't just the throwback kits and spiky presence of Brendan Venter that is giving a retro feeling to Saracens this season.

Defence coach Adam Powell's aim at the start of the season was not just plug some holes, but change the way the game is played in the Prem.

He told his players he wanted Saracens to challenge the dominance of attack and make defence a hallmark of the team, just as it was in their heyday last decade - the Wolfpack reformed.

They have started the season well on that front.

Only Gloucester have conceded fewer points, and keeping previously unbeaten Bristol to just seven points in a 30-7 victory was Saracens' most impressive defensive display of the season.

There was a heft to Sarries' pack with new signing George Martin paired with 6ft 9in prospect Olamide Sodeke in the second row and Maro Itoje, looking revitalised after his summer break, impressing at blind-side flanker.

Owen Farrell piloted the hosts well from fly-half, bringing his accuracy as well as his usual intensity.

Saracens' most destructive defensive force at home, though, might go unseen.

Bristol rested three players - Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua – because of concerns about their bodies, external holding up to playing on the artificial surface at the Stonex Stadium.

The Bears are not the only club who will avoid selecting players, external with particular injury histories on artificial surfaces.

With Newcastle's pitch having been relaid over the summer, and Gloucester's first put down in 2021, Saracens' surface is now the oldest of its type in the Prem.

It may be the one area where Saracens will look to the future soon.

After starting Northampton's first two games of the season, scrum-half Archie McParland had a bench role in the win over Bath.

The 21-year-old, who would have toured with England this summer but for lacerated leg suffered in the Prem final win over Exeter, got on for the final 20 minutes against Bath.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Charlie Bracken got 40 minutes on his first start of the season for Saracens in their win over Bristol, providing speedy service and aiming some well-judged bombs for brother Jack to chase.