The faces said it all as Leicester crashed to a 45-0 loss at Bath © Getty Images

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Tough for the Tigers

Bath's demolition of Leicester Tigers at The Rec was the performance of the weekend and credit to Leicester's coach Richard Cockerill for not trying to find excuses or hiding places after the final whistle, admitting candidly that his side "got their backsides smacked". It is also fair to suggest that when they resume training, the Leicester players might find the level stepped up a few notches. "You get beaten 45-0 away from home, you're gonna get the piss taken out of you," Cockerill said. "You get what you deserve. Suck it up and get on with it."

The best reply to critics

There are some who seem to pounce on any dip in form from Chris Robshaw to call for his removal as England captain. At times, it seems one bad match can cause them to put pen to paper. So it was heartening to see him play such an inspirational role in Harlequins win over Wasps. And while Robshaw was content to let his performance speak for itself, Quins coach Connor O'Shea was less shy and retiring. "It's absolutely ridiculous if there's an agenda against a player as outstanding as him. It's sad, absolutely sad. Someone at the club asked if I wanted to see the press clippings and I told them where to put them. The criticism was absolutely ridiculous. He's been outstanding for England and outstanding for Quins. He is an absolutely magnificent rugby player and any team would be lesser without him." Enough said.

A two-horse race

Accepting the Premiership is a marathon not a sprint, it is hard to imagine the relegation fight will not come down to a straight battle between Newcastle and London Welsh. Newcastle survived last season because Worcester could not manage to win a few games that were theirs for the taking, and they may get lucky again because the Exiles defence is, at times, non-existent - they have already shipped 151 points in three matches, almost 25% of the total they conceded in 22 games in their last stint in the Premiership. The two dates which could decide matters are October 11 and January 11 when the two clubs go head to head.

Aaron Cruden and several All Blacks players enjoyed a night out before flying out to Argentina ... the difference is all of Cruden's team-mates made it to the airport the next day © Facebook

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Self control?

With the trappings of professionalism comes the need to act professionally. It is actually not that hard and thousands of sportsmen manage it quietly and competently. It might mean you cannot go out and get wasted whenever you want but that is a small price to pay for the rewards on offer, especially to the top players. Instead of going partying, head back to the hotel. Which makes Aaron Cruden's behaviour - which he described as being "a poor decision regarding the limits of my alcohol intake" - when he missed the All Blacks' flight to Argentina after a heavy night all the more unforgiveable. Either he has a deeper problem, in which case he needs help and support, or he needs to grow up.

Good for a quote?

Sport (and especially sport writers) needs the occasional eccentric owner with unusual opinions and a useable quote almost every time they open their mouths. But there's a thin line between being a maverick and being a destructive force at your club, and it's hard not to see Toulon's Mourad Boudjellal, for all his commercial and on-field success, as slipping towards the latter category. His mutterings about the unavailability of players during rest weekends in the Rugby Championship and threats to go to court to get them released make for good copy but when he signs internationals he knows exactly what the deal is. As for his odd outpourings about Leigh Halfpenny … this is, after all, a man who in the past has labelled French rugby as racist, referred to "referring sodomy" after a loss to Clermont, and described his own team as "prize idiots".

Feeding the hooker in the game between Cranleigh and Epsom © Scrum.com

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Crooked feed

Lower-level rugby gives spectators a chance to be right up close to the action. Watching a good-standard school match on Saturday, it became blindingly clear that the put-in at a scrum is now an almost farcical exercise if it is meant to be a competitive re-start, with the scrum-half not even required to pretend to insert the ball straight. A quietly competent county referee was happy for the ball to be rolled almost behind the hooker's foot, making it all but impossible for his opposing number to have any chance of taking it against the head. If such blatant behaviour was allowed at lineouts there would be an outcry, and yet it is less obvious in scrums so it continues with tacit approval from the powers that be. The IRB tried to tackle this at the start of last season but referees soon gave up. As a result, rugby has lost one of the things that is at its heart.

If the cap fits

The changes to the Premiership salary cap and the increase to two marquee players per club has been widely welcomed but with the caveat that it could increase the gulf between the rich clubs - those with mega-wealthy owners willing to bankroll them - and the rest, much as has happened in football, and force some clubs to gamble on success and risk going broke.

Common sense suggests that clubs should spend what they can afford, but this is sport and common sense is usually one of the last things factored into decisions. Several coaches have voiced concerns at chasing more leading players and the risks involved, but all have been realistic enough to admit that when the order comes down from the board that those running the club want them, it will happen.