With Englands players - Henry Slade apart - locked into autumn preparations, this weekend's Premiership action gave space for others to press their Test case to Steve Borthwick.

And it was the back row players that were front and centre.

There was pain for one young gun as 21-year-old Guy Pepper - a stand-out with struggling Newcastle last season, whose form has continued to run hot at Bath -limped out of the win over Sale, while Henry Pollock, just 19, was busy for Northampton, racking up more metres, carries and tackles than any other Saints forward in defeat by Bristol.

It was those further up the age range though that really caught the eye.

Tom Pearson combined rock-solid shoulders with feather-soft hands, superbly laying on tries for Josh Kemeny and George Hendy in the opening 20 minutes against Bristol, while Fitz Harding, fresh off a hat-trick last week, was a key part of the Bears' fearsome comeback.

Jack Kenningham and Will Evans, who top the league's turnover stats with 11 and nine respectively, continued their Hooper-Pocock tribute act in Harlequins' win over Exeter, while Newcastle's Callum Chick raged against defeat at Gloucester.

However, Ted Hill and Tom Willis - the most obvious omissions from England's initial squad last week - made the most obvious claims.

Bath's Hill mixed glorious galloping breaks with an unstinting dedication to the grunt work, while Willis punched a 96m-deep black hole in Leicester's defence in a display reminiscent of his Saracens' number eight predecessor Billy Vunipola.

Hill was called up to England's squad on Sunday evening as cover for the injured Ollie Chessum. Willis, meanwhile, still waits.