This is Leicestershire --Leicester Mercury rugby correspondent Martin Crowson looks back at five key points from the weekend's rugby action.
*1* The new scrum laws have already created much controversy this season. The Premiership and the International Rugby Board are desperate for them to work, while many Premiership directors of rugby have grave reservations about them. All new laws need time to bed in and these must be given that time, too. But Sunday's game at Welford Road – which saw Leicester Tigers beat Worcester 32-15 – was a poor spectacle at the set-piece, and both directors of rugby have genuine concerns that the new ideas will not work. Richard Cockerill has openly criticised them and, when Worcester's Dean Ryan was asked if he thought they would 'sort themselves out' this season, he laughed and said: "I doubt it. It's a very complex problem."
*2*It may have only been the first game of the season, but Tigers had 13 players either injured or unavailable against Worcester. They were Ayerza, Hawkins, Kitchener, Mafi, B Youngs, Flood, Benjamin, Smith, Tuilagi, Camacho, Tait, Hamilton and Harrison.
*3* There were some good stories from around the Premiership on the opening weekend. Bath produced a superb performance to win at a rain-sodden Newcastle, while former Tiger Andy Goode nearly had a dream start to his Wasps career but his potentially game-winning kick from the touchline at Twickenham hit a post with time expired. And a much-maligned Sale recorded a memorable away win against Gloucester in front of The Shed, with a try from another former Tiger, Andy Forsyth, a key part of their triumph.
*4*Love them or loathe them, the new scrum laws will put referees under intense pressure for one part of the new engagement this season – and that will come when the scrum-halves put the ball in. Quite rightly, Sunday's young referee Luke Pearce, who had a good game, penalised both David Mele and Jeremy Su'a for not putting the ball in straight at one stage. But, as the game wore on, illegal feeds continued. Scrum-halves know there is no way in the world a referee is going to blow-up for all of them, as he would seem to be ruining the flow of the game. So several dodgy feeds went unpunished. Scrum-halves will continue to try their luck and referees will continue to be put under pressure.
*5*It will be a fascinating call to see who starts in Tigers' No.10 shirt at Bath on Saturday. Will Toby Flood be fit enough to start? Will Ryan Lamb be given another go to help him settle at his new club? Or will the power and huge boot of Owen Williams be given the nod? Reported by This is 13 hours ago.