Who's hot

Shane Geraghty

If ever a player was stating a compelling case to be included in the England side it is Saints play maker Shane Geraghty. The former London Irish man has switched from inside centre - where he is tipped to wear the red rose in the autumn - to fly-half in the absence of the injured Stephen Myler and has produced a masterclass of kicking and passing, which has helped Saints to the top of the Premiership in the process.

Nick Easter

Harlequins may have been having a shocking start to the season amidst the fall-out from bloodgate but the experienced No.8 has risen above it all with some consistently top class displays. Easter has been a tyro in the loose, linking up well with the backs to see of the challenges of rivals for the shirt on Wasps Dan Ward-Smith and Leicester's Jordan Crane

Tom Varndell

Varndell could not have asked for a better start to his Wasps career. 5 tries in four games has seen the speedster lead the way in the finishing charts and also reach the 50-try landmark in his Premiership career. Varndell is a player re-born with his confidence sky-high following his close season move from Leicester to Wasps.

Who's not

Ryan Davies

The 22-year-old had a great opportunity to finally nail down a first team slot at Bath with Butch James and Olly Barkley injured. However he never really looked totally comfortable with the pressure in the opening two defeats to Gloucester and Wasps, with his goal kicking a particular worry at Kingsholm. Veteran Nicky Little subsequently replaced him for the next two games.

Mike MacDonald

The Leeds prop did not see any action in the first month of the season due to visa hold ups. The stringent UK Border Control Agency regulations prevented the USA international - a key member of the Leeds front row - from linking up with his team-mates. He was not the only one with Fosi Pala’amo and Henry Fa’afili and Juan Gomez all experiencing frustrating delays.

Rico Gear

Starting to look one of the worst buys in recent Premiership history. The New Zealand wing has failed to repay the considerable outlay in his services from Worcester through a series of injury niggles and poor form. It looks like he could be heading home sooner rather than later without too much in the way of sadness from the Warriors’ faithful.