1) Are Wasps about to buzz off?

If the whispers are correct – and the club are not issuing strongly-worded denials – Wasps are continuing to toy with the idea of relocating to Coventry or Birmingham. One or two sponsors are reportedly keen. Remaining at Adams Park, at the end of an industrial estate in High Wycombe, is not seen as a long-term option. “Less than two years ago the club was hours away from bankruptcy,” stressed Nick Eastwood, Wasps’ chief executive. “It is my and the senior management team’s responsibility to ensure the club is never in such a vulnerable position again.” Even Eastwood concedes, though, that the club’s current fan-base will have “strong feelings” about any move. Worcester, Northampton, Leicester and Moseley, among others, would hardly be impressed, either. Robert Kitson

2) London Welsh need to catch on to rugby’s evolution soon

London Welsh have conceded 105 points in their first two matches back in the Premiership, the 52 plundered by Exeter at the Kassam Stadium on the opening weekend of the campaign bettered by Bath by a single point: each scored seven tries. Two seasons ago, London Welsh played in their first Premiership campaign; in 22 matches they did not concede 50 points and only one team, London Irish in the penultimate round, put seven tries on them. The Premiership has changed since then with more teams prepared to run from deep from the start rather than indulge in a grinding-down process, a change best reflected by Northampton and Saracens who have come to average four tries a match. The Exiles only three times in 2012-13 bettered the 26 points they scored against Bath, the final two occasions in their last matches of the season when relegation was inescapable. The Premiership’s reputation for wars of attrition is changing, which fits Stuart Lancaster’s vision of how England should play. Paul Rees

Bath centre Jonathan Joseph makes a break for the London Welsh try-line. Photograph: Patrick Khachfe/JMP/Rex

3) Fraser plays his way into England contention

Saracens’s eye-catching 39-0 away victory raised all kinds of questions. The fine performance of Will Fraser, in particular, opposite Chris Robshaw and co was significant from an England perspective. The younger man looks an international player of the very near future, giving the national head coach, Stuart Lancaster, plenty to ponder. Robshaw is no longer captain of Harlequins, having handed that job over to Joe Marler, and players such as Tom Croft and James Haskell also have their sights set on starting roles in England’s back row. If Sarries – and Fraser – keep playing as effectively and strongly as they did at the Stoop, it could easily have a bearing on Lancaster’s autumn Test selections. RK

4) Is Cipriani ready to be re-established in the England side?

Forgive us. Cipriani England. England Cipriani. There’s a certain Pavlovian association between the two – second only, perhaps, to Cipriani nightlife. But if the latter association has weakened (we think it has, but we don’t read the gossip columns), expect the former to intensify if Danny Cipriani’s form continues to improve as it has since he joined Sale. It’s a maturity thing. He’s been round the world and got whatever it was out of his system, and now he is being tutored by a former hooker from Lancashire. In his early days at Wasps they kept him out of the traffic in defence, which meant he often found himself with turnover ball out wide. He exploited it with deadly effect, such was his pace, and before we knew it he was being promoted as England fly-half, despite his talents having very little relevance to international play-making. Now, though, slightly diminished pace and much-heightened wisdom have rendered him a far better playmaker than he ever was before. He kicks his goals and, if one hit on Sione Kalamafoni, is anything to go by his defence is improved too. If his frailties there are a thing of the past (time will tell), is there any good reason not to rekindle the Cipriani-England thing? Michael Aylwin

Sale’s Danny Cipriani in action during the 34-27 defeat at Kingsholm. Photograph: Ian Smith/Action Images

5) Newcastle’s switch to a new surface

Artificial pitches are a growth area in rugby. The latest club to invest are Newcastle, who staged their first league game on their new surface. It produced five tries and generated mostly favourable reviews, particularly from those who have grown weary of watching the Falcons plough through muddy treacle at Kingston Park in recent seasons. Some players and spectators still prefer the look and feel of grass – there is a more soul to it, if that kind of thing matters to you – but the community benefits of being able to use a pitch 365 days a year make it a tempting investment for smaller clubs seeking to reach out to their local populations. RK

6) Young centres make impression

Exeter may have the habit of losing to the bigger clubs, but their young centre pairing of Sam Hill and Henry Slade went toe-to-toe with Leicester’s Manu Tuilagi and Anthony Allen and came up smelling of roses on Saturday. Slade’s marshalling of Tuilagi was particularly impressive, the England Under-20 fly half looking equally comfortable at outside-centre. Mike Averis