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Bath
There have been six different title winners in as many seasons but the defending champions are favourites to buck that trend. In Johan van Graan Bath have a relentlessly process-driven coach, not someone who would allow an ounce of complacency to creep in, and they have Ollie Lawrence and Jaco Coetzee back for the start of the season after long-term injuries.
With the blockbuster additions of Henry Arundell and Santiago Carreras, Bath have a backline to die for and this could be the season Max Ojomoh announces himself on the international stage.
If we are looking for pitfalls, Lee Blackett’s departure to England is undoubtedly a blow while Finn Russell played an awful lot of rugby last season and his minutes must be managed accordingly. Bath, however, begin the new campaign as the team to beat.
Last season 1st Predicted finish 1st Key player Finn Russell
Bristol
The Bears have made the headline signing of the summer and Louis Rees-Zammit looks tailor-made for the most devastating attack in the league. The thought of Rees-Zammit and Gabriel Ibitoye on opposite wings will give opponents nightmares and in midfield, pairing Tom Jordan alongside Benhard Janse van Rensburg could be equally explosive.
Ellis Genge may have lost his British & Irish Lions Test place as the series wore on but he comes out of the tour in immense credit. George Kloska, James Dun and Joe Batley are three English forwards who cannot be too far away from Steve Borthwick’s thinking and Pat Lam, the director of rugby, has high hopes for the arriving Georgian back-row Luka Ivanishvili.
As ever, the key with Bristol is knitting together such attacking potency with effective game management. In other words, finding a template that might have enabled them to capitalise on first-half dominance in their semi-final defeat by Bath last season.
Last season 4th Predicted finish 3rd Key player Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Exeter
The suspicion is that things cannot go as badly as last season and the signings of the Wallabies Tom Hooper and Len Ikitau have looked better every match Australia have played of late. Manny Feyi-Waboso has had a minor setback in pre-season but is there or thereabouts and Rob Baxter, the director of rugby, has laid down the law after a dismal campaign in which the coaches Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher were suspended.
Baxter took a more hands-on approach as a result – Hunter left the club while Hepher is back in an academy role – and this season is a true test of his coaching ability. Can the man behind the Chiefs’ unprecedented rise to Premiership and Champions Cup winners breathe new life into the club or will another season of regression bring about an overhaul at Sandy Park? They could do with some leadership at half-back – where they still look light – if it is to be the former.
Last season 9th Predicted finish 8th Key player Tom Hooper
Gloucester
Another side striving for balance this season after overhauling their gameplan last term, putting all their chips on attack and yielding some stunning performances along the way as a result. Tempering that all-out attack without blunting their ambition will be key for George Skivington, the head coach, who saw a promising campaign end in disappointment with a couple of powderpuff showings against Saracens and Harlequins.
How Ross Byrne settles in at fly-half and whether Tomos Williams can put his Lions disappointment behind him and reproduce last season’s form will go a long way to dictating Gloucester’s fortunes this term. The progress of Afo Fasogbon and Seb Atkinson will be intriguing while Ben Loader and Will Joseph are two summer arrivals with buckets of talent and the potential to be stars at Kingsholm.
Last season 5th Predicted finish 6th Key player Tomos Williams
Harlequins
Troubled waters appear to be ahead for the 2021 champions, who have lost Danny Wilson, the head coach, to Wales on the eve of the season and promoted Jason Gilmore to senior coach while they seek a long-term replacement. Last season Quins were unable to cope with the void left by André Esterhuizen’s departure, and they have undergone something of a rebuild over the summer.
The front five in particular has a fresh look to it and Danny Care’s retirement is significant because it is another experienced head they have lost, coming in the same season as Joe Marler’s. It is a pivotal season ahead for Marcus Smith, who is on the fringes of the England side and will surely be tempted again by a lucrative move to France if Harlequins struggle and he cannot win back Steve Borthwick’s favour. It should not be forgotten that their 2021 success was born amid turmoil but to suggest they will repeat the trick feels optimistic.
Last season 7th Predicted finish 9th Key player Jack Kenningham
Leicester
Geoff Parling has a tough act to follow, arriving after Australia’s series defeat by the Lions and seeking to pick up from where Michael Cheika left off after just one season in charge. Cheika’s rebuild was impressive, making the Tigers so difficult to beat and the extent to which Parling wants to rip it up and start again or build on the foundations will be telling.
James O’Connor’s ever-so-brief arrival – before jetting back to Australia – seemed a bit odd but clearly Parling wants him involved as soon as possible, while the fitness of George Martin could be key to how Leicester fare pre-Christmas. Any squad that loses Handré Pollard, Ben Youngs, Mike Brown, Julián Montoya and Dan Cole forfeits a huge amount of experience, even if not all have left the building entirely.
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Last season 2nd Predicted finish 7th Key player Joe Heyes
Newcastle
Optimism abounds in the north-east after the takeover by Red Bull. Steve Diamond has been able to make a raft of canny signings – most on one-year deals – as a result and the longer-term future for Newcastle looks promising indeed. It is easy to forget the human element too – such investment allows the club to go shopping for world-class operators for next season but it allows the current squad the reassurance of knowing that they have a level of security that they would have questioned not so long ago.
Liam Williams is perhaps the most eye-catching signing but Tom Christie, Fergus Lee-Warner, Christian Wade and Amanaki Mafi are all shrewd recruits. It may not be enough to keep them off the bottom of the table come June, particularly if injuries hit, but they will be far more competitive than recent seasons. Expect a fast start, too.
Last season 10th Predicted finish 10th Key player Amanaki Mafi
Northampton
They could not really cope with England’s reliance on the spine of their team, coupled with some high-profile departures including Courtney Lawes, last term. The Saints have sought to beef up their pack – Danilo Fischetti and Callum Chick can expect plenty of game-time – and Anthony Belleau is a fascinating signing at fly-half given how few French internationals tend to play in the Premiership these days.
How Henry Pollock copes with second-season syndrome will be important, as will the management of his fellow England and Lions players Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell. A fit-again George Furbank will feel like a new player and Saints, particularly at home, will always be worth a watch. Choosing Hull as the destination for their pre-season trip suggests a determination to add a bit of grit.
Last season 8th Predicted finish 5th Key player Alex Mitchell
Sale
Under Alex Sanderson the Sharks have mastered the art of timing their run for the playoffs, finding their form after the Six Nations and demonstrating that their uber-physical, defensively robust style is best suited to the stage of the season when the stakes are that little bit higher. Sale have been the quietest in terms of comings and goings over the summer so expect more of the same.
They look a little light at lock, with Jonny Hill and Le Roux Roets moving on, and as ever, much will depend on how they manage Tom Curry through the season. Ben Curry has emerged as a key operator for Steve Borthwick too, which will affect Sale. Asher Opoku-Fordjour should go from strength to strength while Nathan Jibulu’s presence at hooker promises to be eye-catching. Joe Ford’s addition to the coaching box could be a masterstroke if it can bring even more out of the ever-classy George at fly-half.
Last season 3rd Predicted finish 4th Key player George Ford
Saracens
This is Mark McCall’s 15th full season in charge of Saracens but the fire still burns brightly and he will relish the challenge of returning the north London club to the Prem’s elite. So much rests on the impact Owen Farrell has upon his homecoming and all the ingredients are there to suggest he will prove a hit, provided he stays fit. Saracens gave the impression they were running out of ideas a little last season but with Farrell back at the helm, you sense they can get back to doing what they do best.
They have staggering quality in the back-row with Ben Earl, Juan Martín González, Tom Willis and Andy Onyeama-Christie, as well as Theo McFarland to come back from injury, and though there has not been a great deal of incomings, Max Malins – another making his return to the StoneX – is a shrewd bit of business. McCall wants to give youth its chance too and provided his Lions – particularly Maro Itoje – are managed well, Saracens will be a force again.
Last season 6th Predicted finish 2nd Key player Juan Martín González
