Aviva Premiership 2015-16 Preview: Part 1
Aviva Premiership key players: Part 1
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The 2015/16 Aviva Premiership season is almost upon us, following hot in the footsteps of one of the most compelling and entertaining seasons in the competition’s history.
Part one of our season preview runs the rule over the prospective chances of Bath, Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester, Harlequins, Leicester Tigers and London Irish this season, as well as identifying who could be their key men over the next eight months.
Make sure to check out part two tomorrow, when we do the same for Newcastle Falcons, Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks, Saracens, Wasps and Worcester Warriors.
Right, with no further ado, let’s get going.
Bath
Major ins - Jonathan Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons), Nikola Matawalu (Glasgow Warriors), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Jeff Williams (England Sevens).
Major outs – Carl Fearns (Lyon), Paul James (Ospreys), Dave Sisi (loan, London Irish), Peter Stringer (Sale Sharks), Olly Woodburn (Exeter Chiefs), Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons).
At their best last season, Bath were as effective as any team in Europe, but when it came to pressure games in the Premiership final and European Champions Cup knockout stage, they struggled. The young core of their team comes back this season, undiminished from offseason player movement, with an extra year of experience under their belts.
Nikola Matawalu and Rhys Priestland add depth and competition in the half-backs, while mid-season additions Sam Burgess and Tom Homer should be more comfortable in their roles during this campaign. Academy graduate Charlie Ewels, who made his debut last season, is a player to keep an eye on, as he should push himself into regular first XV contention over the coming months.
Key Player – Nick Auterac
Nick Auterac was arguably more impressive than Paul James last season, but with the Welshman having returned home, much more responsibility and pressure will be heaped on Auterac’s shoulders during this campaign. If he can help turn the Bath scrum into a dominant unit, they have the backs and loose forwards to run riot through the Premiership.
Prediction – 2nd (runners-up in the final). Bath fans shouldn’t despair if this season proves to be a repeat of last, as they are building around a young group and look to only get better over the coming seasons.
Exeter Chiefs
Major ins – Ollie Atkins (Edinburgh), Michele Campagnaro (Benetton Treviso), Jonny Hill (Gloucester), Will Hooley (Northampton Saints), Josh Jones (St Helens), Shaun Malton (Nottingham), Geoff Parling, Julian Salvi (both Leicester Tigers), James Short (London Irish), Harry Williams (Jersey), Olly Woodburn (Bath).
Major outs – Greg Bateman (Leicester Tigers), Joel Conlon (Saracens), Tom James (Cardiff Blues), Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs), Ceri Sweeney (Pontypridd RFC), Fetu’u Vainikolo (Oyonnax).
The additions of Geoff Parling and Julian Salvi seem to be masterstrokes from Rob Baxter, especially with former talismanic forward Dean Mumm having returned to Australia. They should slot in beside the likes of Dave Ewers and Thomas Waldrom and, though not flashy, should give Exeter one of the most effective packs in the Premiership.
Josh Jones is an intriguing Rugby League convert and alongside Michele Campagnaro, adds options to an Exeter midfield that may have felt a little thin at times last season. Baxter previously sniffed out a Greene King IPA Championship diamond in the rough in Tomas Francis and it will be interesting to see if he has done similar with fellow front rowers Shaun Malton and Harry Williams.
Key Player – Geoff Parling
Filling Mumm’s shoes in Exeter will be no mean feat, but Parling has the ability and nous to do so. His lineout work with Luke Cowan-Dickie will have Exeter and England fans alike interested, while he also adds to the growing corps of experienced and successful Premiership players in Exeter’s pack.
Prediction – 6th. On paper Exeter look an improved side heading into the 2015/16 season, but so do the teams around them and it could be a case of consolidating Champions Cup rugby for the Chiefs this year.
Gloucester
Major ins – Paul Doran-Jones (Harlequins), Willi Heinz (Crusaders), Tom Lindsay (Wasps), Tom Marshall (Chiefs), Paddy McAllister (Aurillac), Nicky Thomas (Ospreys), Jeremy Thrush (Hurricanes).
Major outs – Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs), Shaun Knight (Newport Gwent Dragons), Shane Monahan (Munster), Tom Palmer (Benetton Treviso), Sila Puafisi (Glasgow Warriors), Dan Robson (Wasps), Aled Thomas (Scarlets).
After their big summer spending splurge in 2014, Gloucester have focused more on improving their depth this summer, rather than adding big names to their starting XV. Of course, All Black lock Jeremy Thrush will add to their tight five, but he may be the only new signing walking into a starting position this season.
Super Rugby imports Willi Heinz and Tom Marshall should help a back line which could be without Greig Laidlaw, James Hook and Jonny May for the first few rounds due to Rugby World Cup commitments and/or recuperation time.
Key Player – Matt Kvesic
Matt Kvesic struggled in his debut season at Kingsholm, but bounced back superbly in the 2014/15 campaign, permanently erasing any concerns that he had just been a big fish in a small pond at Worcester. The openside has become one of the most adept jackals in the Premiership and though Billy Twelvetrees is the club captain, Kvesic is already the unofficial leader of the Cherry and White’s pack.
Prediction – 9th. Gloucester had two Achilles’ heels last season – their scrum and their defence. The latter should be improved following a full season under Lawrie Fisher, but it’s hard to see how, right now, the scrum has been improved.
Harlequins
Major ins – Owen Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons), James Horwill (Queensland Reds), Adam Jones (Cardiff Blues), Mat Luamanu (Benetton Treviso), Jamie Roberts (Racing 92), Matt Shields (Darlington), Winston Stanley (Highlanders), Tim Swiel (Sharks), Tim Visser (Edinburgh).
Major outs – Tom Casson (Yorkshire Carnegie), Paul Doran-Jones (Gloucester), Daryl Marfo (London Welsh), George Robson (Oyonnax), Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Joe Trayfoot (both London Irish), Ugo Monye, Jordan Turner-Hall, Tom Williams (all retired).
Usually when a team makes a raft of new additions like this it takes them a while to bed in, but with the RWC delaying the start of the Premiership this season, most of Quins’ new signings have had extra time to get to know their new teammates and should be more capable than usual of hitting the ground running.
The arrivals of Jamie Roberts and Tim Visser are delayed by international commitments, but James Horwill, Adam Jones and Winston Stanley should all have a big impact on Quins’ fortunes over the next few weeks. Their experience, combined with the youthful energy of the likes of Kyle Sinckler, Charlie Matthews and Jack Clifford, has the Londoners shaping up to be a much more balanced force this season.
Key Player – Luke Wallace
This season is a big opportunity for Luke Wallace to really push forward his England credentials. The dynamic back rower has looked in good shape coming into the campaign and, at 25 years of age, is ready to take his game to the next level. With Chris Robshaw likely to miss the first week or two of the competition, look for Wallace to make a big impact early and stake a claim for the seven shirt.
Prediction – 7th. It’s difficult to see Quins breaking into last year’s top six, but they do look to have a more dangerous back line this season and it’s certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
Leicester Tigers
Major ins – Dom Barrow (Newcastle Falcons), Greg Bateman (Exeter Chiefs), Peter Betham (NSW Waratahs), Michael Fitzgerald (Chiefs), Opeti Fonua (London Welsh), Jono Kitto (Chiefs), Lachlan McCaffrey (London Welsh), Brendon O’Connor (Blues), Mike Williams (Worcester Warriors).
Major outs – Robert Barbieri (Benetton Treviso), Neil Briggs (Sale Sharks), Tom Bristow (Wasps), Jamie Gibson (Northampton Saints), David Mele (Toulouse), Geoff Parling (Exeter Chiefs), Greg Peterson (Glasgow Warriors), Tom Price (Scarlets), Julian Salvi (Exeter Chiefs), Blaine Scully (Cardiff Blues), Anthony Allen, Louis Deacon, Brad Thorn (all retired).
It’s been all change at Welford Road this summer, not only with a big turnover in playing personnel, but also in the coaching set-up, as Aaron Mauger takes up the role of Tigers’ head coach. Leicester’s recruitment this summer might not include many star names, but it’s chocked full of talented players, all of whom can make big contributions to the club’s season.
Dom Barrow and Mike Williams are ever-improving hybrid locks/flankers and they will be joined in the pack by Brendon O’Connor, who was the Blues’ star man last season in Super Rugby. Former Waratah Peter Betham is another man to keep an eye on, with the winger impressing both in his natural position and at outside centre during the preseason.
Key Player – Manu Tuilagi
Even with all of Leicester’s new additions, there’s no doubt that Manu Tuilagi is a class apart in that back line. If he’s fit and in form, Leicester will be a match for anyone in the Premiership on their day. If he’s not, then Leicester’s back line could struggle to hurt teams, even with the likes of Betham and Vereniki Goneva available to them.
Prediction – 5th. Unlike Quins, who are just bedding in new players, Leicester are having to bed in a new coaching set-up and, most likely, a new brand of rugby. There’s no reason why they can’t make the playoffs, but the teams around them just have a little more consistency going into the new season.
London Irish
Major ins – Tom Cruse (Rotherham Titans), Ben Franks (Hurricanes), Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors), Brendan McKibbin (NSW Waratahs), Rob McCusker (Scarlets), Eoin Sheriff (Saracens), Dave Sisi (loan, Bath), Matt Symons (Chiefs), Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Joe Trayfoot (both Harlequins), Dominic Walduock (Northampton Saints).
Major outs – Guy Armitage (London Welsh), Myles Dorrian (Bedford Blues), Jamie Hagan (Melbourne Rebels), Dan Leo (London Welsh), Kieran Low (Glasgow Warriors), Tomas O’Leary (Munster), Eamonn Sheridan (Oyonnax), James Short (Exeter Chiefs).
As with Harlequins and Leicester, London Irish have added a lot of new players in the offseason and will be benefitting from the extended, RWC-enforced preseason. Ben Franks may not be the long-term answer to Irish’s scrummaging issues, but he certainly improves the unit in the short-term, as does Brendan McKibbin at scrum-half.
Former Chiefs teammates Matt Symons and Asaeli Tikoirotuma are probably the pick of Irish’s signings and they will reunite in Reading under their former coach, Tom Coventry. With Tikoirotuma, Sean Maitland and Alex Lewington all pencilled in as starters, loose kicking towards the Irish back three should not be advised in the Premiership this season.
Key Player – Matt Symons
The lock is just about to come into his prime and gives the Irish pack both quality and leadership in abundance. Having lost so many key players over the last few years, Irish’s signing of Symons is quite the coup and represents what they hope will be the beginning of their road back to the top. It would not be surprising to see Symons captaining the club by the end of his debut season.
Prediction – 10th. Irish’s new additions will help them, but it is a fairly big gulf in quality for them to traverse to get back amongst the teams in the top half of the table. They should have enough about them to stay reasonably clear of the relegation battle, however.
