With the 2022-23 Gallagher Premiership season beginning this weekend, TRU's Joe Harvey and Chris Heal spoke to a number of BT Sport's rugby commentators and pundits to find out their thoughts ahead of the new campaign.
Do you agree?
Austin Healey
Reflections on 2021-22 season: The things going on off the field are off the field. On the field you are genuinely excited every game you go to, particularly if you go to a Quins game or a London Irish. I was saying at one point last year, if I lived in West London I’d have to buy two season tickets and split my time between the two for entertainment value.
Both sides played a really good attacking brand of rugby. Then you look around the rest of the country and you have got Saracens attacking a lot more than normal, the kicks in hand went slightly down from most teams, but overall it is a great day out now I think rugby clubs have evolved a little bit, their marketing, their on-field entertainment, their half-time entertainment, the stadium experience now I think it particularly good. My daughters actually now want to go and watch Leicester Tigers if I am there or not. So that has got to be a good sign.
Could Leicester do it again: There is loads of sides that could tickle your fancy. Leicester were helped by confidence, getting off to a good start, a good start always helps you in this league. If you can get first or second through the first 10 rounds, maybe you have even got a five or a seven point gap, it really does build your confidence as a group of players and as a team.
Percentage wise, I would say that Leicester have got to be 20% better than they were last year to win it again this year. I think they probably appreciate that, the difficulty they have got is, they are going to lose a lot of players for a period of time and they have lost two of their star players to other clubs. Leicester will be up there in the mix, are they favourites? No. I would probably say Sarries are favourites with Gloucester and Sale behind in the outsiders.
Players to Watch: Kata [Solomone] is probably the big one coming into Exeter. He looks a bit like Manu [Tuilagi] in terms of power game and how he can play and his ability to carry into heavy traffic and come out the other side.
I am looking forward to seeing how he plays. I think Piers Francis for Bath is a good signing. I think it will stabilise that midfield and give it a little bit of experience to help Bailey [Orlando] and Ojomoh [Max] develop their games. They are clearly very good players, very talented; putting an old head between them means they will be able to flourish.
Worcester Situation: I think we have had Covid for two years, which has put a lot of clubs on the back foot. There was a huge amount of positivity both financially and with what was going on on the field before Covid and then everyone has taken a big hit. Like in any walk of life - like the high street.
You walk up the high street now, those businesses that are either seriously well funded or very well managed are still there. I don’t think we are any different. I think we are in the same boat, if a club has been poorly managed and they have overspent their means and they have borrowed more than they can ever pay back, then they are going to be in trouble.
We find ourselves in that position with Worcester now.
Craig Doyle
Reflections on 2021-22 season: You couldn’t write it, could you?! Hasn’t that always been the beauty of this competition? Fairy tales coming true and I have seen so many of them! This stuff happens all the time in the Premiership but that was the ultimate! Freddie [Burns] is such a lovely, likeable guy. He was bit down on himself and to hit *that*?! Jesus, when you’re a 10-year-old in the garden that is what you dream of and he did it. It was cool.
Thoughts on the new season: Overall, I would love to see London Irish just get into that top four this year. It is so brilliant down there in that new stadium and I think they need a top four just to really get all those ex-pats back in there watching London Irish again.
I am intrigued to see what Bristol look like. I am intrigued by what Bath look like. I mean Ellis Genge in a Bristol shirt. He is an emotional and passionate player anyway but oh my word, what is he going to be like in a Bristol shirt?! How is [Handre] Pollard going to fit in at Tigers? There are all these little sub-plots but I do think there are more teams that can make top four this year than ever before.
Players to Watch:I am just looking forward to seeing the London Irish back three. Young [Henry] Arundell who is just a class act and I hope he doesn’t get picked too much for England!
Worcester Situation: I am looking forward to seeing Worcester get out there this weekend and play for the players and for the coaches and for the fans. I hope it is the start of a better news story for them and I hope they sort themselves out because it is important.
Ben Kay
Reflections on 2021-22 season:It was certainly the most exciting Premiership season I can remember. I thought not just in terms of the closeness of games, not knowing who is going to qualify for top four, Europe, but actually, the quality of some of the rugby was brilliant.
For it to finish in such exciting terms where right to the end you were biting your nails, it was pretty special. It was very emotional for me as well seeing Tom Youngs go on to the pitch afterwards so it was just the perfect finish to the season.
Leicester's title win: There are a few challenges for Leicester to deal with this year. Obviously losing two of their star players, but one in particular in George Ford, who was so integral as a voice around the environment so they will need to work through that. I think recruitment-wise, in constraints with the salary cap, they have been quite sensible.
They can kick on from last year, but equally, they are not ‘back.’ They will be the first to admit that they haven’t built a dynasty yet and their success this year will be based on how well they bounce back from a defeat or a poor performance.
Thoughts on the new season: I never try and choose the winners because anything can happen in the play-offs, but if I had to put my money somewhere on who will finish top, I am going to go for Saracens. I think the hurt of last year and their history of knowing what to do. Losing Vincent Koch is massive for them, but if they can get past that, I think they have got so much winning IP if you like.
You have then probably got, if momentum just carried on seamlessly, you’d go, let’s look at Gloucester, Northampton, probably Harlequins still as well. Sale will be quite interesting. They have kept a few of their South Africans, but Faf [de Klerk] was such a visible – partly because of his hair – part of what they do but I actually think they have got a guy in Raffi Quirke who can drive that. He is the player I am most looking forward to seeing this year.
He got his injury and now you have got that brilliant battle between him, [Jack] Van Poortvliet, [Alex] Mitchell, [Harry] Randall to be the next Ben Youngs so if he can start getting that confidence which grows throughout the team, you never know. There is probably six of seven that could finish top four.
Players to Watch: Arundell. I know from speaking to people involved with England at the young age groups, they see him as something completely out of the ordinary. He has obviously shown that with touches, but what Freddie Steward did so well was come in, not be too flashy and did all the basics like a 28-year-old, 60-cap pro. Arundell, I am sure can do that and add it to the two or three moments in the game where he can do something that no one else can in world rugby.
Ugo Monye
Reflections on the 2021-22 season: It has been unbelievable. Go back two years to Harlequins-Exeter, most points, most tries, just an unbelievable finale to the season, and then the season just gone you have got two really combative teams. It was the most physical game of chess you’d ever see.
But then, still at the end of it, for Freddie Burns and Leicester to have that moment. I think every final deserves a moment. We saw it in the Heineken Champions Cup, didn’t we? It was unreal. So for Freddie Burns to have that moment, it was still gripping, it was intriguing, it felt a bit more like Test match rugby than anything else and I am hoping this season, which it always does, just gives us many more moments like we have had the last couple.
Thoughts on the new season: It is tough for Exeter, they went six Premiership finals back-to-back. For me, is it a blip? Is it an anomaly? We’ll find out this season. I think it is tough when you have been at the top and the expectation is to win trophies, and when you do not there seems to be this post mortem, where I am just hoping that was a season in isolation. I am sure they will get back to where they feel they deserve to be.
Teams like Bath, they need to get back to where they were, Worcester need to sort out their finances so players can truly focus on training and playing without the external pressure of life. Then beyond that, we have got teams like Wasps who were flying towards the end of last season, London Irish narrowly missed out, Gloucester who just missed out, Northampton Saints a new dawn under Phil Dowson, Harlequins - do they have the strength and depth within their squad without Marcus Smith, Danny Care, Andre Esterhuizen is now with South Africa.
Sale Sharks have just got George Ford who I think will be transformational to the way that they attack. There is a whole host of clubs, and that is why it is always so hotly contested, why it is always so tight. For me, and hopefully for the fans, it means that the jeopardy of who can make the top four, who can get a home semi-final, who can make it into Europe, runs as long as it did last season.
Players to Watch: Gabs Ibitoye at Bristol, version two. We all remember his try against Clermont, some of the acrobatics he showed with England U20s, but if Bristol can play in the way we know they can play, they have got a young, English talent who is very exciting, a finisher that can light the Premiership up.
Ali Eykyn
Reflections on 2021-22 season: I always feel a bit sorry for a guy like George Ford who has had amazing success throughout his career, but there he is with a bust Achilles watching his mate knock over the winning drop-goal. It is lovely to see a guy who has been at the coalface for that long deliver the goods in that fashion and as he said many times afterwards, nobody will ever take that away from him now.
That was his moment. It was Tigers’ moment and their story alone is ridiculous. It was just a brilliant, brilliant finish.
Thoughts on the new season: I have been to Bristol and Bath over the last couple of days. There is a definite change up to the way things feel at Farleigh House. Sometimes it doesn’t take a great deal for a change in personnel, a change of style to kick-start a club and they’ve always had good players. They have got a great squad but they have just underperformed relentlessly. It will take a while, let’s be realistic, but you’d expect them to move upwards in the table.
?? An absolute pleasure to go to Farleigh House on Tuesday to see Johann van Graan's @BathRugby for the first time.
Plenty to muse over in this one and plenty to enjoy too, so please read.
Similarly Bristol, who for whatever reason just kind of lost their way a little bit last season. They had that spell in the middle of the campaign where they just lost five different scrum-halves and all of that didn’t help, but I think it is very open. I would expect Leicester, Sarries, Quins to probably lead the way. I am fascinated to see how the Tigers will kick on without [George] Ford. Handre [Pollard] will obviously play a key role.
Quins’ style is just thrilling and everybody loves watching them and I am really interested to see how that project continues. I’d say it is very open and of course, we have been able to say for the last three or four years, every result is possible on any given day.
Players to Watch: There are a couple of players that spring to mind. One guy who won’t surprise anybody but he has been off the radar through a series of horrendous incidences is Jake Polledri at Gloucester. He obviously had a horrific injury and then lost his brother and that guy is a force of nature when he is playing well and he will be so motivated.
Worcester: In their state at the moment - which we are all very sad about and hope they come through - but if they come through, the galvanised factor of that will be so powerful that I think nobody will relish playing them a great deal.
BT Sport is the home of Gallagher Premiership Rugby. The new season kicks off with Exeter Chiefs vs Leicester Tigers Rugby at 2:30pm on BT Sport 1 on Saturday 10th September www.bt.com/sport/rugby-union
.jpg "The new season will get underway with Bristol Bears hosting Bath in front of the BT cameras")
