Who are the top Gallagher Premiership signings?
Chris Ashton has returned to the Premiership with Sale Sharks
©PA
In a summer seemingly under permanent bans when it comes to hose pipes, sprinklers and an 80-minute game of Northern Hemisphere rugby, Premiership fans will whet their appetite with the spectacle of England’s fastest stars and up and coming youngsters tearing up the Franklins Gardens turf.
But if sevens isn’t quite your forte (or simply doesn’t quell an insatiable hunger for the full-bodied 15-man code), Ali Stokes runs his rule over all 12 Premiership team’s most influential summer signings ahead of the 2018/19 season.
Bath: Jamie Roberts
In a like for like deal with Harlequins, Bath Director of Rugby Todd Blackadder has traded one international inside centre for another, with 94 times-capped Welshman Jamie Roberts making his pilgrimage from London to the West Country, passing the outgoing Wallaby centre Ben Tapuai along the way.
Bath have brought in more than a few new faces this season, but none truly standout as headline signings when compared to the two time British and Lions tourist and 2009 man of the series.
In his time with Harlequins, we had begun to see a subtler and more varied game from Doc Roberts. Quin’s fans were, at a time, treated to a passing, stepping and even the odd kicking game. Skills left dormant for the best part of a decade after making his switch from fullback to centre under Wales boss Warren Gatland.
While incoming Exeter scrum-half Will Chudley will provide undoubted quality to his new side, he faces a tough task in ousting Samoan international Kahn Fotuali’i. However, if the Bedford Blues Academy product can put his best foot forward and earn the number one spot, he could well step ahead of Roberts as Bath’s most influential signing.
Notable mention: Jackson Willison
Bristol Bears: Charles Piutau
Pat Lam leads Bristol to the charge of resurgence to the Premiership, in a well-trodden path from the Championship to higher honours. The difference between the Bristol of 2016/17 and Lam’s ilk this year is the shiny new re-branding and the obscene international quality of signings.
With Wallaby openside George Smith and All Blacks duo fullback Charles Piutau, and prop Johan Afoa adding to the list of established Test stars within the Bears squad, the quality of players available for the duration for the season (barring injuries) is staggering.
Usually, it is the stability of the big men up front that keep teams from an immediate return to the Premiership and Afoa will undoubtedly play a large role in Bristol’s potential fortunes. However, the sheer star power and individual brilliance of former Wasps and Ulster fullback and New Zealand international Piutau is too obvious to resist.
Notable mentions: Nic Stirzaker
Exeter Chiefs: Alex Cuthbert
A quiet summer in the transfer market for Chiefs boss Rob Baxter this summer, seeing seven names leave the nation’s most southerly club while only one new face will grace the Sandy Park turf.
A second Welsh Lions tourist makes the list; with Cardiff Blues wing Alex Cuthbert joining the former Premiership champions in an attempt to breathe life back into his career.
After falling out of favour with the Welsh national side, Cuthbert has swapped the Welsh capital for Exeter and will look to benefit from the dominance of the Chiefs pack that drove their side to the last three Premiership finals.
Notable mention: N.A.
Gloucester: Danny Cipriani
Gloucester’s lead man Johan Ackermann has been a busy, busy Springbok this summer, signing a host of South African talent from the Emirates Lions to join his crusade to restore Gloucester as one of England’s top clubs.
With South Africans Jaco Kriel, Franco Mostert, Ruan Dreyer, Franco Marais and Gerbrandt Grobler all joining the cause, the Shed is likely to be overflowing with Biltong and the occasional Braai this season.
In addition to the South African invasion, England internationals Matt Banahan and Danny Cipriani will join the fray, donning the Cherry and White jersey after joining from their boyhood clubs, Bath and Wasps respectively.
Of all the blockbuster names joining Gloucester this summer, it will come as no surprise to hear that Cipriani is predicted to have the most significant impact.
Following his long-awaited return to the England starting lineup in Cape Town last month, the former Sale and Melbourne Rebels man will be looking to pick up where he left off last year, taking charge of a fully stocked arsenal in the Gloucester backline.
Notable mention: Franco Mostert
Harlequins: Matt Symons
In one of their more disastrous seasons, Harlequins will be looking to reunify and rebuild under the leadership of former England Defence Coach and newly instated Head of Rugby Paul Gustard.
With the former Saracens man at the helm, we can be sure to expect a staunch defence this season that will rest heavily on the big boys up front.
For as many talents as upcoming star fly-half Marcus Smith possess alongside England’s most capped scrum-half Danny Care, their attacking exploits will count for little if they are not supplied the platform they require.
The arrival of former Wasps and Waikato Chiefs lock Matt Symons should come as a big lift for Quins, if he can overcome the injury woes that have plagued him in recent years. Symons can join former Wallaby captain James Horwill in the engine room and help drag Harlequins over the line and into a potential return to Champions Cup Rugby.
A hefty forward with plenty of lineout prowess, Symons brings the kind of stability to a Harlequins pack that reached damaging levels of deficit last year.
Notable mention: Ben Tapuai
Leicester Tigers: Will Spencer/Guy Thompson
We’re cheating a little bit here, but as it stands, it’s impossible to predict which of Spencer or Thompson will have the bigger impact on Leicester Tigers’ pack this year.
Like their international counterparts (England), Tigers were lacking in pure brute force and go forward last season with Tongan number eight Sione Kalamafoni doing his utmost to help guide his team to victory week in, week out. But there is only so much one man can do.
Tigers’ newest additions will be aiming to direct the restoration project of one of England’s most historic clubs.
Notable mention: David Denton
Newcastle Falcons: Logovi’I Mulipola
Last season, there were three areas of potential recruitment that stood as the difference between Newcastle and the likes of Exeter Chiefs, Saracens and Wasps. A bulldozing number eight, a fly-half able to stand alongside the best in the business and a relentless, hulking tighthead prop.
In the considerable shape of Samoan international Logovi’I Mulipola, Falcons boss Dean Richards has his man, or at least one of them. The challenge facing the Premiership’s most northerly club is keeping their new front row star fit.
The 31-year-old has scarcely featured for Leicester over the last few seasons, struggling with more than his fair share of spells on the sidelines.
If a new start with Newcastle can aid in a new, clean bill of health, Mulipola can play his part in helping the Falcons pack take a step up in the power department.
Notable mention: George McGuigan
Northampton Saints: Dan Biggar
Arguably the signing of the season for Saints this year will be the arrival of current Hurricanes boss Chris Boyd, but for the sake of consistency, we’ll stick to the players who take to the pitch.
A third and final Welsh British and Irish Lion makes the list, with former Ospreys man Dan Biggar joining one of the many Premiership sides’ in dire need of a revamp.
With no shortage of internationals and promising youngsters surrounding him in his new backline, Biggar should have all the weapons he requires to help Saints return to winning form.
It may take a few months to bed in, but Biggar will prove his Test pedigree wearing his new colours and crest, leading the way forward for Boyd’s new charges.
Notable mention: Taqele Naiyaravoro
Sale Sharks: Chris Ashton
With the losses of club captain and utility back Will Addison and fullback Mike Haley to the Pro14 and potential internationals honours for Ireland, Sale have been forced to bring in two proven Test talents, at great expense to their wallet.
Former England wing turned fullback Chris Ashton and herculean Springbok center Rohan Janse Van Rensburg have both put pen to paper with the Manchester-based side, with the latter of the two returning for a second spell at the AJ Bell after a successful short-term deal last year.
While Van Rensburg will add plenty of ballast and go forward in Sale’s midfield, Ashton looks set to jump straight into the starting fifteen at fullback after breaking the Top14 record for tries scored in a single season, on first attempt.
A hair is all that separates the two as Sale’s signing of the summer, but Ashton will add a dangerous running game from 15 and has the potential to link up with Van Rensburg, running the type of trademark lines off the center’s line breaks that saw public outcry for the 31-year-old’s return to the England fold.
The South African will undoubtedly lay an impressive platform for his new teammate to work off, but Ashton’s predatorily try-scoring prowess will likely be the difference between scoring the try instead of merely making meters up the pitch.
Notable mention: James Phillips
Saracens: Alex Lewington
As with fellow Premiership finalists, Exeter, Saracens have made few additions this summer, content with the strength in depth already established over the last two years in particular.
Two wingers with contrasting points to prove will have arrived at Allianz Park this summer, with London Irish’s Alex Lewington looking to prove he has what it takes to rise to the top playing for a dominant Premiership side, while former club stalwart David Strettle, 34, will be out to prove that age is no more than a number having returned from a three-season sabbatical in France with Clermont.
Strettle will undoubtedly find it easier to slot back into the Saracens system, but Lewington has the kind of pure pace, athleticism and eye for a gap that could throw some selection headaches the way of Director of Rugby Mark McCall.
With Sean Maitland, Liam Williams, Strettle and Lewington all competing for two wing spots, Saracens are on course to continue their dominance. The difference between the two outside backs is hair thin, but the younger of the two men gets the nod in favour of his potential blistering impact.
Notable mention: David Strettle
Wasps: Lima Sopoaga
Two men stand out as Dai Young’s most influential summer additions, both of whom are yet to complete their final few months in Super Rugby with New Zealand sides.
Hurricanes skipper and newly capped England flanker Brad Shields and Highlanders/All Black fly-half Lima Sopoaga both arrive in Coventry next month, replacing England internationals James Haskell and Danny Cipriani, who head to Northampton and Gloucester respectively.
Sopoaga will likely prove a larger cog in Wasps’ machine next season, with Shields expected to be spending time away with England throughout the year and Sopoaga firmly out of the picture for the All Blacks, the Highlanders playmaker will be linking up with fellow countryman Jimmy Gopperth in the Wasps backline.
The 27-year-old will have to gel a new partnership with Gopperth and scrum-half Dan Robson but could easily follow a similar path to Harlequins coach and former All Black standoff Nick Evans, guiding his new side to potential silverware over the ensuing years.
Notable mention: Brad Shields
Worcester Warriors: Jono Lance
Worcester boss Alan Solomons was a busy man last season, likely running out of ink in his pen quicker than new contracts could be drawn up.
Fly-half Jono Lance returns after impressing during his stint last season, Hurricanes lock Michael Fatialofa restocks a depleted engine room, Springbok centre Francois Venter adds a dangerous option in midfield while Scottish internationals Duncan Weir and Cornell du Preez make the journey south from Edinburgh. These are but a few of the names Solomons has brought to the Warriors this summer.
A glimpse of the type of attacking rugby Lance inspired last season alongside Springbok fly-half Francois Hougaard should excite Worcester fans this season.
The Warriors have never lacked for threat in their backline, but the key ingredient so often missing is a force in the 10 jersey. Lance proved last season that he has the skillset to get the best out of the Worcester backline and could well see them climb ever higher up the Premiership table come May, looking to emulate the rises of Exeter and Newcastle over recent years.
Notable mention: Francois Venter
