Premiership Preview - Part 1

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already arrived at another Premiership season – it hardly feels like a week ago that we were learning the wonderful breadth of Dylan Hartley’s vocabulary as Leicester Tigers beat Northampton Saints to take a record 10^th English title. 

Throughout the summer teams have been busy bringing in fresh faces and getting crocked players fit again but there still remains the same old questions as before every season:  Will anyone stop Leicester this year?  Will Saracens play rugby more entertaining than a paint drying competition?  Will Danny Care continue to defy the laws of common sense and have an unmitigated disaster of a haircut?  All classic queries, and all posed once again – along with several new ones, of course.

So let’s get underway with RuckedOver’s preview of the new season by checking out the prospects of Bath, the Chiefs and Gloucester – 3 sides who will have their eyes on a playoff spot this year.

Bath

Coach:  Gary Gold.  Despite sounding like an average 70s pop star who's now doing the rounds on various cruise ships, Gold is a solid character and a canny tactician.  He will be desperate for more fireworks from his side this year though.

Captain:  Stuart Hooper.  Solid and unspectacular, he is the example of a 'good club man' – which basically means he's decent at club level without getting anywhere near an international shirt.  Hard as nails, mind, and leads from the front.

What happened last year?  Agony for the men from the Rec as they were just pipped to a Heineken Cup spot.  But despite the wealth of talent in their side, they were generally inhibited by playing negative, kick-chase rugby, which was about appealing to watch as the X-Factor.  A decent charge at the end of the season and a cracking win over Leicester would have left a positive feeling amongst the side though.

How do they look this year?  With sugar daddy Bruce Craig loosening the purse strings again, the West Country outfit have brought in a plethora of talent…and Gavin Henson.  The trick now is to make sure that they all gel as a team and stop punching each other in bars – which may be easier said than done.

Players out:  Lee Mears, Dan Hipkiss (retired), Michael Claassens (Toulon), Stephen Donald (Mitsubishi Dynaboars), Jack Cuthbert (Edinburgh), Ben Skirving (Bristol), Sam Vesty (Worcester Warriors), Simon Taylor, Mark McMillan (released)

Players in:  Juan Pablo Orlandi (Racing Metro), Matt Garvey, David Sisi, Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson (London Irish), Micky Young, George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Gavin Henson (London Welsh), Peter Stringer (Munster), Martin Roberts (Northampton Saints), Leroy Houston (Colomiers), Alafoti Fa'osiliva (Bristol Rugby)

Key Player:  Francois Louw.  The South African flanker is up there as one of the best snafflers in the business, and the fact that he will be away on international duty for much of the first third of the season underlines the importance of his form when he returns.

One to Watch:  Kyle Eastmond.  I could have said George Ford, but I think he will struggle to get past the excellent Tom Heathcote at the moment, or Mickey Young, with the departure of Michael Claassens, but instead I've gone for the diminutive centre who lit up the rugby pitch in both Bath and England shirts at the back end of last season.  If he can perform to that level consistently he will cement himself in the international set up and give Bath some serious firepower in the middle of the park.

Prediction: 6th.  I think they'll see some improvement, but it will take a while for the side to settle – and as long as the Gavin Henson Car Crash Circus doesn't rumble into town they should get a top half finish.

 

Exeter Chiefs

Coach: Rob Baxter.  One of the nicest blokes in the game, he is representative of an Exeter side that is popular amongst the rest of the League and one of the few clubs that isn't hated by supporters of another one, somewhere.  Although it's easy to say that when you're not sitting in the changing rooms of Sandy Park having had the stuffing kicked out of you.

Captain: Dean Mumm.  After an impressive showing last year, 'Mumm' really was the word (sorry) when Rob Baxter was picking his skipper for this season.  The ex-Waratahs man is powerful and mobile and already a popular figure amongst the Sandy Park faithful.

What happened last year?  Another year of being written off, and another year of guaranteeing top-flight European rugby.  Perhaps the Chiefs will be a little disappointed at not being able to kick on to a Playoff spot, but their strong end to the season solidified their position in the upper echelons of the English and European game.

How do they look this year?  Er…pretty much the same, except without those 2 warhorses Richard Baxter and Chris 'the Ball' Budgen.  The signings look very Exeter-like, with no real superstars but some proven operators none-the-less – and as long as they have the human juggernaut Sireli Naqelevuki fit at least 20% of the time, they will be dangerous.

Players out:  Neil Clark (Oyonnax), Aly Muldowney (Connacht), Ignacio Mieres (Worcester Warriors), Josh Tatupu (Carcassonne), Gonzalo Camacho (Leicester Tigers), Mark Foster (Jersey), Watisoni Votu (Perpignan), Chris Budgen, Richard Baxter, Kevin Barrett, Junior Poluleuligaga (retired)

Players in:  Greg Bateman (London Welsh), Don Armand (Stormers), Dave Lewis (Gloucester), Ceri Sweeney, Tom James (Cardiff Blues), Fetu'u Vainikolo (Connacht)

Key Player:  Gareth Steenson.  Last year he went from second choice fly half to a (very) left-field shout at being a Lions tourist.  He's always been a superb kicker but halfway through last season he began attacking the line and showing some marvellous footwork and awareness.  He was key behind the Chiefs' resurgence last year and he will be critical to their success this year.

One to Watch:  Luke Cowan-Dickie.  Great player, sh*t haircut.  Danny Care will be nervously looking over his shoulder when it comes to awards time as the youngster will look to take the bad-barnet from the man who's held a monopoly over it for the last 4 years.  Cowan-Dickie will be more concerned about rugby however – awesome for the U20s in the 6 Nations, even better the World Championship…can he make the step up?

Prediction:  8th.  I hate to make the critical error of writing the Chiefs off again but they don't look to have brought in anyone capable of giving them that extra spark to push them forward.  They will remain in the mix but unless they get off to a good start I think mid-table obscurity may beckon.
 

 

Gloucester Rugby

Coach:  Nigel Davies.  The ex-Scarlets coach starts his second year in the knowledge that if he gets his team playing consistently how they played in parts last season, they have a great opportunity to make the playoffs.

Captain:  Tom Savage.  Last year's Mr Verstatile must now become the go-to guy for the Cherry and Whites following the departure of the Missing Link, Jim Hamilton.  It's both an exciting and daunting prospect for the 24 year old lock-cum-flanker and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

What happened last year?  An improvement on Bryan Redpath's efforts, that's for sure.  Gloucester played some stunning rugby at times at frankly frightening speeds, although there was always the suspicion of looking a little bit wet on occasion, which saw them getting bullied up front.

How do they look this year?  A relatively low-key off-season sees one stand-out name on his way to Kingsholm – young ex-Warriors flanker Matt Kvesic.  That said, he won't be able to beef up the pack all by himself and although they've still got bags of talent all over the park, it's still not too difficult to see them taking the odd physical pasting every now and again.

Players out:  Dario Chistolini (Zebre), Jim Hamilton (Montpellier), Dave Lewis (Exeter Chiefs), Drew Locke (Jersey), Will Graulich (Cornish Pirates), Alex Brown, Peter Buxton (retired), Tommaso D'Apice (released).

Players in:  Dan George (London Welsh), Tom Hicks (Northampton Saints), James Hudson (Newcastle Falcons), Matt Kvesic (Worcester Warriors), Tavis Knoyle (Scarlets), Jonny Bentley (Cornish Pirates)

Key Player:  Freddie Burns.  Despite looking like he'd be at home with a can of Special Brew outside your local Asda, Burns has proven himself to be a role-model not just to the young Gloucester fans but also to his team mates.  He had a stunning start to last season, tailed off a bit, and then showed some real grit and positive attitude to come back and impress in the later stages for his club.  And, judging by his displays for England in the summer, he's ready to take the next step.

One to Watch:  Billy Twelvetrees.  I could quite easily mention Burns or Kvesic, but they've already been mentioned and to be honest the Cherry and Whites have too many talented young players to list them all.  This could be Twelvetrees' season to cement a place in the England set up so he needs to start the season with a bang – with all signs pointing to a drop in the international pecking order for the solid-but-limited Brad Barritt, we could see a shoot-out between Twelvetrees and Eastmond for that 12 shirt.

Prediction:  4th (semi-finals). They will be pushing seriously hard for a playoff spot this year and, controversially, I'm going to guess that they'll nick it.  They might not reach the final, but I suspect this will be a big step in the right direction for Gloucester.