Premiership preview: Six things to look out for as Bristol bid to cause an upset and top four race starts wide open

Premiership newcomers Bristol kick-off the new season against West Country rivals Bath

The new Premiership season kicks off on Friday with Bristol vs Bath (Getty)

The summer tours may have only ended 10 weeks ago but already last season feels like another lifetime, such has been the off-season news cycle in rugby union this summer.

The problem is that between the likes of the Rugby Football Union falling deeper into a mounting crisis, Danny Cipriani landing himself a few nights in a cell in Jersey and Chris Ashton returning to the English game with a bang and a ban, there are few, if any, feel-good stories.

With that in mind, thank God the action on the pitch finally gets underway this Friday – and with a belting West Country derby to boot. It’s appropriate that the rebranded Bristol Bears host the curtain-raiser given they could have a major say in how this season plays out. Promoted clubs from the Championship more often than not make an immediate return to the second tier, but Bristol arrive with a playing squad and coaching team capable of not only defying relegation but having a go at the top brass, too.

The usual suspects are expected to be out in front, but behind them a mishmash of clubs in transition will duke it out to try and end the campaign in the all-important top four, putting themselves one game away from the showcase match at Twickenham next May.

But there’s more to it than that: it’s a World Cup year. The intensity rises, the stakes get bigger by the week and suddenly every little niggle and injury becomes that much more important.

With all that in mind, here’s what you should look out for this season.

The top two

Last season, the cream rose to the top as Exeter Chiefs and Saracens contested the Premiership final, having also filled the top two of the regular season table to secure home semi-finals. Despite the relatively quiet summers – reigning champions Saracens signed Alex Lewington and Tom Woolstencroft from London Irish as well as their former wing David Strettle while Exeter added just one player in Wales’ Alex Cuthbert – both have settled squads that know how to win both matches and titles.

Saracens won back the Premiership by beating Exeter last season (Getty)

The base that both clubs have built upon is winning at home, and it’s a near-certainty that the Parks of Allianz and Sandy will be fortified once again this season. With the smart money on the pair to once again lead the way, don’t be surprised to see Exeter gunning for revenge at Twickenham in nine months’ time.

Changing of the semi-final guard

While the top two appear to be an easy bet, the lay of the land to make up the rest of the top for is anyone’s guess. Newcastle Falcons upset the order last season by forcing their way into fourth and ousting Leicester Tigers to end their 14-year run as Premiership semi-finalists, but this year there are at least five clubs challenging for the play-offs, and even more if you listen to the noises coming out of pre-season.

Wasps may be one of the most eye-catching sides in the country but they will start the season essentially without a fly-half. Lima Sopoaga has only just touched down from New Zealand and is a long way off peak match fitness, while stand-in Jimmy Gopperth risks missing the entire season with a serious knee injury suffered in pre-season. Leicester will need to make great strides to get back into the top four but have made smart signings in Kyle Eastmond, Will Spencer and Guy Thompson that should keep them strong through the international weeks.

Lima Sopoaga jets in to Wasps from the Highlanders (Getty)

But Gloucester look to have really strengthened, not least with the arrival of Cipriani but also the quartet of quality South Africans that continue the influx at Kingsholm, and last season’s Challenge Cup final near-miss could well be a sign of better things to come. Newcastle will need to consolidate last season’s triumph while Sale Sharks and Bath cannot be ruled out of the equation either.

West Country rivalries

A league within a league is set to develop with Bath, Gloucester and Worcester Warriors now joined by West Country rivals Bristol – and the promoted side have made it clear they are not in it simply to make up the numbers. All eyes will be on Ashton Gate on Friday when the new Premiership season kicks off, and head coach Pat Lam has made it no secret that survival is not a word in the club’s vocabulary this season.

Pat Lam believes Bristol can win the Premiership in the future (Getty)

Instead, Bristol are aiming for the top six, such is their ambition, and a place at Europe’s top table. That could well upset the apple cart in the west, with Bath hoping to bounce back in what must be Todd Blackadder’s last chance and Worcester hoping to prove they are not the relegation favourites that the bookmakers’ have made them.

Relegation lottery

If Bristol prove to be the giant-killers that they have been billed as in the off-season, then the relegation fight will genuinely be wide open. Worcester, Harlequins, Northampton Saints and even Bath will need to look over their shoulders and hope that injuries this campaign fall kindly for them to avoid flirting with danger.

Northampton and Quins will have to look over their shoulder (Getty)

But it all depends on how Bristol start off the campaign. Promoted sides do not fare well playing catch-up, and as Exeter proved in 2010 when they recorded two wins in the first three weekends, fast starts cause others to start sweating. If Bristol can hit their stride, the relegation trap door could easily claim an unusually big name this season. But, if Bristol fail to take advantage of their confidence and talent, heads will start to drop, faith will be lost in the coaching set-up and the same old story could easily be re-written to let the rest of the pack off the hook.

New names, same fate?

Paul Gustard takes over a sinking Harlequins side looking to kick the club back into life, while Chris Boyd arrives from New Zealand with his reputation before him in an effort to return Northampton Saints to the top-four regulars they once were. Young regimes at Gloucester, Leicester and Worcester will also look to capitalise on developing towards a pre-planned path in the hope of turning around their fortunes and mixing it up with the big guns at the top of the table.

Paul Gustard has been named head of rugby at Harlequins (Getty)

But do they really have the squads to do so? Saracens are, along with Leinster, the pace-setters in Europe and have been for a number of years now, while Exeter may not have the names that their domestic rivals do but have a team unity and attitude that any club would die for. Unless others can attract the big names required to win matches in a single moment or gel a side together over a number of years that currently no side looks in position to do so, another season of also-ran may be on the cards.

World Cup bolters

A World Cup year brings the best out of everyone, and that always leads to a surprise name forcing their way into the mix. In 2003 it was Stuart Abbott who earned a place in the England squad after a breakthrough season with Wasps and seizing his chance in the warm-up matches, while 2007 and 2015 saw England try to force rugby league converts into their plans in the form of Andy Farrell and Sam Burgess – with terrible results.

Who will make a late dash for the World Cup? (Getty)

The beauty of the bolter is that they will come from nowhere, so while the likes of Tom Curry, Zach Mercer and Marcus Smith have all been on the England scene at various times in various roles of late, you have to look further afield for the player that will cause the biggest surprise come selection day. Eddie Jones has already tried to do this himself by selecting Brad Shields and Michael Rhodes of late, but you wouldn’t rule him out of having one last roll of the dice up his sleeve.

Now where’s Sam Burgess’ phone number...