2022/23 Gallagher Premiership: Who peaks prior to the RWC?
The 2022/23 Gallagher Premiership kicks off in September. First round of pre-season fixtures completed an off- season full of change and disruption.
The Gallagher Premiership starts on 9 September with two kick-offs at 19:45 pm GMT. The curtain raiser is a local derby between Bath and Bristol. There is also a tussle between Sale and Northampton.
Bath finished 13th in the Gallagher Premiership last season. Stuart Hooper is the director of rugby. Beno Obano, Sam Underhill, Orlando Bailey, Max Ojomoh, Quinn Roux, Piers Francis and Dave Attwood have signed for Bath.
Bristol Bears finished 10th last season. They have signed Ellis Genge, AJ MacGinty and Magnus Bradbury. Charles Piutau is the highest paid player in the league. Bristol's success will depend on their ability to manage their big-name players when they are away for international duty.
Exeter Chiefs finished 7th last season. They lost Jonny Hill and Tom O'Flaherty. Scott Sio and Jack Dunne have signed for them.
Gloucester finished 5th in the Gallagher Premiership last season. George Skivington has made no new signings this off-season. Louis Rees-Zammit, Mark Atkinson, Jake Polledri, Lewis Ludlow and Albert Tuisue are the players to watch.
Tabai Matson is the new head coach of Harlequins. Harlquin finished third last season. Marcus Smith, Alex Dombrandt, Andre Esterhuizen and Tyrone Green are the players to watch. Irne Herbst and Charlie Matthews have signed for Benetton and Kamaishi Seawaves respectively.
Leicester won the Gallagher Premiership last season. Handre Pollard, Anthony Watson and Jimmy Gopperth have signed for the Tigers. George Ford and Ellis Genge left the club.
Last season London Irish finished 8th in the Gallagher Premiership. New signings are Api Ratuniyawara, Danilo Fischetti and Joe Powell. Henry Arundell, Will Joseph and Juan Martin Gonzalez are the players to watch.
Newcastle Falcons finished 12th in the league last season. They have a fearsome pack and a well-coached and well drilled lineout and maul. However, they often leak too many tries and lost a lot of squad depth in off-season.
Northampton finished 4th in the Gallagher Premiership last season. They have recruited well and replaced key players with replacements. The key to success is whether Phil Dowson can continue the work of Chris Boyd as Director of Rugby.
Sale Sharks finished 6th last season. New signings include Jonny Hill, George Ford and Tom O'Flaherty. They have a fearsome pack and a skill of getting sin bins. Raffi Quirke is an exciting prospect to replace Faf de Klerk.
Saracens finished second in the Gallagher Premiership last season. They will be looking to improve on that this year. The international window will play a key role in their success. They beat the Tigers at Twickenham last year and will use that as motivation.
Last season Wasps finished 9th in the Gallagher Premiership. Head coach Lee Blackett has signed Vincent Koch, Burger Odendaal and John Ryan. The team is one of the two embroiled in speculation of financial mismanagement.
Worcester Warriors finished 11th last season. They have been the subject of a lot of media attention. The pre-season is full of distractions and they will probably start slowly. They will be at the bottom of the Gallagher Premiership.
The 2022/23 Gallagher Premiership season is just around the corner. Clubs are focusing on their finances and making every penny count. Rugby World Cup is around a corner and players will be keen to showcase their talents.
