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Premiership 2023-24 season preview

Last season’s battle to top the Premiership table turned into a procession as Saracens and Sale grabbed the top two spots virtually unchallenged while semi-finalists Leicester and Northampton were also pretty comfortable.

Sarries went top after round four and never looked back, Sale were second from the off other than a week-long stay at the top, Harlequins offered a challenge for the top four but fell away come the turn of the year while London Irish left it too late to put together a winning run.

Only the top four won more than half of their games and while that suggests a tight contest, the top two were for the most part a cut above.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty around the league - 13 teams started the last campaign but only 11 finished as Wasps and Worcester went into administration while London Irish were thrown out in the summer due to their financial problems, leaving just ten to go to post for 2023-24.

There’s a sense of caution around most clubs with fairly modest transfer activity in the close-season, and bookmakers are limiting themselves to betting on the Grand Final winner, and in some cases the regular-season winner. Top-four betting, season handicaps and prices on the team to finish bottom have not been seen.

The Rugby World Cup is another distraction and as players make their way back bit by bit to their clubs we may see a surprise name or two contending.

Sarries are well known for timing their run and teams also competing in Europe may be happy to target the top two, even top four, and back themselves to peak in the playoffs.

After the last World Cup in 2019 - when Saracens were serving their exile in the Championship - Bristol finished top of the table but fourth-placed Quins took the title, while in 2015-16 Sarries finished third and second-placed Exeter beat table-topping Wasps in the final.

Favourites Saracens have a settled squad, although 11 players are still at the World Cup, and European competition, starting in December, is sure to take a lot of their focus.

Leicester have a tough European pool to contend with as they prepare to take on Stormers, Leinster and Stade Francais, while Northampton look a little lightweight up front and have to do something about their defence, which shipped 86 tries last season, more than any club bar bottom side Newcastle.

Sale could be the beneficiaries but they’re not a huge price given it’s something of a Hail Mary, so 8-1 Harlequins could offer a better option in the regular-season market.

Quins won only nine matches last season but scored as many tries as table-topping Saracens. They retain the creative half-back pairing of Danny Care and Marcus Smith, the arrival of Joe Launchbury bolsters their pack while there’s plenty of talent out wide in Louis Lynagh, Cadan Murley and Tyrone Green.

Exeter missed out on the top four last season and their rebuild looks to be ongoing as Sam and Joe Simmonds, Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dave Ewers and Stuart Hogg are among their summer departures, while Bristol have had a similarly big turnaround including the loss of star names Semi Radrada and Charles Piutau.

Gloucester suffered horrible luck with injuries last term and could take time to find their feet, Bath have signed Scotland fly-half Finn Russell but have a lot of ground to make up, and Newcastle, who were bottom of the pile last time, don’t look to have a strong enough squad.