Gallagher Premiership season preview, predictions & rugby betting tips: Steam into hot Bath

Gallagher Premiership best bets

Bath to win Grand Final
3pts 7-2 Betfair, Paddy Power

Bristol to finish in top four
1pt 9-4 Hills

Gallagher Premiership season preview & predictions

The Premiership rugby season starts with a rematch of last year’s final between Northampton and Bath on Friday night, and it’s the runners-up from that match who look best equipped to go one better and lift the trophy this term.

There’s much less fanfare about this season’s big kick-off as it’s been an eerily quiet summer on the transfer front. For most clubs the list of departures far outweighs the players coming in, and even then a great many of the new arrivals are players promoted from the academy.

That doesn’t mean we won’t be in for an exciting season as plenty of star names are still going to be turning out every week, and the reduction from 13 to ten clubs two years ago means the fixture list is less congested, meaning the Premiership can take a break during international weeks.

But one starting point in trying to find the new champions could be to single out which teams have been most significantly hit by departures, beginning with champions Northampton.

The Saints retain their all-England half-back pairing of Alex Mitchell and Finn Smith plus exciting backline players such as Tommy Freeman, George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme, but they could be found wanting up front.

Lewis Ludlam and Courtney Lawes plus brothers and front-row stalwarts Ethan and Alex Waller are among those to have moved on and that’s a lot of power to lose.

Saracens finished in the playoffs last term but also appear hard hit. Fly-half Owen Farrell is the biggest loss following his move to French club Racing 92 while the Vunipola brothers have also left the StoneX Stadium.

Of last season’s other top-four teams, Sale have had minimal turnover and their tally of 12 regular-season wins was matched only by champions Northampton.

But the Sharks did it the hard way, grinding out wins rather than cutting loose, and only the bottom two clubs, Gloucester and Newcastle, scored fewer points or tries than Sale did.

That leaves Bath, who have lost only full-back Matt Gallagher from their starting line-up for last season’s final, finished second last season and were never out of the top four.

Marshalled again by Finn Russell at fly-half and with a backline featuring internationals Ollie Lawrence and Cam Redpath among others, Bath look the bet to clinch the trophy this time.

Harlequins, Leicester and Exeter have all been crowned champions in the last decade but look to have too much ground to make up. Leicester have former Australia and Argentina coach Michael Cheika in the hotseat, but if another side is going to break the top four it could be Bristol.

They were the highest-scoring side in the Premiership last season and after a poor start, they won nine of their final 11 games including victories over Bath and Northampton. 

There are concerns about squad depth, especially at fly-half following the departure of Callum Sheedy, while big back-row summer signing Viliame Mata picked up an injury in pre-season.

But coach Pat Lam seems to have instilled a belief and a happy environment at the Bears, who missed out on the playoffs by two points but look value at 9-4 to be in the mix this time around.

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