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Tigers to roar, Sarries to slide as Premiership returns - Andy Goode
By Andy Goode
It may have been an off-season with more star departures than arrivals in the Premiership but it never fails to entertain and it’s a big name off the field that’s going to provide the biggest shake-up.
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The likes of Waisea Nayacalevu, Christian Wade, Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams and Leigh Halfpenny are all high-profile but are towards the tail end of their careers. The addition of Izaia Perese should have an impact on Leicester’s fortunes but it’s another Australian in the East Midlands that will make the biggest difference.
Tigers are going to be the biggest movers this time around and I’m expecting Michael Cheika to have a massive influence. On the face of it, he’s perfectly suited to the Leicester way and the squad is seriously strong on paper.
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Dan McKellar did some good work and was a bit unfortunate with a few very narrow defeats and having to rebound from a start to the season where he was missing a host of top players at the World Cup and they lost four of their opening five games.
An eighth place finish is a major disappointment for the club, though, and there were reports of a lack of “buy in” from players to his methods. I can’t see that being the case with Cheika and the only way is up.
They’ve still got a hard-nosed pack with loads of experience and some of the best young English talent in the form of George Martin, Ollie Chessum, Joe Heyes and co but I think the big improvement will be in attack with Handre Pollard pulling the strings.
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Perese’s potential centre combination with Solomone Kata could be box office and if they can keep Anthony Watson fit, there is some proper firepower and try-scoring ability in that backline for Cheika and attack coach Peter Hewat to work with.
I’m backing them to make such significant gains that they not only make the play-offs but also secure a home semi-final at Mattioli Woods Welford Road but it’s their old rivals Bath who should be favourites for the title this time around.
They say it takes losing a final to win one and the hurt from last season’s defeat to Northampton will fuel them, while Ross Molony is a very smart signing from Leinster and Guy Pepper might not go straight into the starting XV but is a star of the future.
Matt Gallagher is the only first choice player they’ve lost and you could argue that Tom de Glanville is ahead of him now anyway, whereas Saints have lost Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Alex Waller, Alex Moon and Sam Matavesi who were all a huge influence both on and off the pitch.
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The champions are well-coached and have young talent like Henry Pollock coming through so I still think they’ll make the play-offs but it’s ridiculously tough to go back-to-back and they’re there to be shot at now.
Saracens were the team that finished fourth last time around but I’ve got a feeling they are going to be the one of last season’s top four to drop out.
Clearly, the loss of Owen Farrell will be felt and changes a lot more at the StoneX Stadium than just the team’s ability on the pitch but the departures of the Vunipola brothers, Alex Lewington and Sean Maitland are significant too and the squad now looks far less deep.
There are still some massive names in their squad, although we don’t know exactly how many games they’re going to play after the new agreement gave Steve Borthwick a bit more control in that department, and they’re still joint favourites with the bookies but I don’t see it.
The race for the top four was ridiculously tight last season and I don’t expect it to be any different this time around. You can make a case for any of Quins, Exeter or Bristol to make it in there as well but Sale feel established now after making the play-offs in three of the last four campaigns so I think they’ll take fourth spot.
Nayacalevu is their stellar signing, filling a Manu Tuilagi-shaped hole, and I think he’ll be a big factor when the ground gets hard and it’s the business end of the season. He may be 34 years of age, so old that I played against him in a two-legged Champions Cup play-off tie back in 2014, but his size, athleticism and hands will be a real asset in this league.
The Bears finished last season as the form team in the league with seven wins from their final eight games and Bill Mata is a good signing so it’s tempting to pick them to make the top four but it just always looks like there are cracks that might show there.
There is some optimism a bit further up the M5 at Kingsholm with the arrival of Wade, Anscombe and Williams but the reality is that Gloucester have only finished higher than seventh three times in the last 13 years and it’s been pretty bleak of late.
They did win the Premiership Cup and reach the Challenge Cup final last season but I don’t see those three players making enough of a difference to win twice as many games as the five they achieved in 2023/24 and that’s what it’d take to move them up the table.
It’s hard to see them slipping lower either though as Newcastle didn’t win a single game last time around. That might change and, as the man himself has said, if Steve Diamond can’t do it, then maybe nobody can but it’s tough to see them finishing anywhere other than bottom.
Hope springs eternal for everyone at the start of a new campaign and it promises to be another hugely entertaining season with the promise of a British & Irish Lions tour at the end of it to get the juices flowing and motivate some individuals even more.
I think it’s going to be a case of back to the future in the Premiership, though, and we’re going to see a return to the glory days of Bath and Leicester battling it out at the top of the table with the Tigers lifting the trophy at Allianz Stadium on June 14.
My 2024/25 Premiership Table Prediction
1 Bath
2 Leicester
3 Northampton
4 Sale
5 Harlequins
6 Exeter
7 Saracens
8 Bristol
9 Gloucester
10 Newcastle
Why do you insist on giving AG air time? Usual boring guff.