It says a lot about the state of flux in which the Premiership finds itself that the marquee addition of the summer dwells in the coaches’ box rather than on the pitch. Gone are Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Andre Esterhuizen and a host of other stars; brought in to replace them are precious few headline names.
And so it is to Michael Cheika, tasked with pepping up Leicester, that fans of the English top flight will look to as the most exciting of new faces. The Australian coach is a considerable coup for a club seeking fresh direction, but up and down the land this has been an offseason largely of thrift and frugality. The captures of, say, Waisea Nayacalevu, Fergus Burke or Guy Pepper create considerable intrigue in their own way, yet a league that plucked with abandon from the shelves in most aisles not that ago is now largely looking for yellow stickers and a bargain or two.
Perhaps this partly explains why the build-up to the new season has been dominated with discussion of an uncertain future. Renewed talk of an Anglo-Welsh revamp, or a full-bore British and Irish league, is a relatively reliable autumn storyline, but the current conversations over reshaping the European game appear to be being had in greater earnest.
Insiders insist that any radical rethink is a way off, and administrators are simply exploring the possibilities. But there is recognition that a structure in which just about every club loses money is undesirable – though this is not unique to the English game – and there is a want to consider what, if anything, could be done differently.
It is partly a need for financial sustainability that explains why most of the headline departures have not been directly replaced. It was a summer of outs rather than ins at Premiership clubs as both wage bills and squad sizes were trimmed, aided by a deconflicted calendar that should see fewer bodies required across the season. It is far from good news that upwards of 30 players have, as a result, been left jobless, though this is significantly preferable by the upheaval that would be caused were another club to go to the wall.
The unveiling of the Professional Game Partnership (PGP) at the start of September may mark the official start of a new era which really began with the collaborative approach taken in getting that deal done. The agreement between English rugby’s power brokers will shape the game for the next eight years as the Rugby Football Union (RFU) looks to address what it sees as two decades of under-performance from England’s men, and the Premiership attempts to build a model that better allies with that goal.
There is a drive to provide greater opportunities for an emerging crop of talent, particularly in the wake of an Under-20 World Cup crown won quite brilliantly in South Africa. For the likes of Northampton flanker Henry Pollock, Gloucester prop Afolabi Fasogbon and Newcastle back Ben Redshaw, among others, opportunity may knock. Those yearning for new stars could well be looking towards homegrown heroes – no bad thing at all.
The future of the second tier is crucial to ensuring that all young talent is maximised. It was mildly concerning, then, that the PGP has come and gone without any greater details on what that looks like. As it currently exists, the Championship is starved of cash and consisting of clubs with vastly different goals. A relegation play-off may be back on the table but given the difference in funding between the first and second tier, the prospect of a promotion appears distant.
And so we may remain with this current crop of ten for a couple of seasons more at least – which may be no bad thing. The Premiership produced an outstanding campaign last year, with only the underperformance of Gloucester and also-ran status of Newcastle providing flies in much-need ointment after a season of sores a year prior. Eight teams were in the semi-final reckoning until late on; crowds grew; the final was sold out.
While both France’s Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship have their merits and vocal backers, the on-field product in the Premiership is just as good, if not better, than that of its rival leagues. It could be said, too – what with the French apathy towards away fixtures and the travel-intensive nature of the URC’s cross-continental format – that the English top flight offers more consistently competitive, consequential contests.
An attempt to add new narratives will continue with an extra “Derby Weekend” added, and Bristol taking a fixture to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Every game will be shown live on TNT Sports in a deal that, while reduced in value, ensures continuity, visibility and quality coverage. The buzzword of their coverage this year is “maverick”, a top executive from the broadcaster recently revealed – in the sometimes staid world of rugby, innovation is generally welcome.
Among the runners and riders, Bath might be most fancying their chances after last season’s near miss, though Northampton’s hunt for back-to-back titles should be compelling, too. Cheika’s Leicester revolution will be entertaining whether results pick up or otherwise; how Saracens reload without Farrell and the Vunipolas could define the fortunes of others. Any of Sale, Harlequins, Bristol and Exeter could become title contenders with a fair wind and a little injury luck.
And what more could you want at a time of uncertainty than a league that almost anyone could win? Who knows what the destination of the ongoing discussions about the future will be but another unpredictable Premiership season should ensure that everyone enjoys the ride.