Nick Cain previews the Premiership season

 Premiership launchThe English game is in urgent need of a lift after the Red Rose blight at the World Cup, and, thankfully, the is in a good place to provide it. Despite 's lack of competitiveness at the World Cup, the one thing that cannot be levelled at English rugby's top league is that it is a procession of predictable results.
This was typified last season when Saracens, despite qualifying for the play-offs in fourth place, came through to beat the two top-placed clubs at the end of the regular season, winning an epic semi-final at Northampton before proving too strong for Bath in the final.
Falcons boss Dean Richards is convinced that England will soon bounce back on the international scene, simply because of the knife edge competitiveness between the 12 clubs in the Premiership.
“The Premiership is year in year out producing enough quality players to say the future is rosy for England.  This year's competition will be one of the best around because there is no certainty who is going to go down, and there's no certainty who is going to be in the top four. You're going to have the tightest 12 I think there's ever been in the Premiership – it'll be a real dog eat dog situation week in, week out.”
Richards was also adamant that the Premiership compares favourably in all respects with the French top 14. “The French game is lovely in some ways, but it is not fast flowing. It is very stop start, and they have a ball in play time of 20 to 25 minutes on average, whereas in the Premiership it is 30 to 35 minutes, and people are striving to get that up even more. Fitness levels in aren't the same as in England.”
Of the English club sides no-one flows faster than last season's beaten finalists, Bath, and Mike Ford's outfit will be desperate to go one better this time. They appear well-equipped to do so, with looking to make his case as the best play-maker not just in the Premiership, but Europe.
It may take a while for the fly-half to gel with their new scrum-half signing, the Fijian jack-in-a-box Nikola Matawalu. While he is quicksilver, Matawalu may have to reign-in some of his solo tendencies if the likes of Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Kyle Eastmond are to see enough of the ball.
However, no-one will doubt that Bath are now a side with multiple threats, with Matawalu adding to the array of strike runners in the backline, and Springbok flanker Francois Louw marshalling a pack which exudes Test-match class in every area with the likes of Henry Thomas, and Dave Attwood in harness, and Sam Burgess back at with a point to prove.
As for the champions, Saracens ability to re-charge the batteries and come back invigorated is exceptional – and with one of the strongest squads in the league, and stars like Maro Itoje and Nathan Earle breaking through they will not relinquish the title without an almighty struggle.
They have internationals throughout the squad, and with hungry fighters like openside Will Fraser back from injury alongside Namibia's hero, Jacques Burger, they are a bruising prospect. The depth of their squad is equal to that of the big French clubs, and it is almost inconceivable that they will not be in contention in the final knockings.
Another side which cannot be discounted alongside usual suspects like Northampton, are Exeter, because head coach Rob Baxter has proved to be one of the shrewdest selectors on the Premiership block.
His acquisition of Aussie openside Julian Salvi from will give Exeter a new dimension, and one that backs with the flair of Henry Slade, Jack Nowell and Sam Hill could thrive off.
With new acquisitions of the quality of Jamie Roberts and James Horwill arriving at The Stoop, Quins are capable of pushing up from the middle reaches, as are Leicester when Ed Slater's back.
The same is true of Gloucester, who will have stiffened the sinews of their pack with the arrival of All Black lock Jeremy Thrush, , for whom No.8 Josh Beaumont is a growing force, and Wasps with Jimmy Gopperth arriving to pull the fly-half strings at the Ricoh.
Newcomers Worcester will have their work cut-out to get ahead of Newcastle and , whose new Kiwi coach Tom Coventry will seek to galvanise the Exiles.
It promises to give fans something to cheer, rather than contemplating the World Cup black hole.

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