By the time England’s quarter-final against Fiji kicks off at the Stade de Marseille on Sunday the first round of the new Premiership season will have ended in a more low-key atmosphere at the AJ Bell Stadium where Sale take on Northampton. This is a domestic season beginning with a very quiet fanfare.
Club rugby is still under a pall after the disappearance of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish during a painful 2022-23. The new season also opens with champions Saracens starting the defence of their title with 13 players at the World Cup when they travel to an Exeter side rebuilding after the loss of so many big names over the summer.
There have been some notable signings in the close season. Finn Russell’s move to Bath, Zach Mercer’s to Gloucester and Virimi Vakatawa’s to Bristol all offer a sprinkle of stardust. All three are bucking the trend with moves from France to England but these are belt-tightening times in a league that has been slimmed down to 10 clubs and has a salary cap of £5m. There are still plans to pit the bottom club with the top club in the Championship come the end of the season to decide relegation and promotion. But a cold financial wind blowing through the Championship is frostier still after the recent demise of Jersey Reds and the Premiership’s top clubs are likely to remain the same this time next year.
Certainly the mood of the top-flight lot depends on the fate of Steve Borthwick’s side in France. Another big name to return is Joe Launchbury who will pack down for Harlequins at Gloucester on Saturday afternoon. The lock with 65 England caps will be keen to remind Borthwick of his pedigree after a spell in Japan with Toyota Verblitz. The 32-year-old was a previous captain at Wasps, his club since his days as a teenager in their academy, and was dismayed at their demise.
“It was 17 October last year when I was made redundant,” Launchbury said. “None of us really saw it coming but there were telltale signs when a bond was due. I was lucky in many ways because by early November a bit of fatigue and frustration had set in. I got the offer to go to Japan pretty quickly and it was an amazing experience. I’d been to Japan in 2019 and was quite familiar with it but the standards were higher than I thought.
“I was thankful that things worked out but I wouldn’t have wished that experience on anyone and some of my teammates at Wasps weren’t so lucky. We knew we had special people at that club. I was in the original wider squad for the World Cup but tore a hamstring. Do I still have England ambitions? Well, I think I’m a long shot but I would never turn my back on them. I would have been proud to have won one cap.
“My career has been invigorated at Quins. It’ll be a big challenge for us at Kingsholm this weekend but we’ve got a talented squad and I can’t wait to get started again.”
Launchbury will be up against Mercer who plays in a back row alongside Gloucester’s captain, Lewis Ludlow, who makes his 200th appearance for the Cherry and Whites. Gloucester’s director of rugby, George Skivington, said: “When I first came to the club one of the first things I did was to make Lewis captain. He’s a leader and he bleeds cherry and white.”
Friday night’s opener pits Leicester, who look the strongest challengers for Saracens’ title, against Bristol at Ashton Gate. Leicester’s new head coach, Dan McKellar, who walked out of his job on Eddie Jones’s Australia coaching team in February, has recruited two former Brumbies in the experienced lock Sam Carter and the back Solomone Kata.
They may not be signings to stir the blood but McKellar will hope they can help Leicester open up a gap at the top before all those returning World Cup stars for Saracens. Ollie Hassell-Collins, pulled from the wreckage of London Irish after making two appearances for England in the Six Nations, is one of six players making a debut for Leicester. Bristol will hope Vakatawa can make a big impact on the new season from the bench.
