The longest Premiership preseason ends at Ashton Gate on Friday when Bristol meet Bath with the Bears looking for a repeat of the victory that announced their return to the big time last season. But despite Bristol expecting to break an attendance record, beating the 26,088 that watched Bristol City beat Manchester United in a Carabao Cup tie two years ago, the big kick-off will not be accompanied by the usual drum-rolls.
With rugby eyes on the World Cup this is an anxious time for the moneymen of the 12 Premiership clubs and the directors of rugby coping with the loss of players in Japan. None more so than at Saracens, the English and European champions hit hardest by international call-ups. Saracens have 15 players either in or returning from Japan.
Their selection problems have not been helped by their tighthead prop Josh Ibuanokpe being banned for five weeks on Tuesday for “striking with the head” when clearing out a ruck in a Premiership Cup victory against Harlequins, the club he left in the summer. Saracens had three tightheads playing for South Africa, Argentina and USA in Japan.
Saracens, with their seemingly bottomless pit of playing resources, are still expected to be in the play-off mix come the end of the season with Exeter, whose acquisition of the Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg was the most eye-catching transfer of the summer, still their main challengers.
Northampton, who lost their way under Jim Mallinder, have found it again under the director of rugby, Chris Boyd, and Gloucester will continue to improve. But Bristol, who finished ninth last season and are hard to beat at Ashton Gate, could be dark horses.
Their biggest-profile signing of the summer is Nathan Hughes, who has joined from Wasps and six months ago looked a certainty to be in Eddie Jones’s squad in Japan. The No 8, who lines up against Bath on Friday, said: “It’s important for us to start well and the World Cup gives teams like us the chance to get that head start. Everyone likes a derby and since I joined there’s been a lot of talk about the Bath game. It’s going to be a very big occasion and we need to go out there and start with a bang.”
Bristol’s director of rugby, Pat Lam, has included two of his returning Samoans, the centre Alapati Leiua and forward Chris Vui on the bench with Luke Morahan and Charles Piutau passed fit. Dave Attwood, the former England lock who moved from Bath at the end of the season, lines up against his old colleagues. Bath’s new captain, Charlie Ewels, is alongside Josh McNally, a new signing from London Irish, in the second row. “We’ve so many players available it has created a selection headache,” said Lam.
