Bath
Director of rugby Todd Blackadder
Captain Matt Garvey
Key player Taulupe Faletau
Last season fifth
Ins seven including Freddie Burns, Sam Underhill and Anthony Perenise. Outs eight including George Ford, David Denton and Robbie Fruean.
Bath remained inconsistent last season, not helped by the number of backs they had in the England squad. The swap of Freddie Burns and George Ford will help in terms of continuity, but they need more drive at forward and the arrival of Sam Underhill to join Faletau in the back row looks timely.
Exeter
Director of rugby Rob Baxter
Captain Jack Yeandle
Key player Henry Slade
Last season second in regular season table; champions.
Ins six including Nic White and Matt Kvesic.
Outs six including Geoff Parling and Tom Johnson.
Exeter’s remarkable rise took them to the Premiership summit last season. They did it in very much their own way and they have again made minimal changes, relying on continuity and harmony. It will be a significant season for Henry Slade, who has to move out of the “promising” bracket.
Gloucester
Director of rugby David Humphreys
Captain Willi Heinz
Key player Ross Moriarty
Last season ninth
Ins eight including Ed Slater, Jason Woodward and Owen Williams. Outs 15 including Jonny May, Greig Laidlaw and James Hook.
Gloucester have recruited heavily in the tight five, an indication of where the coach Johan Ackermann will start to reawaken a team that have slumbered in the lower half of the table in recent seasons. A side that have too often been mentally weak will have a drop of the hard stuff.
Harlequins
Director of rugby John Kingston
Captain James Horwill
Key player Whoever takes over from Nick Evans
Last season sixth
Ins eight including Francis Saili and Demetri Catrakilis.
Outs 11 including Nick Evans and Matt Hopper.
John Kingston last week hinted at a cultural shift at Quins, the entertainers of the Premiership sometimes guilty of overindulgence. They have to replace Nick Evans at fly-half and while they are well equipped at full-strength, depth may be an issue.
Leicester
Head coach Matt O’Connor
Captain Tom Youngs
Key player George Ford
Last season fourth
Ins 10 including Jonny May, George Ford and Dominic Ryan.
Outs 12 including JP Pietersen, Peter Betham and Freddie Burns.
Coaches came and went at Welford Road last season, but the Tigers still finished fourth and went close to beating Wasps in the play-off semi-final. It is Matt O’Connor’s first full season in charge and with George Ford back and Jonny May among the new signings with Manu Tuilagi fit again, they should have a cutting edge.
London Irish
Director of rugby Nick Kennedy
Captain TBC
Key player Ben Franks
Last season Promoted
Ins 11 including Petrie du Plessis, Napolioni Nalaga and Ben Meehan. Outs Six including Luke Narraway and Jerry Sexton.
Irish’s exile was only a year but 11th place would not be a bad return for a side who had to leave a lot of recruitment late because of the Championship play-offs. They have gone for experience, but another relegation tussle beckons in which home form will be crucial.
Newcastle
Director of rugby Dean Richards
Captain Will Welch
Key player Taine Takulua
Last season eighth
Ins 11 including Toby Flood, Maxime Mermoz and DTH van der Merwe. Outs 10 including Mike Delany, Marcus Watson and Mouritz Botha.
Toby Flood returns to Newcastle to spearhead one of last season’s most enterprising sides and he will be abetted by Maxime Mermoz. The Falcons were expected to be in a relegation scrap but finished a comfortable eighth. To improve on that, they will need to improve on the road. They will not be underestimated.
Northampton
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder.
Captain Dylan Hartley
Key player Dylan Hartley
Last season seventh
Ins seven including Piers Francis, Rob Horne and Cobus Reinach. Outs 14 including Louis Picamoles, George Pisi and Lee Dickson.
There is a changing of the guard at Franklin’s Gardens, with a number of long-term players departing after a campaign that saw them slip into the Champions Cup through the back door. The Saints too often caved in, even at home, and they will need Hartley’s powers of motivation to mount a title challenge.
Sale
Director of rugby Steve Diamond
Captain Will Addison
Key player Jono Ross
Last season tenth
Ins eight including James O’Connor, Faf de Klerk and Jono Ross. Outs 18 including Mike Phillips, Peter Stringer and Sam Tuitupou.
Sale struggled to get going last season but they have a mix of youth and experience that will make teams ring cautiously on arrival at the AJ Bell Stadium. Jono Ross will add thrust in the back row and having signed Danny Cipriani previously, Steve Diamond is looking to recalibrate another former Rebel, James O’Connor.
Saracens
Director of rugby Mark McCall
Captain Brad Barritt
Key player Billy Vunipola
Last season third
Ins six including Liam Williams, Calum Clark and Will Skelton.
Outs 11 including Chris Ashton, Kelly Brown and Jim Hamilton.
Saracens have again been selective in their recruitment, tending to replace players who have left, most through retirement. Liam Williams is the headline arrival, if not a straight fit for Chris Ashton, but Will Skelton and Calum Clark look typically shrewd acquisitions, experienced players who will be available for the whole season. Still the team to beat.
Wasps
Director of rugby Dai Young
Captain Joe Launchbury
Key player Nathan Hughes
Last season first, beaten finalists
Ins seven including Gabiriele Lovobalavu, Juan de Jong and Marcus Watson.
Outs 11 including Kurtley Beale, Frank Halai and Alapati Leiua.
Wasps had a relatively quiet summer with no marquee signings. Having made the Premiership final and the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup, continuity means more than a splurge. The most dangerous team in the league in broken play, they need to muscle up in the tight-five. The team with the most potential in the league.
Worcester
Director of rugby Gary Gold
Captain Donncha O’Callaghan
Key player Francois Hougaard
Last season eleventh
Ins nine including David Denton, Ethan Waller and Peter Stringer. Outs 23 including Val Rapava-Ruskin, Cooper Vuna and Phil Dowson.
The arrival of Gary Gold in the new year saved Worcester, who had gone into freefall. The South African has shaken up the squad with the ins and outs totalling 32, way more than any other club. The Warriors became menacing with the ball in hand in the final few months of the campaign, but much will depend on how they overcome the loss of prop Val Rapava-Ruskin.