The Premiership is back - and so are Bath

Despite a shameful chain of events that has cost two clubs and compromised the competition, we have a compelling Premiership campaign ahead. As it recommences for one round before the first European fortnight, here are four subplots to monitor.

Bath are back (thanks to Worcester Warriors)

Johann van Graan promised to begin with staunch defence and kicking strategy – the two facets that provided the foundation of Leicester Tigers’ resurgence – upon taking the reins at Bath.

There is a clear tactical template, and the club has been boosted by some opportunistic recruitment. In picking up Ollie Lawrence, Ted Hill and Alfie Barbeary, it is no exaggeration to say that they acquired three of the most enticing assets to become available in the wake of Wasps and Worcester Warriors going under. The first two, as well as two other ex-Warriors in Fergus Lee-Warner and Valeriy Morozov, have hit the ground running.

Cameron Redpath has put together a string of games as well, reprising a complementary centre partnership with Lawrence from the England age-grades. Having edged out Newcastle Falcons at the start of November, they rode their luck and hung tough to oust Leicester thanks to Will Butt’s last gasp try.

Another win on Friday evening against Harlequins and Van Graan’s men will be within touching distance of the play-off shake-up. How unlikely that seemed last season, when they were folding with ease. Sam Underhill will return soon enough, spurred by the prospect of forcing himself into the World Cup reckoning for England. The turnaround seems to have some real substance.

Newcastle Falcons find momentum

A steely win over Bristol Bears at the end of September was a sign of things to come for Dave Walder’s team. Although they went down 34-14 against Saracens the following weekend, they picked up losing bonus points against Northampton Saints and Bath before storming Kingsholm and then beating Exeter Chiefs.

Adam Radwan’s scorching finish – the kind of arcing run that has become a trademark of the electric wing – lit up the first of those victories, while the second was notable for the return of the three Argentina backs that helped the Pumas past England. Mateo Carreras, Matías Moroni and Matías Orlando will be three influential figures over the remainder of the season.

Falcons face London Irish on Saturday in a contest that would have been even more intriguing were relegation still in play. The Exiles are bottom, having won one of eight matches. From their seven losses, however, they have accrued five losing bonus points. Henry Arundell will remain sidelined until January, but Tom Pearson and Ollie Hassell-Collins are in red-hot form.

High-scoring shoot-outs continue

In an exclusive interview for the Telegraph Rugby Podcast, Stuart Lancaster attributed the harum-scarum nature of the Premiership to its referees. He suggested that officials were doing a good job of giving the benefit of any doubt at the breakdown to the teams in possession, penalising tacklers for failing to roll away and ensuring that jackallers demonstrated sound technique. Because of those things, Lancaster argued, sides were finding it easier to impart pressure with ball in hand and could feel confident of scoring multi-phase tries.

It has been the year of the high-scoring thriller so far, and that has continued into November. Leicester held off Irish to win 33-31 last weekend, in a match that featured an even split of 10 tries. A fortnight previously, thanks in no small part to a truly exceptional individual display from Ben Earl, Saracens defied a 39-17 second-half deficit to triumph 45-39. Even if we can expect tighter games in trying weather conditions, do not be surprised to see more of these wild matches.

Inconsistent pack chases Saracens and Sale

It sometimes feels as though the Premiership can only accommodate two stable sides at once and the pattern of this season is mirroring that of the last. In the place of Leicester, the pace-setters of 2021-22 who eventually prevailed as champions after Freddie Burns’ drop-goal, Saracens have won nine from nine. They look strong, and will be given more impetus when fired-up England regulars are reintegrated.

Sale Sharks are 11 points back, but six ahead of third-place Harlequins. Alex Sanderson will have the trump card of George Ford to play around New Year. That is significant, and means Sale should have the quality to challenge for silverware. Even at this early stage, with everyone having played eight or nine of 22 regular-season fixtures, it seems to be a scramble for third and fourth.

Harlequins, hoping that Marcus Smith’s ankle injury is not too serious, could easily get on a roll. Northampton did so in spectacular style last season. They face Gloucester, down in seventh in spite of a good start, on Saturday. Leicester welcome back Dan Kelly and Ollie Chessum, as well as their England players, for the trip to Bristol as Pat Lam unleashes both Ellis Genge and Semi Radradra. That one will be spicy for a number of reasons, not least because neither team has been overly impressive yet.

Exeter Chiefs, like Saracens and Sale, are sitting out this round. Their period of transition under the reduced salary-cap is continuing, with Luke Cowan-Dickie apparently on the way to Montpellier with Sam Simmonds. Indeed, just about everyone is striving for consistency. After matches played by Wasps and Worcester have been scrubbed out, only three teams have a league win rate that exceeds 50 per cent. In a turbulent time, perhaps a sense of on-field chaos is an attribute that Premiership marketers should lean into.