Premiership Predictions Thread 2021-22

[Puja]

It's that time again. Time for us all to reveal what everyone suspected all along - that we know absolutely nothing about anything and that our attempts at predicting the future are utterly, utterly risible.

Don't worry though - no-one's going to compile a post mocking all of the worst predictions at the end of the season. Not this year, I promise.


Categories are as follows:

Premiership Winner:

Table order:

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:

European predictions - how will the English teams do?

Top try scorer:

Top points scorer:

Surprise of the season:

Biggest disappointment:

Player having a breakthrough season:

Best signing:
I find this helps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2 ... _transfers

Best unheralded signing:

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:


Puja

[Puja]

Don't worry - I'll go first to make you all feel better that, no matter how ridiculous your predictions are, at least they won't be the worst.


Premiership Winner:
Sale

Table order:
Sale
Bristol
Quins
Leicester
Exeter
Wasps
Northampton
Saracens
Newcastle
Bath
Gloucester
Worcester
Irish

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:
Surprisingly little. I suspect that there's been a reorganisation of how "close contacts" work and you'd like to hope that the majority of players have half a braincell and have thus got themselves vaccinated. If there are any cancellations, no bets on how many of them are in Exeter though.

European predictions - how will the English teams do?
F*cked if I even understand how that bloody competition works anymore. Let's say two English teams through to the quarter finals (assuming such things still exist) and one through to the semis, with an all-French final.

Top try scorer:
Simmonds is going to be missing with Lions rest which will damage his chances, so I'm going to be bold and predict a triumphant return for Drunkie Dennie.

Top points scorer:
Ford

Surprise of the season:
Neither Exeter nor Saracens make the play-offs - Exeter hurt by a poor start to the season through not having SSimmonds, and an inability to adapt to the change in held-up-over-the-line laws, and Saracens suffering from a much reduced squad as well as absence from Lions, then England.

Also, Leicester will make the final. Don't @ me; I'm allowed my unfounded optimism.

Biggest disappointment:
A lot of the summer players don't kick on. The likes of Blamire and Radwan are not really in the discussion for the AIs and definitely not for the 6N.

Player having a breakthrough season:
James Harper for Sale. If he's as good as rumoured, then Schonert is not insuperable competition and ASanderson clearly has faith given that he's only signed one t/h to replace two leavers.

Best signing:
Hosea Saumaki is going to do a very good job for Leicester on the wing, but I think I'm going to go for Augustus at Saints. Big carrier at 8 is just what they need.

Best unheralded signing:
Ben Harris at Saracens being another 7s player adapting to 15s wing very well. Also think Gareth Evans will end up extending his short-term deal with Leicester - I think he's a very handy squad player.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:
Duhan Van Der Merwe. Away with Lions break and internationals and achieving very little when he is present in a struggling Worcester side.

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:
Rory Jennings back in the Premiership again having been signed from {checks notes} Clermont?! How the hell was he playing for Clermont?!
ETA. Someone has reminded me that Owen Williams is back in the Premiership too, so now it's automatically him.

Puja

[FKAS]

Describing Jennings as playing for Clermont is optimistic I think. Possibly a more accurate description would be he spend a few months there holding pads and filling a role as opposition flyhalf for the first team to practice against.

Going to have to have a think over the list this season. Pretty sure I got little right last season. Well other than stating Auterac would be an underwhelming signing but that wasn't difficult.

[Scrumhead]

Damn you Puja. You beat me to it on about 50% of these.

Here’s mine:

Premiership Winner:

Leicester

Table order:

1. Bristol
2. Leicester
3. Harlequins
4. Sale
5. Exeter
6. Saracens
7. Northampton
8. Bath
9. Wasps
10. London Irish
10. Newcastle
12. Worcester
13. Gloucester

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:

Hopefully, Puja’s right and it won’t be too many. I’ll go with 4 games cancelled.

European predictions - how will the English teams do?

I’m also confused by the format. Quins are playing Cardiff and Castres so I’m quite optimistic we can top our group. Not sure what that actually means re. QFs etc.

Shrug …

Top try scorer:

Will Muir. I’d expect him to play all season and he was going well at the end of last season.

Top points scorer:

George Ford

Surprise of the season:

Tigers to win the title. I really think the new rules suit Tigers, particularly if Smith replaces Ford in the England squad. If Ford is there all season, I think they’ll be very hard to beat. They’ve recruited well and have done a great job of bringing through young talent like Steward and Martin so they have the depth to challenge even without their Argentina and SA players involved in the RC. Having the likes of Montoya, Moroni and Wiese coming in as reinforcements from December will be a nice boost.

I think the second surprise will be Saracens’ mid table mediocrity.

Biggest disappointment:

Quins failing to retain their title.

Player having a breakthrough season:

James Harper. Same reasoning as Puja.

Best signing:

Tommaso Allan. Quins have gone from having one of the worst back up 10s in the league to one of the best. I think he’s a great fit for our style of play and as long as he doesn’t get injured, he could be brilliant signing.

Best unheralded signing:

Hosea Saumaki. Not really on the radar but could be the finisher Tigers need to make a title push.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:

Duhan van der Merwe. He’ll have a few good games but will mostly be unavailable or ineffective.

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:

Courtnall Skosan (Saints). I have a feeling he’ll be Travis Ismaiel part 2.

[Gloskarlos]

Premiership Winner:

Bristol

Table order:

Sale
Bristol
Harlequins
Exeter
Saracens
Leicester
Gloucester
Wasps
Bath
Northampton
Newcastle
Worcester
Irish

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:

None. Some dodgy teams picked however as a result of small outbreaks. Record number of uncontested scrums in one season.

European predictions - how will the English teams do?

A big fat no idea. Bristol or Quins might do OK. An all French final is my prediction, Toulouse to win.

Top try scorer:

Jonny May (only because LRZ has to miss the first few weeks)

Top points scorer:

J Simmonds

Surprise of the season:

There are fewer 50:22 kicks than anyone foresaw, and the red cards brandished will be higher than last season.

Biggest disappointment:

High number of red cards create too many dead rubbers.

Player having a breakthrough season:

Always struggle with what 'breakthrough' actually means Did LRZ breakthrough last season? or was that just his debut? LRZ for me - unless that is not in the rules, if not the young Quins 7 who's name escapes me right now.

Best signing:

I'm going with what I know here and picking Hastings Jnr. less reliance on an ageing 36 at 10 and a whole backline better unleashed.

Best unheralded signing:

Also going to stick at home and go with Wian Conradie, who having been given the smallest of chances has a season akin to Jordy Reid last year.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:

Freddie Burns

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:

Willi Heinz

[FKAS]

Premiership Winner:

Erm tough one but Sale

Table order:

Bristol
Sale
Chiefs
Saracens
Quins
Tigers
Saints
Bath
Falcons
Wasps
London Irish
Gloucester
Worcester

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:
Nil league games, European games are a lottery.

European predictions - how will the English teams do?
No idea.

Top try scorer:
Green Harlequins

Top points scorer:
Ford

Surprise of the season:
Quins players leading a revolt and the new head coach not finishing the season.

Biggest disappointment:
The return of Nizam Carr.

Player having a breakthrough season:
Morgan Passman at Falcons another back three player off their conveyor belt or Fitz Harding at Bristol

Best signing:
Not the best individual player but probably the most key signing in Tommaso Allan. Quins have been threadbare behind Smith and his Lions rest period could have left them in all sorts of problems at the start of the season and then for international periods without this signing.

Best unheralded signing:
Benhard Janse van Rensburg got a sneaky feeling he might actually be quite handy for LI.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:
Any of the big signings from the Warriors. Sutherland for all his set piece hype struggled in SA, VDW is going to struggle for go forward ball and can be exposed positionally and Owen Williams has just had no luck with injuries so whilst there's a good player in there I'm not sure he'll be able to show it.

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:
Hope I'm wrong as he seems like a nice guy but Hastings Jnr could be a damp squib at Glaws what with his tendency to get injured and Glaws inability to find any cohesion. He'll either be excellent or a failure I'm not sure there's a middle ground for him.

[Puja]

Player having a breakthrough season:

Always struggle with what 'breakthrough' actually means Did LRZ breakthrough last season? or was that just his debut? LRZ for me - unless that is not in the rules, if not the young Quins 7 who's name escapes me right now.

I'd say breakthrough is first prolonged run in the side for a youngster - someone who's not been first choice before. So definitely not Lions tourist LRZ and probably not Premiership winner and England camp attendee Kenningham (although an argument could be made for the latter on the basis that Evans is first choice if you wanted).

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:
Any of the big signings from the Warriors. Sutherland for all his set piece hype struggled in SA, VDW is going to struggle for go forward ball and can be exposed positionally and Owen Williams has just had no luck with injuries so whilst there's a good player in there I'm not sure he'll be able to show it.

Williams is an excellent shout. I had him in mind when I was writing the categories and then just completely forgot about him. Personally, I'm not sure there's a good player in there - I remain baffled that people keep signing him to be a club first choice, let alone the bizarre concept that he's got international caps.

Puja

[FKAS]

I dunno in 2015 was it he had Flood on the bench and had the 10 shirt in his possession. He and Burns fought over the shirt after that. I liked Williams, he was big, could pass, kick and take the ball to the line. Didn't have much pace and never seemed to kick on from early promise. Gloucester should have been the making of him but they were an even bigger mess than Tigers at time (which was a good effort) and he picked up injuries so when Ackerman came in and briefly managed to put the house in order he was already on the look out for a new 10.

Could have been a real player but now just a journeyman with a poor injury record sadly. If Wuss have any sense they'll deploy him at 12 and Heinz at 9 to speed up the introduction of you Finn Smith. He's the talent that could move Worcester on eventually though it'll take a couple of years for him to develop I'd have thought.

[switchskier]

I do enjoy being gloriously wrong every year.

Premiership Winner:

Bristol

Table order:

Bristol
Exeter
Sale
Harlequins
Saracens
Leicester
Wasps
Northampton
Bath
Gloucester
Worcester
Irish
Newcastle

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:

It's either none or half the season when a new variant takes hold in the winter. I'll be uncharacteristically optimistic and go for the former.

European predictions - how will the English teams do?

Quite well I think. Exeter to hit their stride in the second half of the season and make a final. Three others to make the quarters, Bristol/Harlequins/Sale but inexperience to then show.

Top try scorer:

Naulago - Bristol are the best bet to continue to cut loose I reckon

Top points scorer:

Smith - Eddie will continue to ignore him

Surprise of the season:

Farrell is dropped by England, to the shock of all.

Biggest disappointment:

Less tries than last season as defensive coordinators look at what quin's did, figure out how to exploit the mistakes and tighten it all up.


Player having a breakthrough season:

Quirke looked lively at the end of last season. If he can get regular early games he may demand to stay involved when dad returns

Best signing:

I really like the look of Nick David. He might thrive at quin's.

Best unheralded signing:

Saracens don't really have a scrum-half beyond Davies who is mediocre so de Haas has a great opportunity. I also like Davidson at Gloucester.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:

Cipriani fails to make a big impact. The way that Bath play and the pitch at the rec just won't mesh with his talents.

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:

Socino at Leicester looks like a waste of time

[Scrumhead]

I dunno in 2015 was it he had Flood on the bench and had the 10 shirt in his possession. He and Burns fought over the shirt after that. I liked Williams, he was big, could pass, kick and take the ball to the line. Didn't have much pace and never seemed to kick on from early promise. Gloucester should have been the making of him but they were an even bigger mess than Tigers at time (which was a good effort) and he picked up injuries so when Ackerman came in and briefly managed to put the house in order he was already on the look out for a new 10.

Could have been a real player but now just a journeyman with a poor injury record sadly. If Wuss have any sense they'll deploy him at 12 and Heinz at 9 to speed up the introduction of you Finn Smith. He's the talent that could move Worcester on eventually though it'll take a couple of years for him to develop I'd have thought.

I’d agree on most of that. Fin Smith looks like he has the potential to be a very good player. Putting him in between Heinz and Williams is a possibility, but I wonder whether they’re using the latter as a stop gap to buy a bit more time for Smith (or at least to take the pressure off him in the short term).

In fairness, I don’t know if Williams really qualifies for a ‘redacted’ nomination as there hasn’t really been any hype has there?

Naulago is a good shout for top scorer I reckon.

[fivepointer]

Premiership Winner: Sale

Table order:
Bristol
Sale
Exeter
Bath
Leicester
Northampton
Quins
Saracens
Gloucester
London Irish
Wasps
Newcastle
Worcester

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations: 2 or 3 games

European predictions - how will the English teams do? Poorly

Top try scorer: Hassell-Collins

Top points scorer: J Simmonds

Surprise of the season: Saracens are also rans

Biggest disappointment: England continue to splutter.

Player having a breakthrough season: Max Ojomoh

Best signing: Mike Brown

Best unheralded signing: Robin Hislop

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing: Francois Hougaard

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing: Nathan Earle (hope to be proved wrong)

[Gloskarlos]

you've missed out tigers in your table 5P

[Digby]

There's little love for Sarries it would seem who're now seemingly deemed something of a mid table side, and behind sides like Sale and Quins. At least Exeter and Brizzle have some practice of finishing further up the table and/or working the salary cap hard, possible I might need to allow Sale too are working the salary cap hard.

[Shiny]

With my expert skill, deep knowledge and totally unbiased Saints fan head on I came up with the following:

Premiership Winner:
Sale

Table order:
Sale
Bristol
Exeter
Quins
Leicester
Northampton
Saracens
Wasps
Newcastle
Bath
Irish
Gloucester
Worcester

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations:
Very few in the premiership if any. More likely in Europe though.

European predictions - how will the English teams do?
No idea really its so up in the air. Maybe semi finals in the big cup and finalists in the little cup. Depends how many games we get awarded for the other team cancelling with COVID.

Top try scorer:
Due to the lions being rested and internationals taking up time I am going to go for Sleightholme.

Top points scorer:
AJ McGinty due to Smith holding tackle bags with England.

Surprise of the season:
Not really a surprise but Sarries get no higher than mid table with their internationals away and reduced squad with more youngsters in.

Biggest disappointment:
Eddie Jones reverts to type and doesn’t allow any younger players to play with England to build the next World Cup squad but will still keep them away in camp.

Player having a breakthrough season:
Sleightholme or Quirke.

Best signing:
Augustus at Saints or Saumaki at Tigers are good calls. But then I thought Mike Brown is playing some of his best rugby so I am going for him.

Best unheralded signing:
John Mitchell at Wasps.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:
Duhan Van Der Merwe.

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:
Cipriani. He will be rusty and do nothing apart from create chaos before disappearing again.

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah I’m unsure how much the low predictions for Saracens/Exeter (by their standards) are hope or actual belief.

Saracens will certainly suffer from not having their previous, unfair strength in depth, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re still right near the top. I hope they’re not, tbh, but they built a fantastic team and ethos on top of their cheating.

Beyond losing Simmonds for a chunk of the season and not making many big signings I feel similar with Exeter. Now they’ve turned heel it feels like most are happy to see them knocked off their perch, and maybe they will be ‘found out’ in regards to their breakdown approach, but they are still a great team. Who knows what they do if the other Simmonds picks up an injury though.

Quins I’m still baffled by. I didn’t expect our performances to hold up into the tail end of the season, or the semi, or the final. So who knows? It feels like this style has to come unstuck at some point but I’m very interested to see what Matson does to keep things moving. Maybe learning to concede less than 30 points a game would make things easier for us.

[Puja]

There's little love for Sarries it would seem who're now seemingly deemed something of a mid table side, and behind sides like Sale and Quins. At least Exeter and Brizzle have some practice of finishing further up the table and/or working the salary cap hard, possible I might need to allow Sale too are working the salary cap hard.

I was about to say that I don't think we can mark Saracens midtable as a Surprise of the Season anymore, given that everyone's predicting it!

Puja

[Scrumhead]

By the same token, I’m a bit surprised a lot of people are tipping Sale to win the league.

The main argument for Saracens potentially struggling is that they’ll be missing players to the Lions break and England. Surely, a similar principle applies to Sale? They’ll be missing more than a third of their starting XV with Tom Curry, de Klerk, de Jager and the du Preez twins all likely to be unavailable until December (Curry might get a couple of rounds in October). If the USA beat Canada (which is highly likely), MacGinty will also have WC qualifiers to play in October and there’s a reasonable chance a few more players get called in to the England squad for the AIs (Tuilagi is the most likely, but Ben Curry, Rodd and Langdon were all in the mix this summer).

I think they’ll make the play offs, but I think they’ll have a tougher than expected start.

The best hope Saracens or Sale have is for their squad to keep them in touch in the first half of the season and then make a really strong push when the cavalry arrive in December. Quins didn’t really hit for until Gustard left in January so it’s definitely possible. The one caveat Ikd make is that we weren’t missing any key players to the 6N.

[Which Tyler]

This could be embarrassing, especially doing this before reading anyone else's

Premiership Winner:Leicester

Table order:
1. Bristol
2. Leicester
3. Exeter
4. Saracens
5. Sale
6. Harlequins
7. Wasps
8. Bath
9. Gloucester
10. Northampton
11. Newcastle
12. Worcester
13. L.Irish

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations: 12 matches as a new variant sweeps the country

European predictions - how will the English teams do? Who knows? Who cares? Weird format ruins interest in the competition

Top try scorer: C. Piutau

Top points scorer: G Ford

Surprise of the season: New laws fit Leicester like a glove - I'd almost expect them to have been drafted by Borthwick

Biggest disappointment: That the season is ruined by a combination of covid, rest weekends and lack of relegation

Player having a breakthrough season: Max Ojomo
I like to keep this to Bath, as I just don't know all that many new players for other clubs. For those that I do, I don't generally know their club situation well enough to judge their route through.

Of course, if we're using the Premiership's own definition of "breakthrough" to mean a player in his 5th season with fewer starts than he had in his first season... A Barbeary or M Smith

Best signing: Adam Hastings

Best unheralded signing: Adam Hastings

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing: Duhan Van Der Merwe

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing: Jack Walker

[fivepointer]

There's little love for Sarries it would seem who're now seemingly deemed something of a mid table side, and behind sides like Sale and Quins. At least Exeter and Brizzle have some practice of finishing further up the table and/or working the salary cap hard, possible I might need to allow Sale too are working the salary cap hard.

I was about to say that I don't think we can mark Saracens midtable as a Surprise of the Season anymore, given that everyone's predicting it!

Puja

They'll still be very competitive and have every chance of a top 4 finish. There may be a bit of wishful thinking on mine and others part that they don't make the playoffs.
If sides like Bath, Wasps or Saints click they could all be pushing for the top 4. Predicting the table order is never a scientific enterprise. We're all speculating wildly.
Looks like most of think that Worcester will struggle again.

[Puja]

By the same token, I’m a bit surprised a lot of people are tipping Sale to win the league.

The main argument for Saracens potentially struggling is that they’ll be missing players to the Lions break and England. Surely, a similar principle applies to Sale? They’ll be missing more than a third of their starting XV with Tom Curry, de Klerk, de Jager and the du Preez twins all likely to be unavailable until December (Curry might get a couple of rounds in October). If the USA beat Canada (which is highly likely), MacGinty will also have WC qualifiers to play in October and there’s a reasonable chance a few more players get called in to the England squad for the AIs (Tuilagi is the most likely, but Ben Curry, Rodd and Langdon were all in the mix this summer).

I think they’ll make the play offs, but I think they’ll have a tougher than expected start.

The best hope Saracens or Sale have is for their squad to keep them in touch in the first half of the season and then make a really strong push when the cavalry arrive in December. Quins didn’t really hit for until Gustard left in January so it’s definitely possible. The one caveat Ikd make is that we weren’t missing any key players to the 6N.

I was actually struggling for my tip for who to win the Prem. Quins feels like a one-off miracle, Bristol are down several players from last year, Exeter haven't strengthened at all and look very set in their ways, Saracens are down half their team and the last time I tipped Leicester for the title, we finished 11th (not to mention that we have still yet to acquire a coach for our attack). Sale have got replacements for the players missing - Curry for Curry, Quirke for De Klerk, du Preez the tall for de Jager (who's barely played for them anyway), and A.S. African for the du Preezes - plus I'm impressed by what Sanderson's building in terms of the structure there, so I went with them, but it's quite open this year.

Puja

[Scrumhead]

Every club has replacements for the missing players, but with the exception of Ben Curry swapping in for his twin, I think there’s a fairly big drop off on the others. Quirke looks very promising indeed, but he’s being asked to replace a hugely influential world class player. I think he’ll do well, but I don’t think it’s a straightforward like-for-like (from what I’ve seen of Quirke, he looks more like an instinctive sniping 9 a la Danny Care than a Faf style 9). Jono Ross is a very good back row option but he doesn’t give the same go forward as Dan du Preez at 8.

Ultimately, the challenge with missing several first team players is that it really tests squad depth - not just the second string but the third and sometimes fourth choices. In Sale’s case, they’ll probably start with JP du Preez and Beaumont in the second row which is pretty decent, but that means Phillips or maybe Postlethwaite on the bench/next cab off the rank for injuries. It might not be a problem but any injuries then become difficult to cover and Beaumont in particular is not the most robust.

I’m not suggesting it’s only a problem for Sale - far from it. However, they’re arguably one of the hardest hit in terms of losing 6 definite starters.

My big worry for Quins is depth in certain positions. Allan should be an excellent back up for Smith, but what happens if he’s called up to the AIs/6N? We’re then left with Edwards who isn’t really a specialist 10 (he’s a 7s convert).

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

Saracens are going to go and bloody win now aren't they?

[chris1850]

Every club has replacements for the missing players, but with the exception of Ben Curry swapping in for his twin, I think there’s a fairly big drop off on the others. Quirke looks very promising indeed, but he’s being asked to replace a hugely influential world class player. I think he’ll do well, but I don’t think it’s a straightforward like-for-like (from what I’ve seen of Quirke, he looks more like an instinctive sniping 9 a la Danny Care than a Faf style 9). Jono Ross is a very good back row option but he doesn’t give the same go forward as Dan du Preez at 8.

Ultimately, the challenge with missing several first team players is that it really tests squad depth - not just the second string but the third and sometimes fourth choices. In Sale’s case, they’ll probably start with JP du Preez and Beaumont in the second row which is pretty decent, but that means Phillips or maybe Postlethwaite on the bench/next cab off the rank for injuries. It might not be a problem but any injuries then become difficult to cover and Beaumont in particular is not the most robust.

I’m not suggesting it’s only a problem for Sale - far from it. However, they’re arguably one of the hardest hit in terms of losing 6 definite starters.

My big worry for Quins is depth in certain positions. Allan should be an excellent back up for Smith, but what happens if he’s called up to the AIs/6N? We’re then left with Edwards who isn’t really a specialist 10 (he’s a 7s convert).

Cobus Wiese to also throw into the mix. No. 8 is the real worry without DDP. Jono Ross is a good 6 but is a step down as an 8. Plus he is always a card waiting to happen. Think we may see Wiese and the the very big DP in the 2nd row with Beaumont at 8. Ross/Ben Curry/Neild/Dugdale then fill 6 & 7 with Phillips/Postlethwaite covering lock

[Scrumhead]

TBH, I was assuming that Wiese would slot in at 6 with Ross at 8, but you could be right about Beaumont dropping back.

Shame he didn’t live up to his potential (I know injuries played a big part). At one stage, I thought he was an England number 8 in the making.

[Timbo]

Premiership Winner: Exeter

Table order:

1. Exeter
2. Bristol
3. Sale
4. Saracens
5. Leicester
6. Northampton
7. Quins
8. Bath
9. Irish
10. Newcastle
11. Wasps
12. Worcester
13. Gloucester

Amount of season lost to COVID cancellations: zero

European predictions - how will the English teams do? One English team to make the semifinals.

Top try scorer: Sam Simmonds

Top points scorer: Paddy Jackson

Surprise of the season: The 12-a-side summer tournament will actually go ahead with a reasonable handful of rugby’s biggest stars participating.

Biggest disappointment: The 12-a-side summer tournament.

Player having a breakthrough season: Raffi Quirke

Best signing: Van Staden

Best unheralded signing: Van Zyl at Sarries

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing: Cips

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing: Sutherland at Wuss