The summer has been dominated by the British Lions winning the series against Australia. Late August sees the start of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, but don’t forget the newly rebranded ‘Gallagher Prem’ which gets underway in September.
There’ll still be ten teams in ‘The Prem’ but look out for more coverage of the league on YouTube and other social media sites. There’s the desire to attract more fans to the sport with behind-the-scenes content playing a role. The second-tier of English club rugby has also undergone a revamp, so get ready for ‘Champ Rugby.’
Last season ended with a thrilling Grand Final at Twickenham as Bath beat Leicester Tigers 23-21. That gave them their first win in that showpiece season-ender after losing to Northampton Saints in the 2024 final.
The main season saw them top the table by 11 points Their Twickenham triumph made it three times in the last four seasons that the league leaders went on to win the play-offs. It almost makes you wonder why we need the play-offs. That’s an article for another day!
Bath will be going all out to become the first club since Exeter Chiefs to finish top of the main table two seasons in a row. As for winning the Grand Final, Saracens were the last to win two in a row back in 2019.
Bath are the 11/8 favourites to win the Grand Final with Saracens second in the betting at 3/1. Last year’s Grand Final runners-up Leicester Tigers can be backed at odds of 11/2 at various UK betting firms, as per offersbet.co.uk. The same odds are available for Northampton Saints. They’ll be looking to improve their away record in the new season after just a solitary win at Newcastle last term, while winning seven out of nine at home.
Bath will want a better European Rugby Champions Cup this season. They failed to get to the knockout stages last season but did go on to win the European Rugby Challenge Cup. Keeping your best players is always a key target for any club. Scottish captain Finn Russell has signed a new contract and will be at Bath for another three years.
His performance in last season’s Grand Final was key to Bath’s success. Not only did he kick 13 points but he set up the try scored by Max Ojomoh.
With only ten clubs in the Gallagher Prem, it’d be ideal if all were competitive. That’s not the case though with Newcastle Falcons winning just a couple of games in the past two seasons and finishing bottom three years in a row. Could that change this year? Bookmakers in the UK aren’t too confident and they have the Falcons at 100/1 outsiders to win the Grand Final.
There are changes though and the new season will see the club renamed Newcastle Red Bulls after a takeover. Red Bull have had great success owning teams in football around the world and Formula 1, now they turn their attention to rugby union.
The club had been put up for sale by Semore Kurdi in 2024. This takeover will stabilise the club’s finances with a £39 million debt figure being taken care of. That’ll please the treasury who finally get back the £14.5 million in loans granted during the pandemic.
There had been donuts that they could even play in the 2025/26 season unless investment arrived. Red Bull taking over averts the situation where other league shareholders would have had to give assistance to prevent a nine-club league season. Newcastle boss Steve Diamond said the club needed a long-term investor and his prayers have been answered.
That’s some of the reasons why Red Bull have been described as a “dream investor” but it may well take some time to turn Newcastle into a side that can be challenging for honours. You have to go back to 1997-98 for their only title
Getting off the bottom of the table must be their first aim. Qualifying for the European Rugby Champions Cup rather than another season in the Challenge Cup would also be another big step forward.
Next March is going to see three matches played at major sporting stadiums. On March 28, Gloucester took on Leicester Tigers at Aston Villa’s Villa Park. That will see the two clubs contesting the Slater Cup, paying tribute to Ed Slater who captained both of the clubs during his career which ended three years ago after his motor neurone disease diagnosis.
That day also sees Bristol Bears up against Harlequins at Cardiff’s Municipality Stadium as they celebrate their Big Day Out. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host a match between Saracens and Northampton Saints in ‘The Showdown 6.’
It’s all part of rugby’s aim to broaden its reach and avoid the financial problems seen in recent years.
