After the Aviva Premiership season was brought to a close at Twickenham, we look back on each side’s performance and grade their season as compared with pre-season expectations, picking out some key individuals in the process.
BATH RUGBY: A-
Premiership: 2nd (runners-up)
Champions Cup: Quarter-finalists
It was undoubtedly a positive season for Bath, who erased the memory of last year’s late capitulation to storm into the play-offs and all the way to the Premiership final. In the end they were undone by a streetwise Saracens team, but they’ve been a joy to watch all year and there’s no doubt the experience of that final will serve them well. Their European campaign saw them push Leinster so close on their own patch in the quarter-finals, but really they were let down by their early form that saw them lose their first two group games. The win in Toulouse was one of the performances of the season, however.
Top of the class: George Ford
A consolidatory year after his breakthrough season in which Ford’s attacking genius was welded to more intelligent game management and more consistent goal-kicking.
EXETER CHIEFS: A-
Premiership: 5th
Challenge Cup: Semi-finalists
Exeter missed out on their first play-offs by the skin of their teeth, but after falling out of the European spots last year this was a step back in the right direction for the ambitious Devonians. They have thrilled through another set of young English backs, with the likes of Henry Slade surely bound for England honours in the near future. Add to that a host of intelligent signings next season – not least Geoff Parling and Julian Salvi, who will add plenty of nous to guide their young guns – and Exeter undoubtedly have the potential to go one step further next year.
Top of the class: Thomas Waldrom
To top the try-scoring charts as a forward is quite some feat – the Kiwi number eight has been nothing short of a revelation.
GLOUCESTER RUGBY: C+
Premiership: 9th
Challenge Cup: Winners
The Challenge Cup win merely papers over the cracks of what has been another disappointing season at Kingsholm – especially when you consider they could not convert that win into a Champions Cup spot next year. A handful of glitzy new signings and a revamped coaching staff could only garner four more league points than the previous season, and while so much off season turnover always takes time to bed in, that can’t be the kind of immediate return either fans or the board were hoping for. They began to show signs of improvement as the season reached its close and that simply has to be built upon next year.
Top of the class: Ross Moriarty
The abrasive flanker has capped a fine year with a call-up to the extended Wales squad for the World Cup. Much like his club, his season started slowly before accelerating after the new year.
HARLEQUINS: C
Premiership: 8th
Champions Cup: Group stage
It’s been far from a vintage year for Quins. Regulars in the top half of the table for the past few years, they’ve been hampered this season by a pack that has failed to stand up to the best in the league and a loss of form of several of their top players – not to mention some untimely injuries. They’ve always had an academy bulging with talent and that hasn’t changed, with plenty of recent graduates impressing this year, and with the signings of Adam Jones, Jamie Roberts and James Horwill they seem to have identified that nowadays, to mix it with the best you do have to buy some big names. That trio should add a nice element of experience to a squad full of young talent.
Top of the class: Jack Clifford
The former England U20s captain has had a sterling season, shoe-horning himself in as a regular feature in a competitive Quins back-row.
LEICESTER TIGERS: B-
Premiership: 3rd (semi-finalists)
Champions Cup: Group stage
On the face of it, finishing third isn’t a bad season, but anyone that has watched the Tigers consistently will know otherwise. Their complete failure to threaten with ball in hand saw them score more tries than only London Welsh, while their complete hammering in the semi-final to Bath (their second of the season) made a bit of a mockery of their being there – certainly, nether Exeter nor Wasps would have capitulated quite as badly. Add in the fact that three of their top forwards (Gibson, Salvi and Parling) are leaving for direct Premiership rivals, with no big-name replacements coming in, and next season could be a bleak one. Aaron Mauger has one hell of a job on his hands.
Top of the class: Graham Kitchener
‘Kitch’ has been astonishingly consistent for the Tigers this year, and is probably the most mobile lock in the league. Throw in his lineout prowess and he must be wondering what he has to do to get an England call.
LONDON IRISH: C+
Premiership: 10th
Challenge Cup: Quarter-finalists
It was another season of treading water for London Irish, really, who once again neither properly flirted with relegation nor threatened the European places, living in Premiership limbo as only they can. The Exiles actually made their greatest stride this season away from the playing field – led by the proactive Bob Casey they have brought in a talented new coaching staff along with some of the more exciting signings of the off season, most notably Ben Franks, Matt Symons and Sean Maitland. They will hope to move out of their limbo next year.
Top of the class: Alex Lewington
The zippy winger has been one of the most prolific scorers in the league this year and was rewarded with a call up to the England squad for the Barbarians game.
LONDON WELSH: U
Premiership: 12th
Challenge Cup: Group stages
Given the abundance of good rugby people involved at the club it has been such a shame to see London Welsh implode so spectacularly this season. They managed just a single point all season and set a new record for the number of points and tries conceded in a Premiership season – even when it used to include 14 teams. Their fitness after around the 60 minute mark in games just hasn’t been there, and nothing summed up their farcical season better than their marquee player, Piri Weepu, being allowed to join Wasps on loan half way through the year. They now face an almighty job in rebuilding a team capable of returning to the top league.
Top of the class: Nic Reynolds
A stalwart of the Exiles’ backline, Reynolds started all but three of their Premiership games scoring four tries in the process.
NEWCASTLE FALCONS: B
Premiership: 11th
Challenge Cup: Quarter-finalists
It might seem like a slightly high mark for a side that finished one off the bottom of the table, but the Falcons have improved immeasurably from the side that scraped through last season. Rather than relying on beating teams up on rain-swept Friday nights at Kingston Park, they have expanded their game to play some sublime rugby at times, spear-headed by the emergence of young talent the likes of Simon Hammersley and Tom Catterick, and of course finished off by the irrepressible Sinoti Sinoti. It gives them a great platform from which to build next season.
Top of the class: Sinoti Sinoti
It couldn’t be anyone else, could it? The Samoan flyer combines pace, quick feet and Polynesian power to make him one of the most lethal finishers in the league.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: B+
Premiership: 1st (semi-finalists)
Champions Cup: Quarter-finalists
It was a crushingly disappointing end to the season for the Saints, after a campaign in which they had set the pace from the word go. They played with the swagger of the champions elect all season, only to capitulate on two crucial occasions that left them empty-handed. First, they took a pasting in Clermont, a result that reverberated around Europe. And it’s debatable if they ever really recovered from that, limping towards the end of the season before being knocked out by Saracens at home in the Premiership semi-finals. A season that promised so much but ultimately delivered nothing, but with a squad packed full of quality they will be back.
Top of the class: Samu Manoa
The giant American is irreplaceable and there will be a very large hole in the Saints’ pack next season. The best carrier/offloader in the league bar none.
SALE SHARKS: B
Premiership: 7th
Champions Cup: Group stage
Sale claimed some big scalps this season – particularly at the AJ Bell Stadium – without ever really putting together the consistency that suggested they might challenge for a play-off place. Despite missing out on Champions Cup rugby they have coped well with some of their more experienced players leaving, with the likes of Mike Haley and Josh Beaumont stepping up to fill the void. With Danny Cipriani and Chris Cusiter running the show they have played some fine rugby, too, and without the European distraction next season you can expect them to be hovering amongst the top half of the table again.
Top of the class: Josh Beaumont
The streaky, rapid number eight has shot into view with some storming late season performances including a few blistering tries. Like a bulkier version of Tom Croft.
SARACENS: A
Premiership: 4th (Champions)
Champions Cup: Semi-finalists
Unquestionably the most successful English side this season. Having finished top of the pile for the past two seasons only to fall in the knockout stages, they learnt their lessons this year, resting and rotating their sizeable squad to time their run to perfection, beating the top two in the league in consecutive weeks to win the Premiership trophy. They made it further in the Champions Cup than any other English side and, despite the accusations that they play boring rugby, have scored some stunning tries.
Top of the class: Maro Itoje
When a 20-year old commands a starting spot in a Premiership team, it is noteworthy. When he does it in a title-winning side, and in a position as physical and abrasive as lock/blindside flanker, it is a miracle. Itoje will become one of the best in the world, no doubt about it.
WASPS: B+
Premiership: 6th
Champions Cup: Quarter-finalists
This was the year Wasps returned to where they made a home for so long: the top half of the Premiership and the knockout stages of Europe. If it’s true that they ran out of steam at the end of a long campaign, then no-one can deny that they have been one of the league’s great entertainers. Elliot Daly and Christian Wade have again thrilled in the wide channels, with the former in particular maturing into a superb all-round centre and surely an England international in wait. Their move to Coventry has been an unmitigated success and along with their new financial clout, the future is most certainly bright.
Top of the class: Nathan Hughes
The marauding number eight has been nothing short of a handful every time he has carried the ball this season, and possesses genuine pace for such a big unit.
Disagree with any of the marks? Leave your thoughts below.
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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Can’t disagree with any of that really.
I’d have given Quins a D – they should be much better than their final placing. They paid the price for not having previously spent a bit of cash to bolster their pack and centres.
They may have finally filled those gaps – if Roberts and Jones can stay fit. Their other concern though should be at fly-half – Nick Evans isn’t getting any younger and they don’t have a consistent, top-quality back-up.
I would mark:
London Irish down to a D as they have achieved no improvement on last season and don’t deserve the same as Gloucseter who won a trophy
Quins down to a C- as they have taken a big step backwards from last season
Newcastle down to C+ big improvement but still a long way to go
I’d have an asterisk beside some teams’ grades pending the resumption of salary cap investigations mind. Hard to judge a score when you don’t know how uneven the laying field is.
Quins should definitely be at least a C-, maybe even a D. They won the Premiership three years ago, and now finish 8th in the league and get knocked out of the group stages in the Champions Cup. That is pretty poor!
Rest of these I would agree with.
Sorry that was not meant to be a reply to you Pete!
Yeah – it’s certainly easier to get an ‘A’ grade when you’re outspending everyone else
Tim Swiel should be good for back up. (given we’ve spent any money we could put towards a second big name fly half elsewhere