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Over the course of the last decade, BT Sport’s Nick Mullins has become the instantly recognisable voice of rugby union in the British Isles.
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During approximately 40 matches per season – and upwards of 100 preparatory training ground visits – BT’s leading match commentator sees more Gallagher Premiership action than most.
As such he is ideally placed to assess the hopes of the 13 teams for whom the road to Twickenham next June gets underway this weekend.
Here is the final part of his club-by-club preview.
Sale Sharks
Last season: Third with 74 points (W16, D0, L6) then beaten semi-finalists
Top scorer: AJ MacGinty (188)
Top try scorer: Byron McGuigan (9)
Head coach: Alex Sanderson (appointed 2021)
Arrivals: Three including Tommy Taylor and Nick Schonert
Departures: Three including Jake Cooper-Woolley and Valery Morozov
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Most recent play-off season: 2020/21
Title wins: One
Nick’s verdict:
“The progress under Alex Sanderson during the second half of last season probably didn’t catch any of us by surprise but was no less impressive as a result and you can’t really blame them for running out of steam in the semi-final at Sandy Park.
“What I’ve loved about listening to how Alex is going to redefine the club is the responsibility he is giving the players to decide what kind of club they want to be.
“Their new signings – Tommy Taylor, Simon McIntyre and Nick Schonert underline what they want to be about.
“They absolutely deserved their place in the top four last season and with the quality of the coaching team they have, their new training centre and the feel-good factor around the club at the moment I’ll be really surprised if they’re not in the top four again at the end of this season.”
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Part 1 of 3 from @andNickMullins covers Bath to Harlequins
"Lots of neutrals looked at them last season and wondered how a team with so many impressive backs could not be more consistent?"https://t.co/UX1qpmMACY— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 13, 2021
Saracens
Last season: Promoted as Greene King IPA Championship winners
Top scorer: Manu Vunipola (98)
Top try scorer: Ben Earl/Rotimi Segun (7)
Head coach: Mark McCall (appointed 2011)
Arrivals: 12 including loan returnees Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl, Max Malins, Alex Goode and Alex Lozowski
Departures: 10 including Michael Rhodes and Calum Clark
Most recent play-off season: 2018/19
Title wins: Five
Nick’s verdict:
“They’re my title favourites. Even thought their time in the Championship wasn’t the adventure they hoped it would be due to COVID-19 and the abbreviated season, they are back in the Premiership now and if any team has a better season than Sarries they will be very close to winning the title.
“We can all rattle off the names of the loan players they have back – perhaps the only question is how long it will take them to bed back in after not playing any games together last season.
“There might also be a small question mark over how long it takes their Lions players to get back up to speed but I suspect they will answer those questions pretty well and not having the Heineken Cup on their agenda this year makes the Premiership their big focus.”
Part 2 of 3 from @andNickMullins covers Leicester to Northampton
“Clearing out the attic feels the best way to describe last season when they had the most major of overhauls"https://t.co/prlU1TNfok— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 13, 2021
Wasps
Last season: Eighth with 50 points (W9, D0, L13)
Top scorer: Jacob Umaga (98)
Top try scorer: Josh Bassett (9)
Head coach: Lee Blackett (appointed 2019)
Arrivals: 13 including Francois Hougaard, Elliott Stooke, Vaea Fifita and Nizaam Carr
Departures: 13 including Tommy Taylor, Will Rowlands, Kieran Brookes and Lima Sopoaga
Most recent play-off season: 2019/20
Title wins: Six
Nick’s verdict:
“I start every season by wondering what Wasps are going to do and again they are really hard to read.
“I’m a bit concerned that Joe Launchbury, Jack Willis and Paolo Odogwu will miss the first half of the season but like them having Nizaam Carr back and Elliott Stooke looks a hefty chunk to replace Will Rowlands.
“Francois Hougaard looks a clever signing who will work well with the young half-backs they have coming through while Alfie Barbeary offers plenty of hope for the future.
“I love watching Wasps – Dai Young used to hate me calling them rock stars but to a degree they still have that feel to them. What I suspect keeps the coaches awake at night is not knowing how they will perform from one day to the next but that’s what makes them so watchable.
“Who knows where they’ll finish this season, but it will be interesting to see!”
Worcester Warriors
Last season: Twelfth with 27 points (W4, D0, L18)
Top scorer: Billy Searle (63)
Top try scorer: Perry Humphries (5)
Head coach: Alan Solomons (appointed 2017)
Arrivals: 18 including Duhan van der Merwe, Rory Sutherland, Matt Garvey and Willi Heinz
Departures: 21 including Duncan Weir, Chris Pennell and Francois Hougaard
Most recent play-off season: None
Title wins: None
Nick’s verdict:
“With 19 players having gone they have been the ‘churnmeisters’ and if churn is the word for the club then patience is the key word for the supporters.
“I really hope they understand where the club are at the moment. Loads of us within the sport have so much time for Jonathan Thomas, he’s one of the smartest, most engaging young coaches in the Premiership.
“No relegation makes this the ideal time for a major stock take and I know JT is rebranding what they’re all about.
“I like the kind of player they’ve brought in – the likes of Willi Heinz, Duhan van der Merwe, Scott Baldwin and Rory Sutherland – and I think they’ll be tougher to beat next season.
“But everyone needs some realism around where they are – Jonathan Thomas is pointing them in the right direction but there’s a lot of work ahead.”
Quite a thought!https://t.co/BF1JhY968P
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 13, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
11 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
11 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments