LONG READ Who will be the Gallagher Prem signings of the season?

England’s directors of rugby have generally agreed this past transfer season was the most bonkers the Gallagher Prem has seen. Top internationals have switched clubs within the league, while the strengthening of Newcastle’s long flimsy financial muscle has added more upheaval to the mix.

Here, RugbyPass selects the best recruits for the season ahead.

Hoskins Sotutu (Newcastle Red Bulls)

Red Bull’s investment is being realised in a major way, with over 20 new players arriving at Kingston Park, many of them with international pedigree. Raffi Quirke is a huge acquisition. Pouri Rakete-Stones and Werner Kok will become fan favourites in the front-row and on the wing. Others, such as Franco Molina, Sam Graham, Will Rigg, Rusi Tuima and Allan Ferrie will be effective in more understated fashion. If his move goes through, record-breaking Super Rugby try-scorer and recent All Black debutant Fehi Fineanganofo should be a serious hit.

The marquee name for year one, though, is the rampaging All Black with English heritage. Sotutu at full sail is a wrecking ball, 6ft 4ins and 112kg of muscle and dynamism. He was the beating heart of the Blues’ long-awaited charge to the Super Rugby title in 2024 and outstanding once more this year as they lost in the semi-finals. Sotutu has ballast on the carry, and a potent blend of footballing skills.

Out of the picture at Test level, and English-qualified, he will harbour World Cup aspirations. Especially with Tom Willis heading to France. When his engine gets revving, expect big things.

Aaron Wainwright (Leicester Tigers)

A true warrior. Wainwright has been a beacon of strength in a Wales shirt during a wretched few years for the Welsh game. Bursting on to the scene as a Cardiff Met University student almost a decade ago, he has grown into a talismanic figure for the Dragons and national team with his ferocious running and deft touch with ball in hand.

Wainwright has added layers to his game too. He’s become one of the best carriers in the Six Nations, appearing near the top of the charts for runs, metres, post-contact metres and dominant contacts. That will appeal immensely to a club, in Leicester, who value the hard currency of belligerence above all else and a coach, in Geoff Parling, who has hardened that physical edge in his first year at the helm.

Wainwright’s blend of crunch and class will go down a storm at Welford Road.

Jac Morgan (Gloucester)

Another Welsh back-row of the highest calibre. His country’s figurehead, together with fellow national skipper Dewi Lake, will add to the spine of George Skivington’s squad.

Gloucester won only five Prem games last season and while Skivington’s overhaul of their playing style two summers ago has led to some pretty attacking shapes, there’s a lingering sense their power up front has waned from the early part of his tenure.

Morgan will give them a world-class breakdown operator and a strong presence in the collisions on both sides of the ball. Lake, too, will infuse the Cherry and White pack with greater ballast at close quarters. Both players are established leaders, having captained Wales through some of their darkest days of the millennium.

Geography, finance and the perilous state of Welsh regional rugby will have played a part in the transfer. Gloucester have toiled to put themselves in contention for honours, and will need to match Morgan’s ambition.

Joe Marchant (Sale Sharks)

Sale have embarked on a major recruitment drive as they lick their wounds following a strangely meek campaign. Al Sanderson’s side are habitual play-off competitors renowned for their steel, but that was in short supply during an alarming 2025-26.

Courtney Lawes will set lofty standards as he aims to wring one last World Cup from his 37-year-old body. Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis and Christ Tshiunza are terrific additions. Elia Canakaivata is already melting people in training. All of this will underpin Sale’s ethos and foundation.

The real game-changer, though, could be Marchant. Sale will always have a rugged pack and destructive specimens to call upon. It looked too often, though, like a talented backline marshalled by George Ford failed to add up to the sum of its parts. Swathes of last season were disjointed and stodgy.

Marchant, harbouring his own World Cup goals, can add vital gears to the Sharks’ sputtering attack. His physical attributes – frightening speed and elusive agility – allied to his technical nous can connect with the tactical neurons of Ford and Alex Lozowski, another smart pick-up.

Tomos Williams (Saracens)

While two of Wales’ finest players flitted to Kingsholm this year, another was heading for the exit. In his debut year in England two seasons back, Williams was the best scrum-half in the Prem, would have been a Test Lion if not for injury, was named club captain last summer and produced one particularly dazzling moment of skill against his new employers in December.

Williams has a fabulous array of attacking skills and is cast in a different mould to the man he replaces, South African Ivan van Zyl. Saracens have played a more expansive game over the past two seasons, and Williams’ combination of speed, footwork, distribution and accurate box-kicking will offer them a new piece of weaponry.

With the innovative Brendan Venter back at the helm, it will be intriguing to see how Williams is used.

Eddie Sigauke (Harlequins)

Out of left field, but not for long. This is a project signing with massive potential upside.

Harlequins need fresh faces, but were hamstrung by their contractual situation: a wage bill which exhausted the salary cap and only a few pricier deals coming to an end. Their recruitment, therefore, has been limited. George Furbank is the headline signing, and though an exceptional player, full-back was not the position in direst need of surgery. James Dun looks a shrewd capture from Bristol Bears.

Sigauke is an educated punt. He has searing speed and transfixing footwork and showed up magnificently for Zimbabwe during the inaugural Nations Cup. He’s the type to make fans lean forward in their seats when the ball finds him, the type Harlequins have always sought to harness.

Any doubts about his readiness for Prem rugby were dispelled last Friday, when he ran in two tries against Edinburgh in Quins’ final pre-season fixture. The second, a 40m burst leaving two defenders flailing, was an exceptional finish.

The young flyer is untested at this level, but at 22, he has time on his side and the raw materials to seize his opportunity.