Picking out the positives from the 2022/23 Premiership campaign is a bit like searching a particularly filthy drain for lost keys. Losing three clubs, albeit under different circumstances, was an indelible and shameful blight on the sport that pushed hundreds of people into insecurity and unemployment. The fall of Jersey then underlined how fraught rugby union has become.
Fortunately, many players from Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish have managed to stay in England. In some cases, further destinations were secured through a stay abroad. In other countries, individuals were squeezed into squads due to the opportunistic and flexible handling of the salary cap.
Despite numerous key departures from the league, such as Jack Willis and Joe Marchant, talent should have been concentrated as the Premier League was downsized from a thirteen-team league to a ten-team league. The Champions Cup results are a good way to explore the theory. And the early form has been encouraging.
In the two rounds starting this season, Premier League clubs have participated in 16 Champions Cup matches and won 12, for an impressive success rate of 75 percent. Bath, Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints are all unbeaten, while Bristol Bears, Harlequins, Sale Sharks and Saracens have all won one of the two.
Of course, you need to add context. Cape Town franchise Stormers have seen heavy turnover on their trip to Welford Road and there have been thrilling affairs such as the Chiefs’ siege of Stade Mayol, nervelessly sealed by Henry Slade, and Leicester’s tenacious victory over Stade Français. A tearing, fighting Harry Wells was the heroic super-sub in Paris.
But then again, why apologize? Even losses have had redeeming aspects. Sale was mocked for sending a young line-up to Leinster, but still produced an accurate and tenacious first half and led at half-time. Their hosts held firm before a screamer of a consolation try, finished by Tom Curtis, made the final score 37-27.
In four previous Champions Cup campaigns, between 2019-2020 and 2022-2023, Premier League clubs won just 68 of their 156 matches; a much more dismal success rate of just under 44 percent. Exeter won the whole thing in 2020, but since then there has been one Premiership semi-finalist – Chiefs last year.
For that reason, it is obviously premature to judge this season. Going beyond the last four, with the South Africans taking ominous contentment, would be a great achievement for an English team. If anyone does, it’s a safe bet their squad will have been strengthened by the demise of at least one of Worcester, Wasps or London Irish. We can now browse through a non-exhaustive list of storylines.
Alfie Barbeary and Ollie Lawrence are now two of Bath’s main weapons, alongside Finn Russell, and Elliott Stooke has strengthened a muscular five. Even before his hamstring surgery in October, Ted Hill became a favorite on The Rec. Bristol Bears have Benhard Janse van Rensburg in midfield with Josh Caulfield and Joe Batley behind Gabriel Oghre, the ferocious hooker. Longtime Wasps colleagues Greg Fisilau and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso were among Exeter’s most eye-catching newcomers. Will Joseph shone for Harlequins in Racing 92’s enthralling defeat, a triumph in which Chandler Cunningham-South also shone. Matt Rogerson, the former Irish captain, is the kind of resourceful rower that Leicester love.
Northampton has benefited more than most. They picked up Tom Pearson and Tarek Haffar, the 22-year-old loosehead who is said to have visited England’s pre-season camp this week and performed excellently against Glasgow Warriors and Toulon. Recall that Fin Smith arrived from Worcester last October and was put in charge by Dan Biggar as the Welsh centurion secured an abrupt move to the Côte d’Azur. Curtis Langdon, who had a stopover in Montpellier when things went wrong at Sixways, is probably England’s form whore.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour, the former Wasps prop who was quickly promoted to tighthead by Sale, caused serious set-piece problems for Andrew Porter. Olly Hartley, a burly centre-half, scored two tries for Saracens against Connacht. While Tom Willis recovers from knee surgery, Julian Martín González produces performances that belong in video games. A reminder that Saracens have signed him and Lucio Cinti for the combined fee of around £150,000 for this season. You won’t find a better bargain, although the inconsistency of Mark McCall’s men, partly due to injuries, means reaching the local Champions Cup final in Tottenham will require a turnaround.
Provided their front lines stay fit, Bath could be the Premier League’s best chance to win the European title. Sunday’s glorious meeting with Racing 92, Russell’s old employers, will be revealing. Northampton should now be at home in the last 16 and Exeter will get a handy placement if they oust Glasgow Warriors this weekend. Leicester, who have won twelve of their fifteen most recent Champions Cup matches, appear to be enjoying the competition. Tigers’ trouble is that their next two clashes are against La Rochelle and Leinster, who knocked them out in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
As silly as it is that eight of the ten Premiership clubs have qualified for the top-flight tournament, an oddity that will surely be remedied with another format change, they are more than making up the numbers so far. The salary cap increases next season will also allow the biggest spenders to add even more quality. Smart recruitment of affected clubs was not limited to players. Former Wasps honcho Lee Blackett is co-ordinating Bath’s attack. Exeter, meanwhile, appointed Ross McMillan from Irish to devise a major overhaul.
There is still a long way to go, but at least when it comes to the Champions Cup, a smaller Premiership has a big impact.