Grading Every Club Entering Aviva Premiership Season

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 28, 2014

commentComment        

After a long summer of waiting, the 2014-15 Aviva Premiership campaign gets underway in little more than a week. As ever, we have a bounty of pre-season questions in need of answers.

Northampton Saints enter this term as defending champions, but does that mean Jim Mallinder's men come back to the fray as the strongest outright party?

We give each of the 12 clubs competing a grade based on their squad strength, star assets, summer business and several other mitigating factors in an attempt to see which sides enter the season with the best hopes for success.

 

Bath



Having come so desperately close to a place in the play-offs last season, Bath will hope that their somewhat surprising 2013-14 success can give the club a foundation to leap from this time around.

George Ford's return from injury will be of massive significance, father and coach Mike having relied so heavily on his boot and eye for a gap easing them through some sticky situations.

Another question on everybody's lips is what to make of Sam Burgess' arrival, the National Rugby League import bringing a potential to light up the squad as their new powerhouse back-row figure.

Like many sides making such crucial steps in their evolution, it's winning against the top teams that will be Bath's issue, and while there are elite players sprinkled among their ranks, a lack of depth may see the club fall just shy of that play-off berth.

Grade: B+

 

Exeter Chiefs 



Last season's finish of eighth in the league was made to look acceptable in light of Exeter Chiefs' triumph in the LV= Cup, their first major trophy and a sign of the power that rests at Sandy Park.

Dean Mumm was monumental in leading his squad for the majority of the campaign, but multiple platforms proved to be a poisoned chalice for Rob Baxter as his team thinned...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!