Aviva Premiership Round 1 Preview - Welcome Back

It has been 19 weeks and 6 days since the Aviva Premiership Final however tonight normality resumes as the domestic competition returns to our lives for good. We have 135 matches ahead of us and personally I couldn't be more excited about this year's competition. 

It will be a season unlike any other given the later start and will test the Head Coaches and Directors of Rugby as much as the players for rotation & player management will be king. All twelve of our Aviva Premiership sides have points to prove and all have recruited strongly bringing in high quality individuals. The stage is set for the most intense and enthralling Aviva Premiership competition ever, so let's get down to it and look ahead at the six Round 1 fixtures. 

On Friday night Harlequins will welcome Wasps Rugby to the Stoop, meetings between the two are always tightly contested and high tempo affairs indeed the last three held at the Stoop have been decided by less than three points. Across both sides a number of high profile Aviva Premiership signings will be introducing themselves to the competition with Adam Jones, James Horwill, Jimmy Gopperth and George Smith all making their debuts. There are plenty of match ups to look forward to including the Yarde vs. Wade battle out wide and the Evans vs. Gopperth show in the middle. It’s set to be a dry night in London so I expect plenty of rugby, on point set piece work and fiercely contested breakdowns.

At Sixways the Worcester Warriors face the ultimate test for their re-introduction to top flight rugby as they will host the Northampton Saints. History shows us that the Northampton Saints like starting with a bang as they have won their season opener for the past nine seasons in succession. Dean Ryan is handing debuts to 5 key summer signings; Donncha O'Callaghan, Phil Dowson, Wynand Olivier, Tom Heathcote and Darren Barry and all will need to deliver. The Saints lineup looks ominously strong and it will be great to see Ben Foden back on a rugby field again after his injury troubles. On home soil I'm expecting Dean Ryan’s side to front up and be counted for however with a boosted squad the Northampton Saints should continue their opening round trend. 

In the North East the Newcastle Falcons will be welcoming Gloucester Rugby to town. After impressing in pre-season Mike Delany is handed the starting role at 10 and they'll be a fair few eyes on the sublime feet of Sinoti Sinoti. In comparison to many Gloucester Rugby will arrive at Round 1 with a settled team and their buzz word of this season is consistency. Richard Hibbard and John Afoa will be keen to get stuck into Falcons' scrum and in the absence of James Hook, Billy Twelvetrees moves to fly-half. On paper Gloucester have the edge however home advantage and a pumped up Falcons side could see this one being a closer than some would predict. 

On Saturday afternoon The Rec will host the Exeter Chiefs for the second time in two weeks after their final pre-season head to head. The Chiefs ran away with the result last Saturday and have fielded the same starting XV however I don't expect them same to happen this time around. Bath Rugby are boosted by the return of their England players with George Ford and Anthony Watson heading straight into the starting line up and David Wilson and Sam Burgess on the bench. Watch out for Niko Matawalu's introduction off the bench for Bath Rugby and of course the Exeter Chief whose reputation precedes him Thomas Waldrom. Bath haven’t lost on the opening weekend since 2006 however after an unbeaten pre-season the Exeter Chiefs will arrive confident and be ready to cause a stir. 

The current Aviva Premiership Champions will open their account at home against the Sale Sharks. Saracens’ off season has been a settled one and their selection reflects that with a host of familiar names. The Sale Sharks are looking to surprise a few people this season and at the heart of that will be Danny Cipriani. There's a lot to take in at Allianz Park, the lineouts should be fiercely contested with Maro Itoje and Jim Hamilton up against Josh Beaumont and Bryn Evans and for those that like a scrummage watch out for the Jamie George and Tommy Taylor head to head. The Sharks have won just once on Saracens soil in Premiership Rugby history the question is can they double their victory count this weekend?

The final match of the weekend will be at the Madjeski Stadium where London Irish will face the Leicester Tigers. Both sides have new management and this first outing will test just how productive their respective summers have been. For the Tigers Logovi'i Mulipola and Tom Croft are two welcome returnees and familiar faces amongst a line up that contains a 5 Premiership debutants. London Irish are handing the reigns at 10 to Chris Noakes who will partner up with Brendan McKibbin and they’re boosted by the return of internationals Jebb Sinclair and Halani Aulika. History points the odds in the direction of the Leicester Tigers - they’ve won their last three season openers and London Irish have beaten them just once in any tournament since 2009 however Tom Coventry and London Irish will be keen to start their campaign positively on home soil.