PREM Rugby predictions 2026/27: ‘Trend-setters’ Northampton Saints to go ‘back-to-back’ in ‘blockbuster’ season
Northampton Saints players lifting the PREM Rugby title with an inset of Finn Russell
It’s that time of year again. After a long off-season, we now start to look ahead to the start of the new PREM Rugby campaign, and it promises to be yet another blockbuster.
Fresh off a full-scale rebrand from the Premiership to PREM Rugby, which included a new-look logo and colour scheme, the 2025/26 season delivered in bucketfuls. The race for the top four was a real rollercoaster across the campaign and peaked just ahead of the final rounds, while the battle for the Investec Champions Cup places also went deep into the season. But as always, the new season brings fresh hope, fresh optimism and fresh belief. So how could it pan out?
Here is our full team-by-team guide ahead of the new PREM season.
Bath
Ones to watch: Scott Kirk, Tom Carr-Smith, Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi
Star man: Finn Russell
Top signing: Dan du Preez
Prediction: 2nd
The way last season ended will have surely hurt Bath, and more importantly, head of rugby Johann van Graan, but you’d expect them to be right in the mix for the title once again.
Even with the departures of Thomas du Toit, Alfie Barbeary and Francois van Wyk, among others, Bath have one of the best and deepest squads in the PREM. Each position, particularly the back-five of the scrum, has two or even three genuine contenders to start week on week, while their youngsters continue to plug holes and get decent exposure. Their recruitment, or lack of it for one of a better phrase, points to Van Graan already being happy with the group he has.
The big question for Bath this season is their attack. It wasn’t so much that they were poor, but it didn’t quite fire as it did the season before. The departure of Lee Blackett was a big catalyst in that, of course, but it just wasn’t the same blueprint and it ultimately cost them come the final weeks of the campaign in which they lost two semi-finals. Van Graan has moved quickly to sure things up in that department with the addition of new assistant coach Mike Prendergast from Munster, but their new system will take a bit of time to bed in.
Bath should be right in the mix for the title this year, but can they close the gap?
Bristol Bears
Ones to watch: Sam Worsley, Aidan Boshoff, Sol Moody
Star man: Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Top signing: Ethan Staddon
Prediction: 7th
Probably the hardest team in the PREM to predict, even week-to-week let alone season-to-season.
There is no denying the talent Bristol have in their ranks; it’s arguably one of the best squads in the league, but it is also one of the smallest in the league. Pat Lam’s depth was tested pretty much from the get-go last season, with AJ MacGinty, Gabriel Ibitoye and Harry Randall suffering serious injuries in the opening fixture, and it didn’t ease up from there either. If they get a repeat of that, Bristol could be in big trouble.
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Bristol have 69 players on their books for the 2026/27 season, but of those, 14 are year one senior academy and a number are also still very much in their infancy at this level. That will be a good thing for the future, but it also means they will have to chuck these guys in at the deep end.
But then again, if they keep everyone fit and firing, they could seriously challenge for the title. Their all-out attacking rugby is among the most attractive brand in the entire competition, and when it’s firing at 100%, they are deadly.
Certainly one to keep an eye on this year, and definitely a team to watch if you fancy putting on the rugby.
Exeter Chiefs
Ones to watch: Kane James, Ben Coen, Zack Wimbush
Star man: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
Top signing: Dallas McLeod
Prediction: 4th
This is an interesting season for the Chiefs after reaching the final last year, but one where they could look to mount another play-off push?
Exeter have done some smart bits of recruitment this year, too. Dallas McLeod is probably the headline name coming to Sandy Park, but fellow new arrivals Nika Abuladze, Harry Wilson and Will Butt will all likely push for a spot in the run-on group, while their other signings add some nice depth to an already-strong squad as well.
The big thing for Exeter this year is also their playing style, or rather continuing on from what they changed last year. It’s not going to be a year of all-out change, but rather refinement and polishing. If they can do that, they should be onto a real winner.
Again, this is an interesting year for Exeter, but they should be right in the mix for the top four once more.
Gloucester
Ones to watch: Ben Redshaw, Will Knight, Seb Blake
Star man: Charlie Atkinson
Top signing: Jac Morgan
Prediction: 8th
The Cherry and Whites have undergone a pretty dramatic transformation this off-season, even getting rid of their long-standing and infamous Milk Challenge initiation, but will it lead to on-field changes?
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Simply put, Gloucester took a major step backwards last season compared to 2024/25. It was always going to be a harder year, in fairness, given the volume of players that left in the off-season, but the difference was glaring. In an effort to rectify that, Gloucester have gone big in the recruitment market with the additions of Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake, Jean Kleyn, Dan Robson, Phil Cokanasiga and Joe Joyce, among others, and changed their coaching set-up to bring George Skivington back onto a more hands-on role.
The challenge for Gloucester this season is to be better than they were last year. That sounds so simple on paper, doesn’t it, but it is as easy as that. What that comes in, either wins or final position in the table, is by the by, but they simply have to be better than last season. They cannot afford a repeat of that.
Harlequins
Ones to watch: Lucas Friday, Elliot Williams, Ollie Streeter
Star man: Marcus Smith
Top signing: George Furbank
Prediction: 9th
Literally anything is an improvement on last year, but is this just a year to lay the groundwork for a better long-term future?
Harlequins are yet another club going through major changes as a result of a poor season. Jason Gilmore has bolstered his coaching staff with Brad Cooper and Rob Hunter this year, while Robbie Deans has joined as a consultant, and that should see a marked change in their game-plan this year. The addition of George Furbank has taken the headlines within the squad, but they have also done some shrewed business with James Dun and Sampie Swiegers joining and James Lang returning.
Things certainly won’t change overnight for Harlequins, but it feels like a much wider, long-term project to get them back on the front-foot. This year is all about improvement, of course, but it should also act as the start of something bigger.
Leicester Tigers
Ones to watch: Finn Carnduff, Lewis Chessum, Archie van der Flier
Star man: Adam Radwan
Top signing: Aaron Wainwright
Prediction: 3rd
There’s a lot to like about Leicester Tigers heading into the new campaign, and they could once again be a real challenger for the title.
The departures of key men like Nicky Smith, Hanro Liebenberg and George Martin will undoubtedly sting, but Geoff Parling has done some smart recruitment in their place. Aaron Wainwright is an exceptional piece of business, with the Welshman likely to go straight in as one of the best back-rowers in the competition already, but he is joined by seasoned campaigners Mako Vunipola, Elliot Stooke and Joel Sclavi. Elsewhere, Joe Jenkins adds some nice depth to their already-impressive centre stock, while Sam Moli does the same at hooker.
Leicester are also a year further down the line in the Parling project, after what was a pretty impressive debut season under the new head coach. This time last year, even amid the backdrop of them reaching the 2025 final, you felt Leicester were something of an unknown entity given the coaching change and the exits of some of their most experienced players; but now we know exactly what they are about. It’s nothing too flashy, but it’s ultra-accurate, disciplined and gritty; everything Leicester are about, to be honest.
Play-offs feel like a minimum for the Tigers this year, but there is no reason they can’t go one further.
Newcastle Red Bulls
Ones to watch: Oscar Usher, Benjamín Elizalde, Harrison Obatoyinbo
Star man: Christian Wade
Top signing: Hoskins Sotutu
Prediction: 10th
Literally anything could happen with Newcastle Red Bulls this season, but with such a drastic change this off-season, they are probably favourites to finish bottom this year.
That seems harsh, given the quality they have in their ranks. Their recruitment strategy has been exceptional, it must be stressed, adding big-name players to their ranks as well as recruiting genuine PREM experience to bolster their overall depth underneath that. However, getting 26 fresh faces and essentially a new-look coaching staff all on the same page in a short space of time is such a daunting challenge.
Newcastle shouldn’t be written off, and hopefully this prediction doesn’t do that, but this feels like a year for them to lay the foundations for success later down the track.
Northampton Saints
Ones to watch: Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, James Pater, Noah Buxton
Star man: Tommy Freeman
Top signing: Malik Faissal
Prediction: 1st
Could it be back-to-back for Northampton Saints this year? At the time of writing, it seems hard to bet against them.
The reigning champions have been the real trend-setters in English rugby as a whole over the past few seasons. Two PREM Rugby titles and one Investec Champions Cup final in the past three seasons are certainly a fair reflection of that, but they also boast the core of Steve Borthwick’s Test squad as well. Around that, the Saints have evolved their game on little bits at a time as the seasons have gone on, while still maintaining the core DNA with their attacking blueprint.
Northampton haven’t been particularly busy in the transfer market this year, but they’ve done some good bits of business. All of their new recruits come in and plug small gaps in their extended depth chart, while also not directly blocking any youngsters who will likely get more gametime this season.
Their one challenge this year will be to improve on their previous title defence, a season in which they finished eighth in the league, but you would think they’ve taken the lessons from that and already put plans in place.
Will they go back-to-back?
Sale Sharks
Ones to watch: Tye Raymont, Alfie Longstaff, Ollie Davies
Star man: Tom Curry
Top signing: Courtney Lawes
Prediction: 6th
Alex Sanderson and everyone involved at Sale Sharks will be hoping last season was just a blip, and they’ve acted quickly to ensure it isn’t the start of a slump. A huge amount of movement has happened this off-season to bulk up the squad, both literally and physically in some cases, but all in all Sale should come into this season with hopes of a major improvement.
That only comes in one way for Sale: a higher finish than last season. Simply improving performances will not satisfy the hunger the Sharks were left with after last year; they simply have to climb up the table. That is so much easier said than done in the PREM, but that feels like the bare minimum.
As with a lot of the teams this year, these changes will take time to properly bed in. The bulk of Sale’s recruitment has been done to bolster their starting XV, which will likely lead to an entirely different unit come round one of the 2026/27 season than finished the 2025/26; or even started it this time last year. That potentially just gives the play-off chasers a bit of a head-start on them in the early rounds.
Sale will surely be better than they were last year, and they should have the play-offs in their sights.
Saracens
Ones to watch: Jack Bracken, Charlie Bracken, Olly Hartley
Star man: Maro Itoje
Top signing: George Martin
Prediction: 5th
It’s the start of a new era at Saracens this year. Dramatic off-field shifts, namely the departure of the long-standing Mark McCall and the return of Brendan Venter as director of rugby, have given the club a different outlook heading into the new campaign, and that has been met by serious ambition in the transfer market with the likes of George Martin, Alfie Barbeary and Tomos Williams heading to North London.
But if Saracens want to return to the top four this year, their biggest change will need to come on the pitch. Last year was the ultimate season of two halves; starting inconsistently and sitting mid-table, before a thrashing at the hands of Bath and the Six Nations break pressed the reset button and start a run of seven wins on the spin to push for a play-off spot. They ultimatley fell short, but that run should set the standard for them this season.
Play-offs should be their aim this year, and they will hope to go that extra step on from the end of last season.
Planet Rugby predictions in full
1st: Northampton Saints
2nd: Bath
3rd: Leicester Tigers
4th: Exeter Chiefs
5th: Saracens
6th: Sale Sharks
7th: Bristol Bears
8th: Gloucester
9th: Harlequins
10th: Newcastle Red Bulls
Final: Northampton Saints v Bath
Champions: Northampton Saints