Will Saints reign again or new winners rise? - Prem Rugby club guide
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Blink and it seems like a Prem Rugby season has only just finished but it has already been 97 days since 2025-26 wrapped up at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
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A new campaign of the English top flight stretches before us, with 18 rounds of games between now and early next June, all against the backdrop of a World Cup that is just over 12 months away.
BBC Sport commentators and pundits from across England analyse what we can expect from each club when the games get under way.
Commentary of every Prem Rugby game is available on BBC local radio, via BBC Sounds or the BBC Sport website.
Bath - 'Should challenge for honours again'
Bath failed to back up their 2025 title with a third straight visit to Twickenham in June [Getty Images]2025-26: Second, play-offs
Key signing: Dan du Preez, number eight
Dan Albutt, BBC Radio Bristol commentator
Bath's recruitment has been low-key with only two prime additions in South African number eight Dan du Preez and Scotland prop Jamie Bhatti, so the concern for them will be the loss of big ball carriers, especially prop Thomas du Toit and back-rower Alfie Barbeary.
Replacing their impact will be tough, but Bath still have a loaded squad that will once again have Scotland fly-half Finn Russell pulling the strings.
Last season's home semi-final defeat by Exeter will still sting, but head of rugby Johann van Graan has proven to be a master of learning from bad experiences and turning them into positives.
If they can, then they should challenge for honours again, but Du Toit and Barbeary are big losses and it may make that task a lot harder.
Scotland forward Josh Bayliss may be the most underrated player in the Prem; his power and pace will be a big asset to Bath in a stacked back row.
Listen to The Scrum every Tuesday at 18:00 on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Sounds.
Bristol - 'Need better luck with injuries'
Bristol prop George Kloska made his England debut this summer [Getty Images]2025-26: Sixth
Key signing: Ethan Staddon, back-row forward
Damian Derrick, BBC Points West sports reporter
Bristol Bears enter Pat Lam's 10th season with the clearly stated ambition of getting back into the top four play-off places.
Strangely for Bears, it was their attack and lack of tries that cost them last season. A second full season back in rugby union for Wales and British and Irish Lions winger Louis Rees-Zammit, along with a stated preference for the wing over full-back, should help enormously.
The continued development and influence of Bristolian prop George Kloska, now an England international, will be key. So is keeping Argentina international lock Pedro Rubiolo fit.
The depth of their squad is still a concern - particularly in the front five and at fly-half - so they'll need better luck with injuries.
Bristol's form after the mid-season Six Nations break must also improve as it's let them down over the past two seasons.
Get that right and Lam, who appears to be under little pressure, could be in a tussle for a trip to Twickenham.
Listen to The Scrum every Tuesday at 18:00 on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Sounds.
Exeter - 'Lost relatively few frontline players'
Last season: Third, runners-up
Key signing: Dallas McLeod, centre
Brent Pilnick, BBC Sport, South West of England
Exeter surprised many by going from their worst-ever top flight season to beaten Prem finalists in June.
Rob Baxter's new-look coaching team has had more chance to bed in their ideas, and aside from Australia centre Len Ikitau have lost relatively few frontline players - once-capped All Black Dallas McLeod has come in to replace the Wallabies star while Exeter look strong elsewhere.
In England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the Prem's leading points scorer Henry Slade and barnstorming number eight Greg Fisilau, Exeter possess the attacking weapons to cause any defence problems, while in Wales forward Dafydd Jenkins, Australia flanker Tom Hooper and the highly-rated Kane James they have a pack that can dominate matches.
Off the field, Exeter were taken over by Premier League football side AFC Bournemouth's owners Black Knight earlier this year – that, along with the positivity around the squad from last season, has Exeter fans dreaming of a return to the success that started just over a decade ago where they became perennial title contenders.
Gloucester - 'Better placed to shake off underachievers tag'
Wales captains Dewi Lake (left) and Jac Morgan are both joining Gloucester this season [Getty Images]2025-26: Eighth
Key signing: Jac Morgan, flanker
Andrew Pugh, BBC Radio Gloucestershire commentator
Gloucester have undergone considerable transition on and off the pitch and now look better placed to shake off the frequent 'serial underachievers' tag.
With Chris Boyd on board as technical director, Rob Burgess as general manager and George Skivington reverting to his preferred head coach role, the management structure looks more able to cope with the Prem's demands.
Further coaching changes have come with the arrival of Brett Deacon (forwards) and Joel Tomkins (defence).
There have been a significant number of player departures from Kingsholm, offset by the signing of the outstanding Wales international duo of Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake; with more experience added by the return of scrum-half Dan Robson and the acquisition of physical locks Joe Joyce and Jean Kleyn.
The Cherry and Whites scraped into this season's European Champions Cup, but Shedheads will probably view a top four Prem finish as the true benchmark of progress.
Harlequins - 'Fans desperate to see promised change'
Full-back George Furbank has swapped Northampton for Harlequins this season [Getty Images]2025-26: Ninth
Key signing: George Furbank, full-back
Andrew Rowley, BBC Radio London commentator
Last season was possibly the most turbulent at Harlequins for almost 20 years, as a series of heavy defeats led to the club issuing a statement acknowledging that things had to change.
Chief executive Laurie Dalrymple and chairman David Morgan stated that "performances and results in the men's team are not at the level we expect at Harlequins and are not considered acceptable by anyone within the club".
A wholesale review followed and there have been big changes in the coaching staff, with former Crusaders and Australia coach Robbie Deans joining as performance director to work with head coach Jason Gilmore.
Rob Hunter, Brad Cooper, Sean Long and Jordan Turner-Hall are also involved alongside Adam Jones.
Supporters will be desperate to see that some of the promised cultural changes are reflected on the field before too long, as last season felt like a line in the sand.
Leicester - 'Parling has brought stability'
2025-26: Fourth
Key signing: Aaron Wainwright, number eight
Adam Whitty, BBC Radio Leicester sports editor
Having covered Leicester Tigers for nearly a decade, I find myself in the bizarre scenario of the club having the same head coach as the previous season. That's only happened once since 2018.
Geoff Parling has finally brought some stability to English rugby's most successful club, but more than that he has set the foundations for a bright future ahead.
Leicester play in a more attacking style, led by the recently re-signed Billy Searle, and have developed a new leadership group including England trio Ollie Chessum, Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet.
There hasn't been much player churn, although England lock George Martin and South African flanker Hanro Liebenberg will be big misses in the pack.
Lock Cam Henderson and the very exciting Wales flanker Aaron Wainwright will have big roles to play – and seeing Mako Vunipola in a Tigers shirt will seem strange.
After semi-final heartbreak to Northampton last year, Tigers looked like a team with a huge ceiling that needed to learn how to handle the big moments.
I expect them to be around the play-off race again, perhaps with those experiences behind them.
Listen to the Leicester Tigers Rugby Show every Wednesday at 18:00 on BBC Radio Leicester and BBC Sounds
Newcastle - 'Hope tempered with realism'
2025-26: 10th
Key signing: Raffi Quirke, scrum-half
Dean Gray, BBC Radio Newcastle commentator
Newcastle have finished bottom of the Prem Rugby table over the past four seasons, with the Red Bull takeover last August too late to avoid that disappointment once again.
However, 23 new players have been brought into the squad this term (with around the same number exiting). The squad includes a mix of internationals including Argentina's Franco Molina, Hoskins Sotutu of New Zealand and Scotland duo Elliot Millar Mills and George Turner, seasoned campaigners like Rusi Tuima and Sam Graham, and returnees to the fold such as Josh Hodge and Chris Harris.
A revamped coaching team is in place under head coach Dan McFarland, with former Wales fly-half Stephen Jones in charge of attack and Calum MacRae returning as defence coach.
Their challenge will be to assimilate these new players into a competitive and cohesive team environment quickly.
The club's strapline is 'A New Dawn'. Ambitions and hopes are high but tempered with a realism that evolution doesn't come overnight.
Northampton - 'A real belief they can win title again'
2025-26: First, champions
Key signing: Retaining most of squad on new contracts
Graham McKechnie, BBC Radio Northampton commentator:
For the second time in three seasons, Saints start the new campaign as defending Prem champions and they'll want to make a better defence this time around.
In 2024-25 they started as reigning champions but finished a lowly eighth in the Prem table – reaching the Champions Cup final came as some consolation, but the focus this season is all about trying to win back-to-back domestic titles.
Although they lost captain George Furbank this summer, there should be more than enough experience and leadership to make up for that, with centre Fraser Dingwall rightly taking over Furbank's role.
Henry Pollock might be grabbing all the headlines but the key players for Saints last season were the likes of Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles. This is still a young squad, but they're reaching their prime.
As always, having their key players fit at the crucial stage of the season will make all the difference, but there's real belief around Franklin's Gardens that they can win the Prem again.
Listen to The Saints Show every Wednesday at 18:00 on BBC Radio Northampton and BBC Sounds.
- Saints better prepared for Prem title defence - Dowson
- Pollock signs new Northampton deal in excess of £400K
Sale - 'A pivotal season for Sanderson'
Joe Marchant (fourth right) and Courtney Lawes (far right) hope to return to the England squad [Getty Images]2025-26: Seventh
Key signing: Joe Marchant, centre
Adam Lanigan, BBC Sport England
Last season was a rude awakening for Sale Sharks as their run of three straight top-four finishes was emphatically ended.
The fact that they were out of play-off contention by the January break for the Six Nations was even more damning, eventually finishing 27 points behind fourth spot, leading to the question of whether the Sharks and their physical style of play had been rumbled.
To back up some of their local talent, director of rugby Alex Sanderson has recruited a wealth of experience led by ex-Northampton and England second-rower Courtney Lawes, while there are a trio of Wales recruits in the forwards with Tomas Francis, Nicky Smith and Christ Tshuinza on board.
But the most interesting signing is that of Joe Marchant. The centre returns to the Prem after three years at Stade Francais and he has his heart set on making the England squad for next year's World Cup.
To do that, he has to play well at club level where he will fill the gap left by the influential Rob du Preez.
This feels like a pivotal season for Sanderson, who maintains the support of the club's hierarchy, to show that last season was just a blip.
The north west club will expect to compete near the top again, but the first task will be to restore order at CorpAcq Stadium after a losing record there last season.
You can hear coverage of Sale Sharks in Total Sport on BBC Radio Manchester
Saracens - 'Venter's return eagerly anticipated'
Brendan Venter (left) first worked at Saracens in 2009 [Getty Images]2025-26: Fifth
Key signing: Tomos Williams, scrum-half
Andrew Rowley, BBC Radio London commentator
Saracens are celebrating their 150th season and will set out to try to make it a campaign to remember as they aim for more consistency and a ruthless edge.
It will certainly be memorable for long-serving hooker Jamie George, who announced that it will be his last season - he has been a cornerstone of the successful era under Mark McCall that saw the club win six Premiership titles and three European Champions Cups.
The supporters will be keen to give him a send off and will also be eagerly anticipating Brendan Venter's return as director of rugby.
The South African set the platform for so much success in the past 15 years and his determination is likely to make Saracens a formidable opponent for the rest.
Number eight Tom Willis is a notable departure but the arrivals of England lock George Martin, back-rower Alfie Barbeary and Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams should add plenty, while the talented young players such as Charlie Bracken, Tobias Elliott, Angus Hall, Toby Knight and Noah Caluori should continue their progression.
Compiled by BBC Sport England's Sophie Hurcom