By Duncan Wood
August 28 2002

Peter Richards is one of the Bristol Shoguns close season signings. All teams have been active in their recruitment and will be hoping for great things. How are they all going to get on? Here are my views.

Bath

Frustrating summer of recruitment. They have beefed up their front row slightly and they've picked up a couple of our castoffs in Ross Blake and Adam Vander. However, the guys they really wanted were Duncan Bell and Mark Connors.

The supporters are expecting Jack Rowell to work miracles and have high hopes that Mike Catt will bounce back from injury. Balshaw and Perry are missing until November and it could be another long, hard season.

Bristol

After the post Twickenham trauma (Little, Rowell and Ryan all leaving one after the other), everything has settled down nicely. New head coach Peter Thorburn has opted for continuity rather than overhaul, promoting from the Academy and recruiting judiciously.

This team started to perform once Thorburn arrived last March and a continuation of the form at the end of least season would see Bristol capable of beating anyone on their day.

A new signing is expected to boost the backs in November with rumours persisting that it could be Daryl Gibson of Canterbury and New Zealand. The Heineken Cup campaign will be a tough ask but a cup run isn't out of the question and everyone connected with the club will be looking at the top half of the table.

Gloucester

Could be a very big season for the men from Kingsholm. They've kept most of last season's squad together and added the likes of Simon Amor and Peter Buxton.

Do they really believe that they can challenge Leicester is the question. They seem to have all the pieces in place on and off the field and backed by the redoubtable Shed, who knows what they can achieve this season? They'll be almost impossible to beat at home and it'll all depend on how they travel.

Harlequins

It appears that they've fitted a revolving door at the Stoop to cope with all the comings and goings! Andre Vos and Viliame Satala are big name signings whilst David Wilson, Steve White-Cooper and Garrick Morgan are amongst the leavers. Paul Turner replaces Richard Hill off the field.

Who knows? They're an absolute enigma! Will the star names perform week in week out? Inconsistency means that the bottom half of the table beckons.

Leeds

They've recruited hard over the summer bringing in big names like Mark Regan, Diego Albanese and Stewart Campbell. There have been quite a few departures as well but, overall, they look stronger than last season and will have benefitted from their 2001-2 experiences.

It's hard to see them winning away from Headingley much but they're always going to be a force at home. One of the bottom two, I'm afraid.

Leicester

Can anyone catch them? Will a slightly ageing squad start to run out of steam? They still seem to possess an overpowering desire to win everything they take part in and Dean Richards has instilled quite some team spirit.

They've added French prop Franck Tournaire to the pack and recruited another ex rugny league winger in Gareth Raynor to join Tuilagi and Booth.

They're currently wracked with injuries but always seem to come through these rough patches losing only the bare minimum of games. I still think they'll be champions again.

London Irish

The big name arrival is Pieter Roussow and he'll add class to the backline. They've lost a few players but kept the core of the first XV together.

Most importantly, they hung onto Brendan Venter and they'll continue to be a match for anyone on their day. They'll be strong at the Madejski and Barry Everitt's boot will keep them in touch in any game.

They won't surprise as many people as last season but they'll still probably finish in the top half.

Newcastle

Could be a difficult year. They've brought in Brotherstone (Saints), Grindall (Tigers) and Shaw (Saints) but lost Lam, Tuigamala, Armstrong, Weir and Graham.

Dave Walder broke a shin this week which is going to pile even more pressure on Jonny Wilkinson and there's possible disharmony with Andrew Mower on the transfer list

They'll probably go well in the Shield but the bottom half of the Premiership beckons..

Northampton

One to watch this season which will be Wayne Smith's first full season in charge. Some really good signings in Reihana and Connors to add to an already impressive squad.

A lot depends on how Steve Williams can fill Olivier Brouzet's boots and, if they steer clear of injuries, they could well be a top 3 side.

Sale

They've lost a lot of squad players but recruited a gem in Graeme Bond.

Will they have the same good luck with injuries this season? If so, they'll go well. Playing on Friday nights will help as there will be very little away support!

Probably mid table

Saracens

Wayne Shelford's appointment will be vital as he'll instill a hard edge that they perhaps lacked before.

They've lost some good players but brought some good ones in. It's all a question of whether they'll gel as a team and how long it'll take.

Waving a chequebook doesn't always guarantee success as they've found in the past.

Mid table?

Wasps

They've brought in Robert Howley and lost a host of squad members.

How will the increasingly fragile Howley stand up to the rigours of the Premiership? Will some of the Wasps U21s step up and make the grade?

How will the move to Wycombe affect their support and their home advantage?

They'll always be useful on their day but I think they'll be below halfway.