So, we now have a year under our belts and another year to look forward to.

The year we’ve had was one to remember and far more successful than any of us might have hoped for. We started with a win at home to Gloucester and that set the alarm bells ringing throughout the Premiership. We nearly turned over Tigers and then the hare was running and any hope of surprise was gone but that didn’t stop us and as the excitement grew so did the expectation and aspiration.

We all have our favourite moments and they are probably all different but despite being the only side in the league to win at Sarries the most notable to me was coming back into the game at Saints and nearly taking all the spoils. If you remember Saints were sweeping away all before them so to get a point was a result but coming back to get that point laid down a marker to all in the league.

Of course those expectations and aspirations clouded our vision and at Rob Baxter’s own admission it clouded the players vision also and we had a losing streak which brought us down to earth with a bump before reforming and proving our Premiership credentials. Baxter showed that with a genuine team ethos and genuine hard work you can achieve beyond what many would consider your capability.

Pretty much all the players stepped up to the plate as they say but one or two hit big home runs which gave the side some focus. It’s easy to pick out TJ but Sireli proved to be and outstanding winger who could play in the centre whilst Tommy Hayes just got on with it and led from the front in fact he had one run where he not only surprised the opposition but his own side as well with such a show of pace.

It was great on the field and just as great off it, home and away but the side never lost contact with their supporters and the whole thing felt like a rugby club.

But all that counts for nothing now and we start all over again and just to help us off to a good start the fixture organisers have thrown Tigers, Bath, Sarries and Saints at us in the first few weeks of the season just to test our metal. Do we fear them? Of course we do. Do we respect them? Of course we do. But do we think we can win any of these games? Of course we do. Don’t ask me which ones we will win because I haven’t got a clue at this stage.

Rob has let a number of players move on including some old favourites and he has brought in a group of new players to help with the task of improving year on year. Keeping to his mantra of collective effort rather than superstars and playboys we haven’t really heard of most of them other than as a vague name in passing. Am I worried about that? No.
However, this year will be distinctly harder than last because we are now a known force and the better teams in the league will have their own expectations of beating us and the sides we turned over last season will want to prove a point. And don’t think the World Cup absentees in some of the other sides will make a massive material difference because they have all built their squads to cover this period.

I believe the most important guy between now and the start of the season is Paddy Anson because it took us a while to learn how to play full on for eighty minutes last season. I think that hurt Paddy last season because he knows his stuff and thought we were completely ready for it and we very nearly were. This coming season I know he will have them as fit if not fitter than any other squad in the league.

We have bolstered the pack with some very astute signings creating real competition for every place but they say the key to every pack is at tight head and Craig Mitchell’s signing could prove one of the best Rob ever makes. Behind the pack the return of Kevin Barrett will give us two genuine Premiership scrum halves and if Josh Tatupu and Camacho are half as good as their CV’s and promotional videos suggest we could have a very competitive back line which will frighten a few sides.

As for other sides in the league and how they might perform next season is anybody’s guess at this point. I suppose at the top Sarries, saints and Tigers will be in the mix. Quins, Bath, Gloucester and Irish will all have great expectations though some may find league and Heineken Cup just a little too much. This leaves us, Sale, Worcester, Newcastle and Wasps to keep an eye on each other in the lower half of the league. Believe me every pundit in the papers and TV will be little different from this scenario.

In conclusion my ambitions for the forthcoming season, not including a weekend in Florence, is simply to finish 11th. However I mentioned earlier that we now all have expectations and aspirations so I’m hoping we improve by one place to 7th which covers the expectation element. As for my aspirations one place further would see us into the elite of rugby and a place in the Heineken Cup in 2012/13. Looking forward to it all.