Premiership picks

The Rugby Club panellists give their views ahead of the new Guinness Premiership season.

Tigers expected to continue their dominance

Ahead of the new Premiership season, Rugby Club's top pundits Stuart Barnes, Dewi Morris and Will Greenford were asked to cast an eye over the coming nine months and make their predictions. Will Leicester Tigers secure successive first-place finishes? Can London Irish take the next step and finally bring some silverware back to Sunbury? Is Leeds' return to the top flight going to be a short one? Dewi Morris sees another season of dominance from reigning champions Leicester. They may no longer have the services of scrum-half Julien Dupuy and club legend Martin Corry, who has decided to hang up his boots, but the rise in prominence of Tom Croft and Jordan Crane, along with the trickery of new club captain Geordan Murphy and namesake Johne suggests they can continue to compete in the upper echelons of the Premiership. Dewi has also backed Bath to put their off-field issues behind them and clinch a top-four spot, while he fears for Leeds' chances back in the big time. "Again I think the Leicester Tigers are going to be very hard to beat," said Dewi. "For me it'll be Bath coming in second. While it'll be very difficult for Harlequins to recover from 'Bloodgate' Bath have a better squad than last year. "Leeds Carnegie will be well organised under Neil Back but I just don't think they've got the personnel to survive."

Exiles to excel

Stuart Barnes agrees with Dewi's assessment of Leicester's chances for the coming season and sees Richard Cockerill's men remaining top of the roost, while he expects last year's runners-up, London Irish, to push them hard once again. "I've the same four teams as Dewi in the top four but in different orders," said Stuart. "When in doubt go for Leicester at the top, but I also think London Irish are going to have a very successful season and I can see them finishing second. "I think Worcester will go down because Neil Back and Andy Key will make Leeds hard to beat. They've made some smart signings, such as Gareth Hardy. I know myself and Will had a bit of a thing for him when he was playing as prop for the Western Force but it's a typical Neil Back signing - nothing too flash but will do the simple things well. "I think Back will ensure Leeds don't leak too many tries and that will give them a great chance of staying up. I know you also need to score them, but just don't concede too many."

Wounded Warriors

Will Greenwood also feels Worcester are destined to drop out of the Premiership this season, citing their heavy dependence on players such as Sam Tuitupou and Chris Latham. However, Will is backing Gloucester to return to top spot. The cherry and whites finished first in both 2007 and 2008 but suffered heartbreak in the playoff stages. "I'm going for Gloucester to win it," said Will. "I think the signing of Nicky Robinson will give them the steering hands that can get them through the trap. They've had a big pre-season and I think they'll come through. "I think Brendan Venter's influence at Saracens will be a positive one. They've got Schalk Britz at hooker with Fabio Ongaro rotating, and Steve Borthwick will also push on. "For relegation, I've gone for Worcester. I think the signings of Andy Gommarsal and Marco Wentzel will keep Leeds up. And on the flip side at Worcester, they are too reliant on Sam Tuitupou and Chris Latham staying fit and playing well that without them they don't have a cutting edge." Here are the boys' predicitions for the new season...DEWI MORRIS
1st: Leicester
2nd: Bath
3rd: London Irish
4th: Northampton
Relegated: Leeds Carnegie STUART BARNES
1st: Leicester
2nd: London Irish
3rd: Northampton
4th: Bath
Relegated: Worcester WILL GREENWOOD
1st: Gloucester
2nd: Leicester
3rd: Saracens
4th: Northampton
Relegated: Worcester