The 2024-25 Premiership campaign kicks-off on Friday with a rerun of last season’s final which saw Northampton beat Bath.
As usual, a new season brings a fresh chance for the next generation of talent to stake their claims as England internationals of the future.
Here, Mail Sport’s Chris Foy and Alex Bywater look at 10 Premiership faces ready to light up the league over the course of the next 12 months.
Bath: Ewan Richards
Age: 22. Position: Back row. Height: 6ft 6in. Weight: 17st 7lb.
Richards has captained Bath in pre-season, scoring twice against Cardiff. He is an England youth international and a hugely powerful back row. At 22, he has been around the senior setup of last season’s Premiership finalists for the last two years or more without making a significant impact, but will hope this season is the one he makes a real breakthrough. It seems only a matter of time before he will as Richards’ talent has long been noticed by English rugby’s top brass.
Ewan Richards (right) captained Bath in pre-season and scored twice against Cardiff
Bristol: George Kloska
Age: 24. Position: Prop. Height: 6ft. Weight: 18st 6lb.
Kloska started his career as a hooker and has also played in other positions in the pack, but it is at prop where he has now concentrated at senior level. A proud Bristolian, he has been with the Bears since the age of 13. England international Kyle Sinckler, who was Bristol’s main man in Kloska’s position, has left for France, and Pat Lam has signed Lovejoy Chawatama as an option at No 3, but part of the reason Sinckler hasn’t been replaced directly is that Bristol believe Kloska can stake his claim to be a key man in the front row.
Exeter: Zack Wimbush
Age: 21. Position: Centre. Height: 6ft 6in. Weight: 17st 5lb.
Born in Hong Kong, the giant midfielder has the sort of power and pace you need as an international centre and he is already on the radar of both England and Wales, as he qualifies for both countries. Wimbush was first called into Exeter’s senior squad by director of rugby Rob Baxter last season but is set to be a more central figure in 2024-25. Don’t be surprised to see him around an international set-up in either a white or red shirt later in the season.
The Hong Kong-born Zack Wimbush is already on the radar of both England and Wales
Gloucester: Afolabi Fasogbon
Age: 20. Position: Prop. 6ft 4in. Weight: 20st 7lb.
The Londoner is a massive prospect, in every sense, as he prepares to add considerable clout to the Gloucester pack this season. He was developed at the London Irish academy and then moved to the West Country when the Exiles went bust. Last season, he was severely hampered by injury, but after a loan spell at Birmingham Moseley in National One, he became a key figure in England’s Under 20 World Cup triumph, in a formidable pack which wrought havoc in the scrum. Now, he is ready to make his mark at senior level.
Afolabi Fasogbon is a massive prospect and will add considerable clout to the Gloucester pack
Harlequins: Cassius Cleaves
Age: 21. Position: Wing. Height: 5ft 10in. 14st 13lb.
Gifted with a deadly side-step and blistering pace, flying young wing Cleaves not only has a fantastic name but is certainly a player to keep an eye on. Still only 21, Cleaves has warmed up for the new campaign with some stunning tries for Harlequins in pre-season. An injury to Cadan Murley means Cleaves is set to have plenty of first team opportunities in the upcoming months, and is the sort of player that will get fans jumping out of their seats and fits perfectly into the entertaining brand of rugby played at The Stoop.
Cassius Cleaves warmed up for the campaign with stunning tries for Harlequins in pre-season
Leicester: Will Wand
Age: 22. Position: Centre. Height: 6ft 2in. 14st 11lb.
The lifelong Tigers fan from Lincolnshire made his breakthrough at Cambridge, before moving on to Coventry, where he was the club’s Player of the Season for 2023-24. His 14 tries in 23 matches also earned him selection in the Championship Team of the Season and helped persuade Leicester to recruit him. During pre-season, as new head coach Michael Cheika was gauging the resources in his squad, Wand impressed in fixtures against Nottingham and the Scarlets – operating in midfield and on the wing, and demonstrating his creative and finishing skills.
Newcastle: Joe Davis
Age: 18. Position: Scrum-half. Height: 5ft 6in. Weight: 11st 9lb.
The 18-year-old rookie is set to make his Falcons debut off the bench against Bristol at Kingston Park on Friday night, as reward for the way he caught the eye with a sparky pre-season performance against Sale. ‘The kid’s going to be a revelation,’ said director of rugby Steve Diamond. ‘I’m not afraid to chuck them in.’ Davis went to the same school – Barnard Castle – as England internationals Rory and Tony Underwood, Rob Andrew and Mathew Tait, and was coached there by by former England scrum-half Lee Dickson, as well as representing his country’s at Under 18 level.
Northampton: Craig Wright
Age: 20. Position: Hooker. Height: 5ft 11in. Weight: 15st 10lb.
Another leading light in the England Under 20 pack which eclipsed all-comers at the junior World Cup in Cape Town this summer. Chelmsford-born Wright has emerged as an all-round asset at Saints. He is already an accomplished set-piece forward, but is also capable of supreme feats in open play, where his remarkable pace for a hooker was evident when he scorched clear for a long-range try against South Africa’s ‘Baby Boks’. Now that Sam Matavesi has departed to join Lyon and Curtis Langdon could earn an England call-up, Wright should earn game time this season.
Craig Wright was a leading light in the England Under 20 pack at the World Cup this summer
Saracens’ Fergus Burke has the task of replacing Owen Farrell, who now plays in France
Sale: Alex Wills
Age: 20. Position: Wing. Height: 5ft 11in. Weight: 15st 8lb.
Like so many young prospects, he had to overcome early-career adversity. Having developed in the Worcester academy, the demise of the Warriors led to a relocation to the North West, where the powerful Wills joined the Sale academy following a trial. Having honed his craft at Hartpury College near Gloucester, he was part of England’s Under 20 global title triumph during the summer, after showing his prolific potential with a try on his first appearance the previous year. Club chances should come, especially if Tom Roebuck and Arron Reed are summoned by England and Scotland respectively.
Saracens: Fergus Burke
Age: 25. Position: Fly-half. Height: 6ft 2in. Weight: 13st 5lb.
The man faced with arguably the toughest job in English rugby – replacing Owen Farrell. With Farrell now playing in France with Racing 92, Saracens have moved to fill the enormous gap he has left by signing Burke, who has joined from the Crusaders in New Zealand. Burke is 25 and far from a total novice. His move north is set to see him pursue international honours with either England or Scotland in the coming years. But first his task is to adapt to English club rugby and get Saracens playing in the way Farrell did for so long.
