DISCUSSION POINTS
They are back in the big time after a romp through the Championship but they arrive with a new identity, having rebranded as the Bears.
With no Championship play-offs to negotiate, they could do their transfer business nice and early once promotion was secured. There are All Blacks, Samoans and Wallabies now spackling Pat Lam’s squad – Charles Piutau, John Afoa and the mythic George Smith are just a few newcomers – and they will need all the nous and experience they can muster.
You have to go back to 2008 for the last time Briz were able to hold onto a spot in the top flight. Survival for promoted sides often comes down to points collected at the tail-end of the season, but we have a blockbuster start for the Bears, with a match against defending champions Saracens sandwiched between two West Country derbies, with Bath in round one and Gloucester in
round three.