The big kick-off Can Exeter upset the top guns again and lift Premiership crown?

Saracens, Wasps and Leicester will challenge Baxter’s title holders, writes Mick Cleary

Exeter Chiefs head into the unknown at Kingsholm tonight, a familiar enough venue after seven years in the Premiership but with a wholly different air surrounding it for the defending champions. No longer the underdog, no longer the coming thing, the Chiefs are the title-holders.

So much rests on how they deal with that reality, or the perception of it in their own heads, for there is little doubt that Gloucester will be the first of many an opponent that will use matches against them as a measuring stick as to where they stand in the rankings themselves. Motivation for one lot, and either a burden or a boon for the other.

Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, is a wise enough man not to assume that his team should simply airbrush memories of that taut, extra-time victory over Wasps at Twickenham and start all over again as if the 2017-18 domestic script really were to begin as a blank page. In fact, Baxter has urged his team “to throw some punches … to see what playing in the Premiership is like when you are the top team in England”.

Exeter need to carry a due air of authority with them. It would be foolish and ill-conceived for them not to draw belief from their commendable achievement, to ignore what got them to the summit in the first place. All those values, of tightness, of brotherhood, of chippiness even, that desire to prove they were far more than a bunch of western upstarts riding their luck, must remain in place.

Just as Saracens have proved to be an enduring feature of the higher reaches of rugby’s landscape by dint of their package of off-field fun producing on-field excellence, so Exeter should abide by their own particular practices.

Of course, the Aviva Premiership title should not be the end of the project but nor should it be consigned to the record books as little more than a historic entity. It has carry-over worth.

At the root of Exeter’s success lies an honesty that is wrapped up in the persona of the man at the top – Baxter. It is no coincidence that the standout European-based coaches of the early months of summer were Baxter, Mark Mccall of Saracens who retained their European title and Warren Gatland, all of whom believe that success is due as much to the bonds forged away from the training ground as any of the drills and routines practised on it.

And, yes, if that includes a few sessions in the bar, then so be it. The Lions showed the power of comradeship while Saracens have long traded on their away-day persona, blokes working for each other because of the special extra-curricular times they have shared.

The Chiefs, too, believe in that one-for-all musketeer ethos. One look at their team-sheet for the visit to Kingsholm shows that they are a star team without an overload of star names. New signing, former Wallaby scrum-half Nic White, starts against Gloucester while another newcomer, openside Matt Kvesic, is on the bench, as is Lions wing Jack Nowell. The faith lies in players such as back-row forward Don Armand, or wing Olly Woodburn, or starting locks at Kingsholm, Ollie Atkins and Jonny Hill, all tuned in to the Exeter way.

Exeter are well aware staying at the top will be even harder than cresting that peak in the first place. The viable contenders for their Premiership crown are primarily those who were left smarting last season by the rise of the Chiefs, notably play-off companions, Saracens, Wasps and Leicester.

Others, such as Bath, Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks and Northampton, will make life decidedly tricky for every opponent each and every weekend while a surge up the table from Worcester Warriors is long overdue. Promoted London Irish arrive with the perennial tag of relegation favourites but have legitimate reason to believe that they can quickly shed that label.

But they need to begin well. Bristol were soon on their uppers last season and had too much ground to make up. Gloucester have been a middling side for too long, maddeningly inconsistent yet they have a chance to kick-start Johan Ackermann’s reign as head coach with a prized victory over the champions.

There is so little to separate the leading contenders. Leicester have shown their intent not to suffer the indignities of last season when they parted company with two directors of rugby, Richard Cockerill (now at Edinburgh) and Aaron Mauger (back in New Zealand), with high-end signings in the form of fly-half George Ford and wing Jonny May. If the Tigers can find a pack to deliver ball, then they will be in business.

Wasps, who finished top in the regular league, need to overcome the departure back to Australia of Kurtley Beale if they are to play with the same sharpness they showed across much of the season. Saracens have a poacher-in-chief to replace in the shape of Chris Ashton, although if new signing from Scarlets, Liam Williams, can produce the counter-attacking brilliance he did for the Lions, then it will not just be Sarries’ fans rising to acclaim his feats.

The challenge to Exeter will be fierce and sustained, a heartening state of affairs for the Premiership which has retained its appeal and integrity while other competitions, such as Super Rugby and Pro12 (now 14) have fiddled and expanded in a quest for greater revenue. Instead they have ended up with a devalued product.

There was an 11 per cent growth in Premiership attendances last season and there is every chance of a further increase this season. There may not be too much love flowing between the grandees of the Lions and the Premiership, or even contact, but there is little doubt the tourists’ feats in New Zealand have sharpened appetites. The Premiership is set to fill that need. A feast lies in store.