Bath chase redemption as Prem Rugby returns with new owners, new rules and old scores to settle
Prem Rugby returns on the weekend of 25-27 September, and the fight at the top looks familiar. Bath want their crown back. Exeter want to prove last season was a start, not a peak. Bristol just want to stop leaking points.
That is the headline from The Guardian’s club-by-club guide to the 2026-27 season, published on 23 September 2026 The Guardian. The new Gallagher PREM campaign — the top flight of English men’s club rugby union — ends with the final on 19 June 2027 Premiership Rugby.
Start with Bath. They were Premiership champions in 2025. Last season they finished second, then lost at home to Exeter in the semi-final — the knockout round where the winner goes to the final.
No club has successfully defended the title since Saracens in 2019. The guide backs that run to continue. It predicts Bath to finish second again in 2026-27.
England back-rower Ted Hill is named as Bath’s key player. That makes sense. He brings carrying power and work-rate in both attack and defence. Thomas du Toit has left to return to South Africa, while Dan du Preez has joined the squad.
There is a twist. If Bath finish in the top two, they would normally earn a home semi-final. This season they would forgo that advantage while their home ground, the Rec in Bath, undergoes refurbishment.
Exeter are the team that spoiled Bath’s party. They finished third last season after that away semi-final win. The guide predicts a drop to sixth.
It names wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as Exeter’s key player. He is electric with ball in hand. One missed tackle and he is gone.
Off the field, Exeter have new owners. Black Knight, the US group that owns football club AFC Bournemouth, completed its takeover in the summer of 2026. Centre Len Ikitau has left to return to Australia. Henry Slade remains as the surviving member of Exeter’s title-winning sides of 2017 and 2020, a direct link to the club’s glory years.
Then there is Bristol. Their low point came in May 2026. They conceded 14 tries and 94 points to Northampton. That is a brutal scoreline in any code.
Bristol finished sixth last season. The guide predicts eighth this time, with centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg named as their key player. He is a strong carrier and a sharp defender, exactly what a shaken team needs.
Round 1 underlines how fast it all starts. Harlequins host Bath on Friday 25 September, while Northampton Saints host Newcastle Red Bulls on the same night Yahoo Sports.
For fans, this means a season shaped as much by boardrooms as by scrums and lineouts — the set-piece contests where forwards push for the ball and jumpers compete for throws. The Rugby Football Union council voted to move to a franchise model from 2026-27, with no automatic promotion or relegation The Guardian. Expansion to 12 teams is planned from 2029 Reuters. Clubs will also face a minimum spend, a salary floor of £5.4m, from next season Reuters.
What makes this stand out is jeopardy of a different kind. Nobody goes down. Pride, play-off places and money do the talking now. Bath must show they can take a punch. Exeter must show they can handle expectation. Bristol must show they can tackle.
