This weekend sees the 2022/23 season of the Gallagher Premiership kick off in England for its 36th season of domestic rugby.
With 13 teams competing to win the title and only four able to make the playoffs in May next year, competition will be fierce. We take a look at the early season odds of which teams are favourites to win the Grand Final on May 27th and breakdown the chances of each side heading into the competition.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 8th, 2:00 P.M. (EST)
Beaten finalists less than three months ago, the Saracens are the pick of the bunch to win the title this year. Bookmaker William Hill has the side at 2.75 in the odds to win the Grand Final, which is well above the next closest side. Reigning champions the Leicester Tigers come in as second favourites this season at 4.50 at the bookies.
Third and fourth favourites to win the Grand Final are the Harlequins at 7.00, who lost to the Saracens in last season’s semi-finals, and the Exeter Chiefs, who despite their seventh place finish last season, are also paying 7.00 to win the Grand Final this season.
Outside of these four sides, the Sale Sharks and Gloucester are moderate long-shots at 11.00 and 12.00. The remainder of teams are only a remote chance at the bookies with odds from 17.00 to 21.00 for Northampton, Bristol and the Wasps, and 41.00+ for Bath, London Irish, Newcastle and Worcester.
The Exeter Chiefs will be looking for a much stronger performance this season. Having made six straight Grand Finals between 2016 to 2021 and winning two of them, the Chiefs missed out on the top four completely last season. However with the signing of Wallabies and Brumbies prop Scott Sio and the expectation off their shoulders for the first time in years, expect Exeter to put in an excellent showing this season.
However, Exeter will have stiff competition from Leicester if they are to win the title this coming season. After dominating the round robin and finishing three wins clear of second placed Saracens last season, Leicester went on to win the 2021/22 Premiership. Now, they’ve added Springbok Handre Pollard to their ranks and will come out eager to perform again.
With their opening match against each other, Leicester and Exeter will soon know who has had the better preseason.
