Who can wrestle the top title away from Llandovery and who will come out on top in the new Championship East and West divisions? It will take the best part of nine months to find out the answers, but they promise to be full of thrills, spills and drama.
While the best 33 players in the country will be saying their final farewells to loved ones ahead of their departure on Sunday for the World Cup in France, the bulk o the players in Wales will be coming to terms with the new tackle laws.
The below the sternum dictat won’t apply to the Indigo Premiership, where Pontypool and Neath return to the top-flight to boost this season’s numbers to 13. Next year, as announced by the WRU, there will be a breakaway ‘Elite’ of 10 playing outside the community game and hopefully better bridging the gap between the regional game and the best of the rest.
All the stars of the Wales U20 side that did so well at the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa this summer will be looking to use the Premiership as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things. Skipper Ryan Woodman was a regular in the Newport pack last season, while full back Cam Winnett was a stand-out in the Cardiff back line.
Harri Houston and Dan Edwards joined Morgan Morse in the Swansea ranks and promoted Pooler had three members of the squad, two of them naturally from the front row. For those trying to make the game their profession in the future, it will be a vital season.
For others, such as new Merthyr signing Ben Fry, it will be a chance to prove his worth once again after leaving the regional game at the Dragons. His transfer to the Ironmen might just prove one of the most impressive pieces of business by any Indigo Premiership club in the off-season.
English Championship title winners Jersey sounded out the flanker after his release from the Dragons. But with a young son in Wales, Fry wanted to stay local, and he has opted to head for The Wern.
The club had looked on course to have Ospreys and Wales back row man Sam Cross in their ranks, but an opportunity to continue in the professional ranks persuaded the two-cap player to join Newcastle Falcons.
What Fry can look forward to is a back row battle of the highest order when his new team goes into battle against local rivals Pontypridd. Their dynamic No 7, Sion Parry, picked up international honours with Canada in Tonga in the summer and will be looking to further his claims for more regular rugby at the top level.
With Pontypool and Neath coming up from the Admiral Championship, the Indigo Premiership should be more competitive than ever this term, so clubs have been busy trying to strengthen.
That said, sometimes continuity can be as important as any signing, something Cardiff doubtless might agree with after Morgan Allen opted to stay put despite being heavily linked with Pontypool.
It’s hard to overstate how much Allen’s call will benefit Cardiff, with the No. 8 making more ball carries and beating more defenders than anyone else in the Premiership last season. The other side of his role will be to develop former Wales U20 captain Alex Mann and bring on two of last season’s U20s, Mackenzie Martin and Lucas de la Rua.
Cardiff’s captain in 2022-23, he led from the front throughout the campaign and the Blue and Blacks will again look to him to lead the charge.
In the Championship, the headline move of the summer has to be the arrival of Kristian Dacey at Brecon, who will play in the East division. The Wales international left Cardiff at the end of last term and had been linked with Merthyr but ended up renewing links with his old mentor, Dale McIntosh.
The ‘Chief’, as McIntosh is known throughout rugby, coached Dacey at Cardiff earlier in the hooker’s career. He’s heading up matters at Brecon these days with his presence no doubt encouraging Dacey to join.
Tenth last term, Maesteg Harlequins should be worth watching in the new campaign after a serious recruitment drive, with the South Parade club attracting at least 16 fresh players, including former Ospreys academy youngster Travis Huntley.
He’d been rated highly at the Ospreys, but injuries over the past two seasons interrupted his progress. Now the back-rower is looking to relaunch his career.
