Rugby Aviva Premiership 2012/13 Season Preview & Predictions

This season Whatculture will be bringing you even more coverage with more articles, more predictions and more discussions.

By Jeff Ball /

As the countdown clock ticks closer and closer to zero, that time is almost here, when the action gets back underway for the 2012/13 rugby season.. We are understandably very excited. Whilst sports fans around the country have enjoyed the start of the football season and the Olympics, we rugby fans have held steady, watching those around us with a kind smile while we waited for the real event. Danny Boyle will not be required for this spectacle. What we are doing this season For this season we are planning to increase the rugby coverage here on Whatculture. With new rugby writer and all around nice chap Simon Humphries now on board, as well as the usual coverage of the international game, we shall be doing predictions for every round of the Aviva Premiership, a €œRugby Round-up€ early every week to help you catch up with the previous weekend€™s action and more regular news and opinion pieces, including the usual Ball in Touch articles for any big news or discussion points as and when they happen. And don€™t forget we have a Lions tour to look forward to. The big change we want to make, though, is that we would love to interact even more from you, our loyal and tasteful audience as we do it for you and would love to hear your thoughts on anything and everything rugby. You can do that either through the comments at the bottom of every article or through Twitter @ballintouch where over 1,000 rugby aficionados, including a few professional players and internationals, now follow us. We€™ll always reply as we love any excuse to chat about rugby. Finally if you too think you could write about rugby, not just the Aviva Premiership but maybe the RFU Championship, Rabo12 Direct or beyond, then get in touch at http://whatculture.com/write and you too could grace these fair pages. End of Season Predictions Being the danger loving guys that we are, we€™re going to kick things off by making some predictions. Not for this weekend, that€™d be too easy and is coming in a separate article later this week. No, instead here are our predictions for the end of the season table. That€™s right, before the first tackle has even been made. London Welsh are the new boys having replace Newcastle Falcons and seem likely for a tough time. We expect the same suspects to be bothering the top of the table as last year so it is in the middle of the table where things get interesting. Will Exeter continue to develop? Will things start clicking for the likes of Bath, Gloucester and Sale? Who knows, but it€™s sure going to be fun finding out! Simon Humphries€™ Prediction: Harlequins Leicester Tigers Saracens Exeter Chiefs Northampton Saints Sale Sharks London Irish Gloucester Rugby Bath Rugby Worcester Warriors London Wasps London Welsh Jeff Ball€™s Prediction: Leicester Tigers Saracens Harlequins Northampton Saints Gloucester Rugby Exeter Chiefs Sale Sharks Bath Rugby London Irish London Wasps Worcester Warriors London Welsh Are we brave or foolish? Do you agree or are we massively out for some teams, in your opinion? Post your predicted table in the comments below and let€™s see how it compares. This will undoubtedly be a great season. Make sure you join us here at Whatculture.