Premiership rugby round-table: Best signing, most underrated player and most annoying law

Rugby might be in the midst of its showpiece tournament in France, but this Friday the Gallagher Premiership returns in its 10-team format after the most desperate season in its history.

To mark the occasion, Telegraph Sport spoke to all 10 club leaders - either directors of rugby or head coaches - to run the rule over the state of the league, with all roads leading to Twickenham on June 8 next year.

Who is the Premiership’s most underrated player?

Billy Millard, Harlequins: Jack Kenningham. I’ll keep it Quins specific.
Alex Codling, Newcastle: Lewis Ludlow at Gloucester.
Mark McCall, Saracens: Ivan van Zyl.
Phil Dowson, Northampton: Maybe not anymore but I was really impressed with how Gus Warr at Sale went last year. From our group, Angus Scott-Young.
Alex Sanderson, Sale: That’s difficult. It’ll have to be a Sale player as I can speak with more authority on that. Ben Bamber. He’s hugely impressed me. He’ll make it in the next year. Two years ago he was working nights in a factory. He’s only played 40 games of union as he was a leaguey. Watch this space.

Rob Baxter, Exeter: We would have been prime candidates in years gone past: Don Armand, Dave Ewers and Sam Simmonds. Tom O’Flaherty. I’ll go... Chandler Cunningham-South and Benhard Janse van Rensburg.
Johann van Graan, Bath: First one that springs to mind is Adam Radwan. He always seems to score the most fascinating tries.
Pat Lam, Bristol: Fitz Harding.
Dan McKellar, Leicester: Josh Bassett.
George Skivington, Gloucester: Seb Atkinson had a good year last year - and he got some recognition for it.

Which signing made you go ‘wow’?

Millard: Chandler Cunningham-South at Harlequins.
Codling: Finn Russell
McCall: Time will tell, the proof’s in the pudding but... Juan Martín González.
Dowson: The highest-profile would be Finn Russell. But there will be lots of guys who come through and how they play. Early to say.
Sanderson: I can’t answer that through loyalty to my squad so... Luke Cowan-Dickie. I haven’t met Agustín Creevy yet but Luke is a livewire.
Baxter: Benhard Janse van Rensburg is certainly up there. Under different circumstances we might have looked at him.
Van Graan: We’ve made two very good signings in Finn Russell and Thomas du Toit, and they’ll both add great value to our club.
Lam: Finn Russell.
McKellar: Finn Russell.
Skivington: Zach Mercer – he’s a big signing. Across the league, there’d be lots of clubs that would be happy to have him.

Who’s the fittest member of your squad?

Millard: Probably... Lewis Gjaltema, our Kiwi 9.
Codling: Sam Stuart, No 9 Outstanding bronco - just outside the record.
McCall: Despite the fact that he’s in his 40s, Alex Goode.
Dowson: We have a challenge called the Blackiston Challenge and Fin Smith won it. Archie McParland and George Furbank would be up there, too.

Sanderson: Raffi Quirke. Tom Curtis won the Bronco, though. But Raffi used to be a triathlete - so all he does is run.
Baxter: Ross Vintcent, a young back-rower, Italy A from Exeter University.
Van Graan: Chris Cloete, flanker.
Lam: Kieran Marmion... it wasn’t Piers O’Conor this time. Jimmy Williams beat him at the Bronco, so him.
McKellar: Joe Powell, scrum-half.
Skivington: Lewis Ludlow; a bit of a machine.

Who’s your in-form player?

Millard: Jack Kenningham.
Codling: Guy Pepper, a very talented, young English back-rower. He had a serious injury but has come back and you could see straight away that he could do a job for us and maybe elsewhere, too.
McCall: Toby Knight.
Dowson: A young lad who has come through called Toby Thame, who has been very impressive and bolted in.
Sanderson: Tom O’Flaherty
Baxter: Greg Fisilau. Ross Vintcent, Tom Wyatt and Josh Hodge are all up there, too.
Van Graan: Ewan Richards, second row who had a big year of injuries last year and he was brilliant captaining the first few rounds of the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Lam: Harry Randall, scrum-half.
McKellar: Young Finn Carnduff has been excellent.
Skivington: Our young lads have really stood up recently. Jake Morris on the wing.

What’s rugby’s most annoying law?

Millard: Caterpillar rucks to box-kick.
Codling: I’m not a massive fan of the goal-line drop-out. I can see why it was introduced but I think it’s too easy for a team to kill the game when the attack is in the ascendancy.
McCall: A drop-goal could drop down to two points.
Dowson: The maul could be refereed differently, in terms of players round the side, changing their bind. If that is tidied up, rugby’s a better sport.
Sanderson: Unintentional contact to head and shoulders that leads to yellow and red cards.
Baxter: It’s tough to wrap up into one. The head-contact process is destroying the game at the moment. The ‘zero intent’ around it is completely wrong.
Van Graan: The fact you can’t dive on a ball emerging within a metre of the ruck. You get penalised for it once a year.
Lam: The clock not being turned off during a collapsed scrum.
McKellar: Slap-down. If you don’t execute the pass, then it’s bad attack - don’t blame the defence. Let’s make it easier for the referee. It’s a crazy law. And don’t get me started on maul defence.
Skivington: When people slide up the side of a maul and hang around on the wrong side. Madness.

How could the Premiership boost its profile?

Millard: Always having internationals available.
Codling: Make it more interactive - throughout all ages. It’s an amazing product which I kept a close eye on while I was in France. The ability to get out and touch so many people... the benefits of rugby are so wide-reaching.
McCall: Same as Billy. We need internationals playing regularly.
Dowson: Make the game more entertaining. It’s a longer conversation but the marketing and product need to make it more appealing. People want to see competition but they also want skill and ball movement - and that can get lost.
Sanderson: Celebrate the positive elements of the game: competitiveness, jeopardy, physicality - particularly the latter. Contact sports - UFC and NFL - are ruling the world. Half of it is how hard you can hit.
Baxter: We have to stop pretending that players are uninformed and need protecting from themselves [regarding head injuries]. They should be part of the process in a more detailed way. We have to get rid of games where there are 14 players on the pitch consistently. The Premiership Rugby Cup has been refreshing with the lack of cards and TMO.
Van Graan: Join hands and show - not tell - people what a brilliant game we’re all part of.
Lam: Get rid of the salary cap.
McKellar: All rugby union competitions across the globe need to invest more in promotion and marketing. You can never do too much of this. Young people need to see these players and aspire to play for Leicester, Saracens... whoever.
Skivington: The responsibility lies with coaches and players. Premiership Rugby csn facilitate and put things in place but we have to do our bit to grow the game, too.

Who do you love beating the most?

Millard: All of them.
Codling: I’ve been here 15 weeks but I’m already aware of this banter around the ‘north’. I wouldn’t classify Sale as being in the north; it’s a ‘derby’ for us but it’s three hours away. The boys love measuring themselves against Sale, particularly how they’ve done in the last three years under Alex.
McCall: Anyone.
Dowson: Everybody.
Sanderson: Saracens.
Baxter: Do you need me to answer that? [Saracens]
Van Graan: Genuinely, I have respect for all nine. The game that was good for our club last season was beating Harlequins at Twickenham.
Lam: On behalf of our supporters, Bath.
McKellar: It’s probably all of them... but it’s Northampton.
Skivington: Any win is a good win but if you manage to beat Saracens, the champions, then that’s good. You can’t see too far past the Gloucester-Bath derby.

Who do you hate losing to the most?

Millard: Saracens
Codling: Same as who we love beating.
McCall: Anyone.
Dowson: Everybody.
Sanderson: Harlequins.
Baxter: Do you really need me to answer that? [Saracens]
Van Graan: I don’t enjoy losing.
Lam: All of them.
McKellar: It’s the same; all of them but particularly Northampton.
Skivington: Now I’m fully embedded at Gloucester, again, it has to be Bath.