Paul’s Perilous Positional Predictions, 2025/2026

Just under two weeks away from the start of The Champ, I thought I would have a go at being  ' Psychic Paul' and see how it might all end. Here goes. 

1 Ealing Trailfinders , still the team to beat imo quietly and assiduously changing their squad and not shouting from the rooftops.  A 3peat? 

2 Worcester Warriors, back on the scene, powered by emotion, hyperbole and £££'s, anything less than top spot will be considered a failure.Keen gardening section.

3 Doncaster Knights, believe they should be in the Prem with their ground standards, strong finish to their last season.  Should be there or thereabouts.

4 Bedford Blues ,have retained the spine of their side with seasoned performers. Have maintained their link-up with Saints as their feeder club for the Prem outfit

5 Cornish Pirates, finished well but have lost a few of their star players, have brought a few in, DR's with Exeter and always a difficult ground to visit and win at.

6 Coventry , another huge squad change around, seem to be bonding as a tight group , but a challenging opening month will set the seasons tone. 

7 Hartpury, been very quiet in the summer, now re-signing players who served them well last season. A strong home record and need to improve away form. 

8 Nottingham, the divisions real entertainers, fun to watch , but will have been impacted by rivals cherry picking .  Still have a Leicester Tigers tie-up? 

9 London Scottish, another side victims to rivals grabbing their players.  Still have a Harlequins tie-up but will need to improve on their away form. 

10 Ampthill , strong at home, rumoured about to have more Saracens finances thrown at them to improve their infrastructure as well as the use of Sarries players. 

11 Chinnor, a strong debut last season, fairly solid at home and quietly building. Should be okay and hospitality is top notch for any visiting supporter. 

12 Caldy, what you see is what you get.  A very strong forward based plan of attack, strong at home but a bit porous and not the best travellers. 

13 Richmond, difficult to gauge but winners of a competitive National One probably indicates a game plan and a decent desire to win.  Nice to have them back. 

14 Cambridge a very big turnover of players, ins and outs, suggest another season of struggle for the Blood and Sand.  Another very welcoming place to visit. 

And that's it for me.  If rumours, titbits or  leaking of information is to be believed we could be into another stretch of upsets, vitriolic bad governance and elite pandering.  Dear god, it's our game. Let's just ruddy play the game, follow the alleged mantra of ' Grow The Game' and just enjoy it.  

Whichever team you support , I wish you well and hope to see you on the terraces.  Good luck for the coming season.