On the eve of a new Premiership season, here is a little quiz question: how many different clubs have topped the English table and/or won the title in the past 14 years? The answer* is at the bottom of the page: suffice to say it is higher than you think. Predictable is seldom a word applied to the world’s tightest league and 2017-18 will be no different.
Partly it is a reflection of the ever‑shifting tectonic plates shaping rugby’s economics; nothing is guaranteed to last for ever, as the southern hemisphere’s leading nations are discovering. In these islands last season, two relatively unstarry teams, Exeter Chiefs and Scarlets, scooped the two major prizes from beneath the noses of their wealthier, higher-profile rivals. In 10 years’ time, when TV money is driving the global game even harder than it already is, what price the plucky provincial underdogs still having their noses in front?
Related: Premiership 2017-18: team-by-team preview of England’s rugby union season
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