Team-by-team guide by Paul Rees

Bristol Bears
Coach: Pat Lam
Captain: Fitz Harding
After Bristol lost at Connacht in January to mark their exit from the Champions Cup, Pat Lam arrived at their training base the following Monday at 5am.
The Bears’ director of rugby, who had been in place since 2016 after arriving from Connacht, knew that both the team and his position at the club had reached a critical point.
It was not just the defeat in Galway, or even the manner of it, but the Bears’ decline since the 2020-21 campaign when they had topped the table but failed to make it to Twickenham af...