The top 5 signings of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season

Star dust was scattered all over the Gallagher Premiership in the season just gone, with as many as six clubs having representatives in the official Gallagher Premiership Team of the Season.

Two of the players chosen for that select XV are amongst those we consider to be the top five signings, individuals who arrived at their respective clubs last summer and have gone on to make a huge impact.

Gallagher Premiership 2024/25 Top 5 signings

5. Alex Hearle (Newcastle Falcons)

In a struggling team lacking few stars, Alex Hearle was consistently one of the Falcons’ most lively threats, whether as a centre or wing. Heale, who joined from Gloucester, produced more try assists (four) than any Falcons player and scored two himself. Outside of Adam Radwan, he was joint-top for defenders beaten and clean breaks. He’s one that Newcastle have managed to keep hold of, for now, with another year to run on his contract. Powerhouse centre Sammy Arnold had a strong case for inclusion but the former Ospreys man missed a third of the league season because of injury.

4. Adam Radwan (Leicester)

A mid-season mover, but we’ve included the forgotten-about England winger because of the impact he made at Leicester in the second half of the season. Radwan, who was last capped in 2021, flourished in a different environment and gave the Tigers the spark they’d been missing in attack. Ten of the 12 league tries he scored came while at Leicester, including a try on debut and the most spectacular finish of the season in the play-off semi-final against Sale. His arrival also coincided with Ollie Hassell-Collins’ purple patch of form on the opposite edge.

3. Nicky Smith (Leicester)

Welsh rugby’s loss was very much Leicester’s gain with the loose-head enjoying a cracking campaign, which was crowned by his inclusion in the aforementioned Gallagher Premiership Team of the Season. Technically very sound, Smith had the better of most opponents, including Springbok Thomas du Toit, in the early stages of last Saturday’s final, as well as being a tackle machine. Played in all 20 league games and was one of only three props to enjoy a 1,000+ minutes of game time, ranking first with 1,290.

2. Tomos Williams (Gloucester)

The only scrum-half to be crowned the Gallagher Premiership Player of the Season in two decades of the award. In tandem with fellow Welshman Gareth Anscombe, Williams helped to light up Gloucester’s attacking play with his running game and handling skills causing defences no end of problems, which led to a considerable improvement in their finishing position. Second-last in 2023/24, the Cherry & Whites were still in play-off contention going into the final round. Played the most minutes of any scrum-half (1,259) and was the top try-scoring nine. Only Bristol’s Harry Randall came up with more than his nine try assists.

1. Guy Pepper (Bath)

Comes out on top for us for the way he finished the season. Big players deliver in the big games and Pepper seized the opportunity presented to him by Sam Underhill’s suspension in style. Had Underhill not been banned, he’d have probably started at openside over the summer signing from Newcastle. But, as it was, it could have been a blessing – or just further evidence of Bath’s strength-in-depth – that he was unavailable and Pepper was able to slot in and produce Player of the Match performances in both the semi-final and final. With Henry Pollock and Pepper as options, England have two fine young opensides waiting to succeed Tom Curry.

Dogged by injury whilst at Newcastle, Pepper managed 15 Premiership appearances for Bath, scoring four tries. He would have had a fifth, and a brilliant one at that, had the TMO not spotted a knock-on in the build-up to his fabulous solo try against Leicester.