Premiership clubs without England internationals for 11 of opening 14 fixtures in 2020-21 season

Gallagher Premiership teams will be without their England internationals for at least 11 of the first 14 rounds of fixtures of the new season.

Top-flight clubs admitted they faced a "challenge" to cope with the added demands on their squad after the schedule was confirmed on Tuesday.

Leicester director of rugby Geordan Murphy and Bath counterpart Stuart Hooper added, however, that they were hopeful the emerging players could cope with the responsibility.  

England’s commitments in the Autumn Nations Cup, as well as the completion of the 2020 Six Nations, will mean that those selected by Eddie Jones, will be away on international duty until December 5, the weekend of the third round of Premiership fixtures.

The Premiership will then pause for two weekends of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup pool matches, during which time those involved in England’s autumn campaign will rest for two weeks, before the league returns on December 26 for round four.

Premiership clubs will then have their top players available for two more rounds before the 2021 Six Nations gets underway, with England’s top flight set to continue throughout European rugby’s international showpiece. The Premiership Rugby Cup will be staged as a midweek competition starting after the Six Nations in the spring, while the season will draw to a close with the Premiership final on Saturday June 26.

Clubs will also have to do without any internationals from Wales, Scotland, Italy and Ireland for large periods, too, while the Premiership’s Georgian and Fijian contingent will also be absent throughout November and early December due to their Autumn Nations Cup involvement.

This fixture congestion could result in the hardest-hit clubs, such as Bath, missing large chunks of their starting XV. Bath's situation is such that they could be missing up to eight of their first-choice line-up. Although director of rugby Hooper hopes the Premiership will "drive towards a season where we don't have these overlaps", there are very few signs of annoyance.

"We want the best players playing for Bath and the best players playing for their countries," Hooper tells Telegraph Sport. "But next season we have our internationals away for a decent chunk of the season, and I just see that as a massive opportunity and a real privilege to work with the guys who aren’t away on international duty to do something special in a Bath jersey.

"It’s a massive opportunity for our guys who are not away with England. I think we have consciously built the squad around a core of young, English talent who want to play international rugby – we want them to represent their country.

"If the current pandemic has taught us anything, then it’s that you have to be able to react to these things. We can sit and be annoyed as much as we like but the reality is that it’s happening.

"What we see with the Covid-affected season is that those overlaps [between international and club matches] are more than we would want, but it is a good challenge and something that gives our young guys a great opportunity. The players who are not internationals will have a great opportunity to drive the standard for a decent part of the season."

Eleventh-placed Leicester Tigers, meanwhile, are preparing for almost half of a season without their first-choice half-back duo, Ben Youngs and George Ford, as well as dynamic prop Ellis Genge. Director of rugby Murphy, while typically pragmatic in stating that his team "will just have to get on with it", could not help but add wryly: "It doesn't get any easier, does it?"

Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs will kick off the 2020-21 season on Friday November 20 at the Twickenham Stoop, as one of two on the first Friday night of the season, as Sale Sharks host Northampton Saints at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Both Harlequins and Northampton Saints will pass significant milestones this season, too, as they are both set to play their 500th Premiership match, joining six other clubs who have already reached that landmark.

Elsewhere, newly-promoted Newcastle Falcons will be welcomed back to English rugby’s top flight with a trip to Bath on Saturday November 21, while London Irish will celebrate an historic day for the club in the second round when they host their first match at the new Brentford Community Stadium.