Saracens celebrate after beating Bath in last season's Aviva Premiership final

Aviva Premiership champions Saracens will open the defence of their title at home to the Sale Sharks on October 17 while newly-promoted Worcester host Northampton.

The season starts six weeks later than normal because of the Rugby World Cup being hosted in England, with the first round of fixtures coming the same weekend as that tournament's quarter-final stage.

That also means the removal of the recent tradition of the London Double Header on the opening weekend, with those fixtures having been pushed back to November 28, when Saracens host Worcester and London Irish take on Wasps in back-to-back fixtures at Twickenham.

But there will be a London derby to kick off the season, with Harlequins facing Wasps at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday, October 16.

Worcester's return to the top division also takes place on the Friday night at Sixways Stadium and a third October 16 fixture sees Newcastle host Gloucester at Kingston Park.

As well as the Saracens game, which takes place at Allianz Park, Saturday also includes a mouth-watering West Country derby between Bath and the Exeter Chiefs at The Rec.

The opening round of fixtures concludes on Sunday October 18 when London Irish play host to Leicester at the Madejski Stadium.

Mark McCall expects a tough start to season with international stars absent

Saracens rugby director Mark McCall said: "Sale Sharks at home is a very difficult start.

"We know how strong a team they are after we faced the Sharks in both the Premiership and the European Champions Cup last season.

"The opening fixtures are hard to forecast for us as we currently have 21 players away on international duty in their respective training camps. Guys are away with England, Scotland, Argentina, South Africa, Romania, USA and Namibia. The list goes on.

"It's a massive test for the depth of our squad, as the season starts a week after the Rugby World Cup pool stages, so until then we don't know exactly who we will have available."

Round One fixtures:

Friday, October 16

Harlequins v Wasps; Worcester v Northampton; Newcastle v Gloucester

Saturday, October 17

Bath v Exeter; Saracens v Sale

Sunday, October 18

London Irish v Leicester