Worcester - the Zurich Premiership survivalists - will face Gloucester when the rugby season resumes in September in the re-branded Guiness Premiership.

While there might have been tougher opponents - the Warriors have avoided champions Wasps until the third weekend of the season - the derby atmosphere between one of the newest sides in the top flight and one of the oldest will be such that Sixways will be a cauldron.

Home advantage may tell. The Warriors will then travel to London Irish before facing Saracens at Sixways. They avoid Leicester until well into November.

Wasps will begin the defence of their title against Saracens when the season opens with another Twickenham double-header.

The showpiece curtainraiser was a rousing success last year, attracting 51,000 to Twickenham.

Although Harlequins' relegation scuppered plans of an all-London repeat, Powergen Cup winners Leeds have stepped in to join the party. The Tykes, who hope to have All Black Justin Marshall starting at scrum-half, will face off against London Irish.

Phil Davies, Leeds' director of rugby, said: "This will be a great occasion and it is fantastic that we will be part of it. We will have to forfeit a game at Headingley but getting the chance to showcase the club again at Twickenham is a unique opportunity."

The club's chief executive, Gary Hetherington, added: "We have now attracted fans far and wide through the efforts of the players at the end of last season and this is yet another indication of our growing reputation."

The opening weekend of the Premiership - September 2, 3 and 4 - is packed full of mouth-watering derbies, with promoted Bristol at home to fierce West Country rivals Bath.

Leicester host Northampton while Newcastle, who are heading off to Japan on a preseason tour, travel to Edgeley Park to take on European Challenge Cup winners Sale.

Wasps lost to Saracens in last year's double-header but returned to Twickenham on May 14 to complete a hattrick of Premiership titles with a rampant Grand Final victory over Leicester.

For Leicester, who topped the league at season's end, there was nothing. Such is the Premiership format.

Wasps head into a new era under Ian McGeechan after Warren Gatland, the mastermind of their success in recent years, returned to New Zealand.

Leicester will travel to the Wasps' nest at the Causeway Stadium on the second Premiership weekend.

The return fixture is intriguingly pencilled in only four matches before the end of the regular season, when the race to finish top and secure an automatic place in the Grand Final will be hotting up.

Leicester were unbeaten at Welford Road in the Premiership last season and attracted sell-out crowds in all but one of their home league matches - indicative of the continued growth in rugby's popularity.

Fifty-seven of the 132 Premiership matches were sellouts and attendances rose across the board by 15 per cent, with the average crowd 9,978.

Guinness have replaced Zurich as title sponsors of the Premiership.