Despite a rare summer without any seismic changes in the structure of Scottish rugby, the domestic season that kicks off today is one of the toughest to predict in years. Most coaches feel there has been a general levelling out of standards among the clubs, holding out a realistic hope that there will be plenty of games that go down to the wire and the title will be in the balance right up to the final weeks.

If they are right, it can only be good for the Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership, which has suffered from a series of runaway winners in recent years, the title being effectively wrapped up before Christmas and usually presented not long afterwards.

This season sees two former giants of the game, in Selkirk and West of Scotland, return to the top flight, each claiming that their only goal is to survive, but in reality having ambitions way beyond that. West – with Gordon Bulloch, the newly appointed SRU director and former Scotland captain, leading the way from hooker – look to be particularly well-equipped to handle the pressure with a pack that will challenge any in the league and plenty of pace in the backline.

To try to spot the title winners, however, you probably don’t have to look much further than the group of teams that have been up there for the last couple of seasons. Boroughmuir, the champions, look strong contenders to retain their crown, particularly if they see a lot of the professionals that have been allocated to them under the American-style draft system being tried this season - though in fact none are available for the opening game today with both Edinburgh and Glasgow involved in warm-up games. Melrose have a spate of injuries but have recruited well and will challenge hard, as will Heriot’s and Watsonians.

The other unpredictable factor is the impact of the experimental laws, and in particular how they will affect the traditional big mauling teams such as Ayr and Currie.