The 2019–20 Premiership Rugby is the 33rd season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition and the second to be sponsored by Gallagher.[1] The competition is being broadcast by BT Sport for the seventh successive season with five games also simulcast free-to-air on Channel 5. Highlights of each weekend’s games are shown on Channel 5 with extended highlights on BT Sport. The reigning champions entering the season are Saracens, who claimed their fifth title after defeating Exeter Chiefs in the 2019 final. London Irish were promoted as champions from the 2018–19 RFU Championship at the first attempt.
Due to changes to the global rugby calendar, this season started later and will finish later than previous seasons.
On 5 November 2019, Premiership Rugby announced that Saracens would be deducted 35 points in the current season and fined £5.3 million due to undisclosed payments to players in previous seasons.[2] Saracens initially said they would appeal the ruling, but on 18 November announced that they accepted the punishments, with the deduction leaving them 26 points adrift at the bottom of the table.[3] After further failure to comply with the salary cap, Saracens were announced to be automatically relegated at the end of the season on 18 January 2020.[4] On 28 January 2020 this was confirmed with the application of a further 70 point deduction.
On 16 March 2020, the league was suspended for an initial five week period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resumption was scheduled for weekend of 24/25/26 April but has since been postponed indefinitely.[6][7] Restart is now targeted to be scheduled for 15 August.
| Countries | England |
|---|---|
| Date | 18 October 2019 – tba |
| Relegated | Saracens |
| Matches played | 78 |
| Attendance | 1,032,510 (average 13,237 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 75,500 Harlequins v Leicester Tigers 28 December 2019 |
| Lowest attendance | 3,622 London Irish v Sale Sharks 26 October 2019 |
| Tries scored | 403 (average 5.2 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Marcus Smith, (Harlequins) (79 points) |
| Top try scorer | Ben Earl, (Saracens) Louis Rees-Zammit, (Gloucester) (5 tries) |
Teams
London Irish, having won the 2018–19 RFU Championship, replaced Newcastle Falcons, who were relegated last season after finishing bottom of the table.
| Club | Director of Rugby/Head Coach | Captain | Kit supplier | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | Stuart Hooper | Charlie Ewels | Canterbury | The Recreation Ground | 14,509 | Bath |
| Bristol Bears | Pat Lam | Steve Luatua | Bristol Sport | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Bristol |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Samurai Sportswear | Sandy Park | 13,593 | Exeter |
| Gloucester | David Humphreys | Willi Heinz | Elite Pro Sports | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 | Gloucester |
| Harlequins | Paul Gustard Billy Millard | Chris Robshaw | Adidas | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Twickenham, Greater London |
| Leicester Tigers | Geordan Murphy | Tom Youngs | Kukri | Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester |
| London Irish | Declan Kidney | Franco van der Merwe Blair Cowan Dave Porecki Stephen Myler | BLK | Madejski Stadium | 24,161 | Reading, Berkshire |
| Northampton Saints | Chris Boyd | Teimana Harrison Alex Waller | Macron | Franklin’s Gardens | 15,200 | Northampton |
| Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Jono Ross | Samurai Sportswear | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | Nike | Allianz Park | 8,500 | Barnet, Greater London |
| Wasps | Lee Blackett | Dan Robson Thomas Young | Under Armour | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Coventry |
| Worcester Warriors | Alan Solomons | GJ van Velze | VX3 | Sixways Stadium | 11,499 | Worcester |
Leading scorers
Most points
| Rank | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Smith | Harlequins | 126 |
| 2 | Callum Sheedy | Bristol | 122 |
| 3 | Robert du Preez | Sale | 116 |
| 4 | Rhys Priestland | Bath | 111 |
| 5 | Joe Simmonds | Exeter | 93 |
| 6 | Duncan Weir | Worcester | 91 |
| 7 | James Grayson | Northampton | 89 |
| 8 | Stephen Myler | London Irish | 74 |
| 9 | Gareth Steenson | Exeter | 65 |
| 10 | Jimmy Gopperth | Wasps | 61 |
| Billy Twelvetrees | Gloucester |
Most tries
| Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Earl | Saracens | 7 |
| Ollie Hassell-Collins | London Irish | ||
| Zach Kibirige | Wasps | ||
| Luke Morahan | Bristol | ||
| Louis Rees-Zammit | Gloucester | ||
| 6 | Perry Humphreys | Worcester | 5 |
| Gabriel Ibitoye | Harlequins | ||
| Tom Marshall | Gloucester | ||
| Byron McGuigan | Sale | ||
| Zach Mercer | Bath | ||
| Cadan Murley | Harlequins | ||
| Cobus Reinach | Northampton | ||
| Sam Simmonds | Exeter | ||
| Nick Tompkins | Saracens | ||
| Marland Yarde | Sale |
Season Attendances
By club
- Attendances do not include the final at Twickenham.
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | 7 | 99,747 | 14,250 | 14,509 | 13,976 | 98% |
| Bristol Bears | 7 | 125,413 | 17,916 | 26,399 | 12,867 | 66% |
| Exeter Chiefs | 7 | 86,888 | 12,413 | 13,593 | 11,015 | 93% |
| Gloucester | 6 | 83,067 | 13,845 | 16,115 | 12,844 | 86% |
| Harlequins | 7 | 158,885 | 22,698 | 75,500 | 13,006 | 94% |
| Leicester Tigers | 6 | 118,739 | 19,790 | 23,353 | 17,559 | 77% |
| London Irish | 6 | 34,995 | 5,833 | 9,259 | 3,622 | 24% |
| Northampton Saints | 7 | 96,040 | 13,720 | 15,200 | 11,412 | 90% |
| Sale Sharks | 6 | 43,051 | 7,175 | 8,579 | 5,951 | 60% |
| Saracens | 6 | 43,814 | 7,302 | 8,500 | 6,293 | 86% |
| Wasps | 6 | 81,415 | 13,569 | 24,842 | 9,503 | 42% |
| Worcester Warriors | 7 | 60,455 | 8,636 | 11,499 | 7,297 | 75% |
Highest attendances
| Date | Game | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 December 2019 | Harlequins (h) v Leicester Tigers | Twickenham | 75,500 |
| 18 October 2019 | Bristol Bears (h) v Bath | Ashton Gate | 26,399 |
| 21 December 2019 | Wasps (h) v Harlequins | Ricoh Arena | 24,842 |
| 15 February 2020 | Leicester Tigers (h) v Wasps | Welford Road | 23,353 |
| 27 December 2019 | Bristol Bears (h) v Wasps | Ashton Gate | 23,078 |
| 21 December 2019 | Leicester Tigers (h) v Exeter Chiefs | Welford Road | 21,219 |
| 4 January 2020 | Leicester Tigers (h) v Bristol Bears | Welford Road | 19,807 |
| 25 January 2020 | Bristol Bears (h) v Gloucester | Ashton Gate | 18,779 |
| 27 October 2019 | Leicester Tigers (h) v Saracens | Welford Road | 18,533 |
| 29 February 2020 | Leicester Tigers (h) v Worcester Warriors | Welford Road | 18,268 |
2017-18 Aviva Premiership Rugby
The 2017– 18 English Premiership is the 31st period of the best flight of English residential rugby union rivalry and the eighth to be supported by Aviva. The opposition is being communicated by BT Sport for the fifth progressive season with five diversions likewise simulcast allowed to-air on Channel 5 out of the blue. Features of each end of the week’s recreations are appeared on Channel 5 with expanded features on BT Sport.
The supreme champions entering the season were Exeter Chiefs, who asserted their first title subsequent to overcoming Wasps in the 2016– 17 last.
After only one season back in the Premiership, Bristol were consigned with two recreations to follow they lost 21– 36 to Wasps at Ashton Gate on 16 April 2017.[2] Bristol’s poor begin to the season, joined with an absence of value enlistment, implied that they generally looked top choices for the drop thus it at last demonstrated. They were supplanted by London Irish who made a quick come back to the prevalence after only one season in the Greene King IPA Championship.
| 2017–18 Aviva Premiership | |
|---|---|
| Countries | England |
| Date | 1 September 2017 – 26 May 2018 |
| Matches played | 42 |
| Attendance | 518,565 (average 12,347 per match) |
| Tries scored | 246 (average 5.857 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Marcus Smith (Harlequins) (71 points) |
| Top try scorer | Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks) (6 tries) |
Teams
| Club | Coach | Captain | Kit supplier | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bath | Todd Blackadder | Matt Garvey | Canterbury | The Recreation Ground | 14,500 | Bath, Somerset |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Samurai Sportswear | Sandy Park | 12,600 | Exeter, Devon | |
| Gloucester | David Humphreys | Willi Heinz | XBlades | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,500 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire | |
| Harlequins | John Kingston | James Horwill | Adidas | Twickenham Stoop | 14,816 | Twickenham, Greater London | |
| Leicester Tigers | Matt O’Connor | Tom Youngs | Kukri | Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester, Leicestershire | |
| London Irish | Nick Kennedy | David Paice | XBlades | Madejski Stadium | 24,161 | Reading, Berkshire | |
| Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Will Welch | ISC | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle, Tyne and Wear | |
| Northampton Saints | Jim Mallinder | Dylan Hartley | Macron | Franklin’s Gardens | 15,500 | Northampton, Northamptonshire | |
| Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Will Addison | Samurai Sportswear | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester | |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | BLK | Allianz Park | 10,000 | Barnet, Greater London | |
| Wasps | Dai Young | Joe Launchbury | Under Armour | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Coventry, West Midlands | |
| Worcester Warriors | Gary Gold | Donncha O’Callaghan | Under Armour | Sixways Stadium | 12,024 | Worcester, Worcestershire |
Records
Winners
| # | Team | Wins | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester Tigers | 10 | 1987–88, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2012–13 |
| 2 | Bath | 6 | 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96 |
| 3 | Wasps | 6 | 1989–90, 1996–97, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08 |
| 4 | Saracens | 3 | 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16 |
| 5 | Newcastle Falcons | 1 | 1997–98 |
| 6 | Sale Sharks | 1 | 2005–06 |
| 7 | Harlequins | 1 | 2011–12 |
| 8 | Northampton Saints | 1 | 2013–14 |
| 9 | Exeter Chiefs | 1 | 2016–17 |
Player records
Appearances
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Years | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Borthwick | Bath, Saracens | 1998–2014 | 265 |
| 2 | George Chuter | Saracens, Leicester | 1997–2014 | 262 |
| Phil Dowson | Newcastle, Northampton, Worcester | 2001–2017 | ||
| 4 | Charlie Hodgson | Sale, Saracens | 2000–2016 | 254 |
| 5 | Tom May | Newcastle, Northampton, London Welsh | 1999–2015 | 247 |
| 6 | Hugh Vyvyan | Newcastle, Saracens | 1998–2012 | 245 |
| 7 | Richard Wigglesworth | Sale, Saracens | 2002– | 244 |
| 8 | Simon Shaw | Wasps | 1997–2011 | 237 |
| 9 | Andy Goode | Leicester, Saracens, Worcester, Wasps, Newcastle | 1998–2016 | 236 |
| 10 | Stuart Hooper | Saracens, Leeds, Bath | 2000–2016 | 232 |
Points
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Years | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Hodgson | Sale, Saracens | 2000–2016 | 2,623 |
| 2 | Andy Goode | Leicester, Saracens, Worcester, Wasps, Newcastle | 1998–2016 | 2,285 |
| 3 | Nick Evans | Harlequins | 2008–2017 | 1,656 |
| 4 | Stephen Myler | Northampton | 2006– | 1,648 |
| 5 | Olly Barkley | Bath, Gloucester, London Welsh | 2001–2015 | 1,605 |
| 6 | Jonny Wilkinson | Newcastle | 1997–2008 | 1,489 |
| 7 | Gareth Steenson | Exeter | 2010– | 1,286 |
| 8 | Barry Everitt | London Irish, Northampton | 2000–2010 | 1,267 |
| 9 | Tim Stimpson | Newcastle, Leicester, Leeds | 1997–2005 | 1,243 |
| 10 | Paul Grayson | Northampton | 1997–2005 | 1,238 |
Tries
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Years | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Varndell | Leicester, Wasps, Bristol | 2004–2017 | 93 |
| 2 | Mark Cueto | Sale | 2001–2015 | 90 |
| 3 | Chris Ashton | Northampton, Saracens | 2008–2017 | 80 |
| 4 | Steve Hanley | Sale | 1998–2007 | 75 |
| 5 | Christian Wade | Wasps | 2011– | 69 |
| 6 | Paul Sackey | Bedford, London Irish, Wasps, Harlequins | 1999–2014 | 68 |
| 7 | Tom Voyce | Bath, Wasps, Gloucester, London Welsh | 2000–2013 | 66 |
| 8 | James Simpson-Daniel | Gloucester | 2000–2013 | 63 |
| 9 | Neil Back | Leicester | 1997–2005 | 59 |
| 10 | Ben Cohen | Northampton, Sale | 1997–2011 | 58 |
