Premiership Rugby facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
PREM Rugby

Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1987; 38 years ago (1987)
CEO	Simon Massie-Taylor
Administrator	RFU
No. of teams	10
Country	England
Most recent champion(s)	Bath Rugby (7th title) (2024–25)
Most titles	Leicester Tigers (11 titles)
TV partner(s)	TNT Sports ITV
Level on pyramid	Level 1
Relegation to	RFU Championship
Domestic cup(s)	Premiership Rugby Cup
International cup(s)	European Rugby Champions Cup European Rugby Challenge Cup

PREM Rugby, also known as Gallagher PREM Rugby, is England's top professional rugby union competition. It features 10 clubs and is the highest level of rugby in the English league. From 2000 to 2025, it was called "Premiership Rugby." Before that, it had other names like "Premiership 1" and "National Division One."

Clubs in PREM Rugby can qualify for Europe's biggest club competitions. These are the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. The team that wins the second division, the RFU Championship, gets to move up to the Premiership. Until 2020, the team at the bottom of the Premiership would move down to the Championship. PREM Rugby is one of the top three professional rugby leagues in the Northern Hemisphere. The others are the Top 14 in France and the United Rugby Championship. The United Rugby Championship includes teams from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa.

The competition started in 1987 and has grown into the PREM Rugby system we see today. The current champions are Bath Rugby, who won the league in 2025.

History of English Rugby's Top League

How Rugby Leagues Began

For a long time, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), which runs rugby in England, did not want leagues. They thought leagues would make players play unfairly. They also worried it would make clubs pay players, which went against the idea of amateur sports. Instead, clubs just played friendly games against each other. The only organized events were local cups. Newspapers tried to rank teams, but it was hard to tell who was best.

In 1972, the RFU finally allowed a national knockout cup. This was the start of more organized competitions. Then, in the mid-1980s, national league tables were introduced. When leagues started in 1987, some traditional friendly games were lost. This was because the new league schedule did not leave enough time for them.

The league system began in 1987 with the Courage Leagues. This was a huge system with about 1,000 clubs in 108 leagues. Teams could move up or down between these leagues. The first season was a big success. More people came to watch games, and companies became interested in sponsoring teams. Players also got better because they played in regular, competitive matches. The fears about more violence in games did not really come true.

By the next season, the RFU set specific Saturdays for league games. This meant clubs no longer had to arrange their own matches. In these early seasons, teams only played each other once. There was no home and away system yet.

Two teams, Bath and Leicester, were much stronger than the others at first. They dominated the top of the Courage League. In 1994, the league finally had a full home and away schedule. The 1994–95 season was the first to be shown live on Sky Sports. This continued until 2013–14, when BT Sport took over the TV rights.

Rugby Becomes Professional

The league became professional for the 1996–97 season. Wasps were the first winners in this new professional era. They joined Bath and Leicester as the only champions in the league's first ten years. Some clubs, like Saracens and Newcastle, found rich supporters. However, becoming professional was tough for some teams. Clubs like West Hartlepool and London Scottish faced financial problems when their backers left.

Playoffs and New Rules

In the 2000–01 season, a new playoff system was introduced. Eight teams would play in a "Championship" playoff. However, the team that finished first in the regular season was still considered the English champion. This changed during the 2001–02 season. It was decided that the playoff winner would be the champion. This caused a lot of debate, and the idea was dropped.

From the 2002–03 season, a new playoff format was used. The team that finished first in the league played the winner of a match between the second and third-placed teams. The winner of this final game, called the Premiership Final, became the English champion. This was a big change. For example, Gloucester finished first by a lot in 2003. But they lost in the final to Wasps, who had finished second.

The playoff structure changed again in the 2005–06 season. The first-placed team would play the fourth-placed team in a semi-final. The second-placed team would play the third-placed team. The winners would then play in the final.

Since the playoffs started, seven teams have won both the regular season and the playoffs in the same year. These include Leicester (four times), Sale Sharks, Harlequins, Saracens, Exeter Chiefs, Northampton Saints, and Bath.

Wasps became known for playing the playoff system perfectly. They won the English Championship in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2008. They never finished first in the league in any of those years. On the other hand, Gloucester often finished first but then lost in the finals.

In 2011–12, Harlequins won their first title. They beat Leicester 30–23 in the final. Leicester then won their 10th championship in 2012–13, beating Northampton. The 2013–14 season saw Northampton become the eighth different team to win the trophy. They beat Leicester in the semi-final and then Saracens in the final.

Expanding Rugby's Reach

From 2014 to 2018, Premiership Rugby tried to grow the sport in the United States. They hoped to host some matches there. The first match played in the USA was on March 12, 2016. London Irish played Saracens at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. This was meant to be a three-year deal, but London Irish was relegated, so the plan changed. A new deal was made in 2017 to play at least one match in the US for four seasons. In 2018–19, a Premiership Rugby game was shown live on network television in the US for the first time.

In 2018, a new competition called the Premiership Rugby Shield was launched. This was a revamp of the league's second-tier competition.

Changes and Challenges

In December 2018, a company called CVC Capital Partners bought a 27% share in Premiership Rugby for £200 million. This money was planned to help clubs improve their facilities and grow the game around the world.

In March 2019, there were claims that Saracens had broken the league's salary cap rules. Premiership Rugby investigated these claims. In November 2019, Saracens were found guilty of not telling the league about some player payments. This meant they had gone over the salary cap in several seasons. They were given a 35-point deduction for the 2019–20 season and fined £5.3 million.

On January 18, 2020, Premiership Rugby announced that Saracens would be moved down to the RFU Championship for the 2020–21 season. This was because Saracens did not cooperate with an audit to check their compliance with the rules. On January 23, 2020, a full report showed that Saracens had overspent the salary cap by large amounts. This included property investments for players. On January 28, 2020, Saracens received another 70-point deduction to make sure they finished last in the league.

Recent Years: COVID-19 and Club Challenges

Logo until 2025

The COVID-19 pandemic caused big disruptions to sports in England in spring 2020. The RFU stopped both the Premiership and Championship seasons. Newcastle Falcons, who were at the top of the Championship, were promoted to the Premiership. They replaced Saracens.

The 2019–20 Premiership Rugby season started again on August 14 and finished on October 24, 2020. Because of the pandemic, the 2020–21 season started 10 weeks late. It ran for a shorter time. The financial impact of the pandemic also led to the salary cap being lowered for up to three seasons starting from 2021–22.

In February 2021, it was decided that no teams would be moved down from the Premiership for a while. This was to prevent teams from being unfairly punished if games were cancelled due to COVID-19. This meant the Premiership would grow to 13 teams in 2021–22. This rule about no relegation was extended for two more years. A playoff between the top Championship team and the bottom Premiership team was planned for the 2023–24 season.

However, some clubs faced serious financial problems.

• On September 26, 2022, Worcester Warriors went into administration (meaning they had financial difficulties) and were suspended from the league. On October 6, they were suspended for the rest of the season and moved down from the Premiership. All their past and future games for that season were removed from the records.
• On October 17, 2022, Wasps also went into administration and were suspended. On October 28, they were suspended for the rest of the season and moved down from the Premiership. Their games were also removed from the records.
• On June 6, 2023, London Irish were suspended from the Premiership because they missed a deadline to pay players and staff. They also went into administration.

Despite these financial worries, the league remained very exciting. The 2023–24 final saw Northampton Saints beat Bath. This meant there had been five different winners in five years: Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, and Northampton Saints.

In June 2025, Bath reached the Premiership final again. They beat Leicester Tigers 23–21 to win their first title in 29 years. This made it six different winners in six seasons. Even though Newcastle Falcons faced financial concerns, no team was promoted or moved down this season.

The PREM Rugby Era Begins

In July 2025, after the 2024–25 season ended, the league officially changed its name from Premiership Rugby to PREM Rugby. The goal was to move away from a corporate image and attract younger fans. Along with this, they announced Thursday night games would start. The first one was between Gloucester and Sale Sharks.

Clubs in PREM Rugby

Current Clubs

The 2022–23 season started with 13 clubs. However, Wasps and Worcester Warriors were removed and moved down after facing financial problems. Before the 2023–24 season, London Irish also left the league due to financial issues. This means there are now 10 clubs.

• Note: Capacity listed for rugby union games may differ from official stadium capacity

All-Time Clubs in the Top League

Since the league started in 1987–88, 28 different clubs have played in the top division. The most recent club to join was London Welsh in 2012–13.

Three clubs have played in every season: Bath, Gloucester, and Leicester Tigers. Harlequins have only missed one season (2005–06) because they were moved down. Six other clubs have played in at least 20 seasons. These are Saracens, Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks, London Irish, Bristol Bears, and Newcastle Falcons. Wasps had been in almost every season until they faced financial problems in 2022–23.

Some clubs, like Coventry and Nottingham, only played when rugby was an amateur sport. Others, like Exeter Chiefs and Worcester Warriors, have only played since rugby became professional.

The clubs playing in the 2024–25 season are shown in bold. Clubs that have played in every season are in bold italics. The years listed are when the seasons ended. All current teams will stay in the league until at least 2024.

Sponsorship of the League

The league has had different sponsors over the years, which changed its official name.

Period	Sponsor	Name	League Title
1987–1997	Courage Brewery	Courage League National Division One	National Division One
1997–2000	Allied Dunbar	Allied Dunbar Premiership	Premiership 1
2000–2005	Zurich Insurance Group	Zurich Premiership	Premiership
2005–2010	Guinness Brewery	Guinness Premiership
2010–2018	Aviva	Aviva Premiership
2018–2025	Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	Gallagher Premiership
2025–current	Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	Gallagher PREM	PREM

How the League Works

Referees in PREM Rugby

Referees in PREM Rugby are part of the RFU's Professional Referee Unit. This group has 15 referees. Their match assignments are decided by a team of former international referees. They also have a large team of assistant referees who help them.

List of PREM Referees

The League Season

The PREM Rugby season usually runs from September to June. It has 18 rounds of matches. Each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away. Points are given based on the results:

• 4 points for a win.
• 2 points for a draw.
• 0 points for a loss.
• 1 bonus point if a team loses by 7 points or fewer.
• 1 extra bonus point if a team scores 4 tries or more in a match.

If a game was cancelled because of a COVID-19 outbreak in one team, a PREM Rugby panel decided the outcome. If the game could not be rescheduled, it was recorded as a 0–0 draw. If one team could have played, they got 4 points. The team that couldn't play got 2 points. If both teams were affected, they each got 2 points.

Play-offs to Crown the Champion

After the regular season, the top 4 teams go into the play-offs in June. The top two teams get to play their semi-final games at home. The league leader plays the 4th-ranked team. The 2nd-placed team plays the 3rd-placed team. The winners of these semi-finals play in the final. The final is held at Twickenham Stadium. The team that wins the final is crowned the champion.

Moving Up and Down (Promotion and Relegation)

To get into the Premiership, which is the top level of English men's rugby, teams use a system of promotion and relegation. This means the team that wins the RFU Championship (the second division) usually moves up. They replace the team that finishes last in the Premiership, which moves down. However, between 2021 and 2023, teams could move up, but no team was moved down from the Premiership.

A team moving up from the Championship must meet certain standards. If a team wins the Championship but doesn't meet these standards, they cannot be promoted. For example, in 2011–12, London Welsh won promotion but were first denied. This would have saved Newcastle Falcons from moving down. But London Welsh won their appeal, and Newcastle was moved down.

Changes to Relegation Rules

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rule was approved in February 2021 to stop teams from being moved down from the Premiership. This started in the 2020–21 season. Since promotion from the Championship was still allowed, the Premiership grew to 13 teams in the next year.

This rule was extended for two more seasons in June 2021. New rules also said that if the Premiership grew to 14 teams, promotion from the Championship would be stopped for that season. A playoff between the last-placed Premiership club and the top Championship club was planned for 2023–24. New standards for promotion were announced in September 2022. These confirmed that promotion from the Championship was still set to happen in 2023.

The Premiership could have grown to 14 teams from the 2023–24 season. However, it went back to 12 teams on October 6, 2022. This happened when Worcester Warriors were removed from the league for the season due to financial problems. The club eventually closed down in February 2023. On October 17, 2022, Wasps also faced financial issues. They were automatically moved down from the Premiership. Their remaining games were cancelled. London Irish finished the season but were suspended before the next season. This meant the Premiership had only ten teams from the 2023–24 season.

Qualifying for European Competitions

The top seven teams in PREM Rugby qualify for the next season's European Rugby Champions Cup. The eighth spot in the Champions Cup goes to either the winner of the Challenge Cup or the team that finishes eighth in the Premiership. Teams that finish 8th and 9th and don't qualify for the Champions Cup play in the Challenge Cup. The final Challenge Cup spot is offered to either the 10th team in the Premiership or the team promoted from the Championship.

Champions of PREM Rugby

From 1987 to 2002, the team that finished at the top of the league table was the English champion. Since the 2002–03 season, the champion has been decided by a Premiership Final. This final is played at Twickenham Stadium. It involves two rounds of knockout games among the top four teams.

This change was debated at first. Especially when Wasps won four of the first six playoff finals without ever finishing first in the regular season. Only Sale managed to finish first and win the final in that time.

By the end of the 2023–24 season, nine teams that finished top of the table have also won the Premiership in 22 seasons. Four of these happened in the last five seasons. These teams are shown in italics under the "Top of Table" column below.

In most seasons, at least one team was moved down at the end of the season. However, in 1995–96, no team was moved down to allow the league to grow. In 2001–02, Leeds was saved from moving down because the second division champions did not have a suitable stadium to be promoted. Relegation was also stopped between 2020–21 and 2022–23 to allow for more expansion. However, Worcester and Wasps were both moved down for financial reasons during the 2022–23 season. London Irish was also moved down before the 2023–24 season.

Key

Match was won during extra time

Season	Champions	Final	Runners-up	Top of Table	Relegated
1987–88	Leicester	N/A	Wasps	Leicester	Sale, Coventry
1988–89	Bath		Gloucester	Bath	Liverpool St Helens, Waterloo
1989–90	Wasps		Gloucester	Wasps	Bedford
1990–91	Bath		Wasps	Bath	Liverpool St Helens, Moseley
1991–92	Bath		Orrell	Bath	Rosslyn Park, Nottingham
1992–93	Bath		Wasps	Bath	Rugby Lions, West Hartlepool, Saracens, London Scottish
1993–94	Bath		Leicester	Bath	Newcastle, London Irish
1994–95	Leicester		Bath	Leicester	Northampton
1995–96	Bath		Leicester	Bath	No relegation
1996–97	Wasps		Bath	Wasps	Orrell, West Hartlepool
1997–98	Newcastle		Saracens	Newcastle	Bristol
1998–99	Leicester		Northampton	Leicester	West Hartlepool
1999–00	Leicester		Bath	Leicester	Bedford
2000–01	Leicester		Wasps	Leicester	Rotherham
2001–02	Leicester		Sale	Leicester	No relegation
2002–03	Wasps	39 – 3	Gloucester	Gloucester	Bristol
2003–04	Wasps	10 – 6	Bath	Bath	Rotherham
2004–05	Wasps	39 – 14	Leicester	Leicester	Harlequins
2005–06	Sale	45 – 20	Leicester	Sale	Leeds
2006–07	Leicester	44 – 16	Gloucester	Gloucester	Northampton
2007–08	Wasps	26 – 16	Leicester	Gloucester	Leeds
2008–09	Leicester	10 – 9	London Irish	Leicester	Bristol
2009–10	Leicester	33 – 27	Saracens	Leicester	Worcester
2010–11	Saracens	22 – 18	Leicester	Leicester	Leeds
2011–12	Harlequins	30 – 23	Leicester	Harlequins	Newcastle
2012–13	Leicester	37 – 17	Northampton	Saracens	London Welsh
2013–14	Northampton	24 – 20	Saracens	Saracens	Worcester
2014–15	Saracens	28 – 16	Bath	Northampton	London Welsh
2015–16	Saracens	28 – 20	Exeter	Saracens	London Irish
2016–17	Exeter	23 – 20	Wasps	Wasps	Bristol
2017–18	Saracens	27 – 10	Exeter	Exeter	London Irish
2018–19	Saracens	37 – 34	Exeter	Exeter	Newcastle
2019–20	Exeter	19 – 13	Wasps	Exeter	Saracens
2020–21	Harlequins	40 – 38	Exeter	Bristol	No relegation
2021–22	Leicester	15 – 12	Saracens	Leicester
2022–23	Saracens	35 – 25	Sale	Saracens	Worcester, Wasps
2023–24	Northampton	25 – 21	Bath	Northampton	London Irish
2024–25	Bath	23 – 21	Leicester	Bath	No relegation

Summary of Winners

Player Records

These records are from the 1997–98 season onwards, when the league was relaunched as the Premiership. Bold italics means the player is still active in the 2025–26 Premiership season.

Most Appearances

Rank	Nationality	Player	Club(s)	Years	Apps
1	England	Richard Wigglesworth	Sale, Saracens, Leicester	2002–2022	322
2	England	Danny Care	Leeds, Harlequins	2005–2025	294
3	England	Alex Goode	Saracens	2008–2025	282
4	England	Mike Brown	Harlequins, Newcastle, Leicester	2005–	281
5	England	Alex Waller	Northampton	2009–2024	273
6	England	Steve Borthwick	Bath, Saracens	1998–2014	265
7	England	George Chuter	Saracens, Leicester	1997–2014	262
	England	Phil Dowson	Newcastle, Northampton, Worcester	2001–2017
9	England	Charlie Hodgson	Sale, Saracens	2000–2016	254
	England	Dan Cole	Leicester	2008–2025

Most Points Scored

Rank	Nationality	Player	Club(s)	Years	Points
1	England	Charlie Hodgson	Sale, Saracens	2000–2016	2,625
2	England	Andy Goode	Leicester, Saracens, Worcester, Wasps, Newcastle	1998–2016	2,285
3	England	George Ford	Leicester, Bath, Sale	2009–	1,911
4	England	Stephen Myler	Northampton, London Irish	2006–2020	1,778
5	England	Owen Farrell	Saracens	2009–2024	1,750
6	New Zealand	Jimmy Gopperth	Newcastle, Wasps, Leicester	2009–2023	1,737
7	New Zealand	Nick Evans	Harlequins	2008–2017	1,656
8	Ireland	Gareth Steenson	Exeter	2010–2020	1,651
9	England	Olly Barkley	Bath, Gloucester, London Welsh	2001–2015	1,605
10	England	Freddie Burns	Gloucester, Leicester, Bath	2008–2023	1,532

Most Tries Scored

Rank	Nationality	Player	Club(s)	Years	Tries
1	England	Chris Ashton	Northampton, Saracens, Sale, Harlequins, Worcester, Leicester	2008–2023	101
2	England	Christian Wade	Wasps, Gloucester	2011–2025	93
3	England	Tom Varndell	Leicester, Wasps, Bristol	2004–2017	92
4	England	Mark Cueto	Sale	2001–2015	90
5	England	Danny Care	Leeds, Harlequins	2005–2025	85
6	England	Jonny May	Gloucester, Leicester	2010–2024	78
7	England	Steve Hanley	Sale	1998–2007	75
8	England	Mike Brown	Harlequins, Newcastle, Leicester	2005–2025	72
9	England	Matt Banahan	Bath, Gloucester	2007–2021	71
10	England	Paul Sackey	Bedford, London Irish, Wasps, Harlequins	1999–2014	69

Coaches of PREM Rugby Teams

Current Coaches

This table shows the main coaches for each PREM Rugby club as of the 2024–25 season. Note: The title of the main coach (like Director of Rugby or Head Coach) and their exact duties can be different for each club.

Coach	Nationality	Club	Appointed	Time in role	Titles won	Ref
Rob Baxter	England	Exeter Chiefs	7 May 2009	16 years, 100 days	2
Mark McCall	Ireland	Saracens	9 January 2011	14 years, 218 days	6
Pat Lam	Samoa	Bristol Bears	1 June 2017	8 years, 75 days	0
George Skivington	England	Gloucester	3 July 2020	5 years, 43 days	0
Alex Sanderson	England	Sale Sharks	15 January 2021	4 years, 212 days	0
Phil Dowson	England	Northampton Saints	1 June 2022	3 years, 75 days	1
Johann van Graan	South Africa	Bath	11 July 2022	3 years, 35 days	1
Billy Millard	Australia	Harlequins	14 June 2023	2 years, 62 days	0
Steve Diamond	England	Newcastle Falcons	1 February 2024	1 year, 195 days	0
Michael Cheika	Australia	Leicester Tigers	27 June 2024	1 year, 49 days	0

Media Coverage of PREM Rugby

In the United Kingdom, PREM Rugby games are shown on TNT Sports (which used to be BT Sport). You can also stream them on Discovery+. This contract was renewed in March 2024. The broadcaster shows all PREM Rugby games (93 regular season games, up from 80). They also show some Premiership Rugby Cup games.

ITV has the rights to show a free highlights program. This show is on ITV4 and ITV1. For the 2024–25 season, the highlight show was relaunched as Gallagher Premiership Unleashed. It includes highlights and special segments hosted by popular rugby social media personalities. The goal is to reach more people.

Talksport and BBC Radio 5 Live, along with local BBC radio stations, broadcast commentary and rugby shows.

The Premiership is also available in many other countries. For example, in Australia, it's on Stan Sport. In New Zealand, it's on Sky Sports. In the United States, it's on The Rugby Network since 2023. It's also broadcast in Canada, Southern Africa, Malta, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Scandinavian countries, the Middle East, Asia, China, and Japan.

More About Rugby

• Top 14, the main rugby league in France.
• United Rugby Championship, a league with teams from different countries.
• English rugby union system, how rugby leagues are organized in England.
• List of English rugby union teams, a list of all English rugby teams.
• Premiership Rugby Cup, another competition for Premiership teams.
• European Rugby Champions Cup, a top European club competition.
• European Rugby Challenge Cup, another European club competition.
• RFU Championship, the second level of English club rugby.

Images for kids

• 

  Logo until 2025

See also

In Spanish: Premiership Rugby para niños