Premiership Rugby facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Premiership 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)	Saracens (6th title) (2022–23)
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

Premiership Rugby, also known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, is England's top professional rugby union competition. It features 10 clubs and is the highest level of rugby in the English rugby union system.

Teams in Premiership Rugby can also play in 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, called 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. Premiership Rugby is seen as one of the top three professional leagues in the Northern Hemisphere. The other two 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 a lot since then. The current champions are Saracens. They returned to the top league in 2021 and won the championship in 2023.

History of Premiership Rugby

How English Rugby Started (Before 1972)

For a long time, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), which runs rugby in England, didn't 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 set up their own games. The only organized events were local County Cups and the County Championship. Newspapers tried to rank teams, but it was hard to be fair because not all teams played the same opponents.

Leagues and Cups Begin (1972–1995)

In 1972, the RFU finally allowed a national knockout cup. This was the start of more organized rugby. Then, in the mid-1980s, national leagues began. When leagues started, some old traditional games were lost because of the new game schedules.

The league system really took off 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 leagues. In the first season, clubs had to arrange their own games. The first season was a big success! More people came to watch games, and local businesses became interested. Players also got better because they played in regular competitions. The worries about more violence in games mostly didn't come true.

By the next season, the RFU set fixed Saturdays for league games. This made things easier for clubs. In these early years, teams only played each other once. Two teams, Bath and Leicester, were much better than the rest and often won.

In 1994, the league grew to include home and away games for the first time. The 1994–95 season was also the first to be shown live on Sky Sports. This TV deal lasted until 2013–14.

Rugby Becomes Professional (1996)

The league became professional for the 1996–97 season. This meant players could now be paid to play. Wasps were the first winners of the professional league. Other clubs like Saracens and Newcastle found rich people to support them. However, some clubs faced problems when their supporters left.

New Playoff System (2000–2014)

In the 2000–01 season, a new playoff system was added. This was called the Championship. However, the team that finished top of the regular season table was still called the English champion. This changed in the 2001–02 season, but it caused a lot of debate, so the old rule was brought back.

From the 2002–03 season, a new playoff format was introduced. The team that finished first in the league played the winner of a game between the second and third-placed teams. The winner of this final game, called the Premiership Final, became the English champion. This meant that even if a team was best during the regular season, they still had to win the final to be champions.

Since the playoffs started, only a few teams have won both the regular season and the playoffs in the same year. These include Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks, Harlequins, Saracens, and Exeter Chiefs. Wasps became known for playing well in the playoffs. They won the championship four times without ever finishing first in the regular season. On the other hand, Gloucester often finished first but then lost in the finals.

Playing Games in the USA (2014–2018)

Premiership Rugby wanted to make the sport more popular in the United States. They looked into playing some league games there. The first game played in the USA was on March 12, 2016. London Irish played against Saracens in New Jersey. There were plans for London Irish to play more games there, but they moved down from the Premiership, so the plan stopped.

A new deal was made in 2017 to play at least one game in the US for four seasons. The first game under this deal was in September 2017 in Philadelphia. In 2018–19, a Premiership Rugby game was shown live on TV in the US for the first time.

New Investment and Salary Cap Issues (2018–2020)

In December 2018, a company called CVC Capital Partners bought a part of Premiership Rugby. This deal was worth £200 million. The money was meant to help clubs improve their facilities and help the sport grow around the world.

In March 2019, there were claims that Saracens had broken the league's salary cap. The salary cap is a rule about how much money clubs can spend on player salaries. In November 2019, Saracens were found guilty of breaking this rule. They had not told the league about some payments to players. As a result, they lost 35 points for the 2019–20 season and had to pay a large fine.

On January 18, 2020, Premiership Rugby announced that Saracens would be moved down to the RFU Championship for the next season. This was because Saracens did not work with the league during a check of their finances. A report later showed that Saracens had spent too much money on player salaries for several years.

COVID-19 and League Changes (2020–2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic caused big problems for sports in England in 2020. The rugby season was stopped. The Championship season was cancelled, but Newcastle Falcons were still moved up to the Premiership. The 2019–20 Premiership season started again in August and finished in October 2020.

Because of the pandemic, the 2020–21 season started later and was shorter. The amount of money clubs could spend on player salaries was also temporarily lowered. A rule was also made in February 2021 that no teams would be moved down from the Premiership for a few seasons. 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.

Financial Problems and League Shrinks (2022–2024)

In September 2022, Worcester Warriors had serious financial problems and were suspended from the league. They were later removed from the Premiership and moved down to a lower league. All their past and future games for that season were cancelled.

In October 2022, Wasps also faced financial trouble and were suspended. They were also moved down from the Premiership. In June 2023, London Irish were suspended and then also moved down because of money problems. These issues meant that Premiership Rugby shrunk to just ten teams for the 2023–24 season.

Clubs in Premiership Rugby

Current Clubs

The Premiership started the 2022–23 season with 13 clubs. However, Wasps and Worcester Warriors were removed because of financial issues. Before the 2023–24 season, London Irish also left the league due to money problems.

• Note: The capacity listed for rugby games might be different from the stadium's total capacity.

All-Time Clubs in the Premiership

Since the league began 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 been in every season so far: Bath, Gloucester, and Leicester Tigers. Harlequins have only missed one season. Other clubs like Saracens, Northampton Saints, and Sale Sharks have played in at least 20 seasons.

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

Below are the clubs that have played in the Premiership. Clubs in bold are playing in the 2023–24 season. Clubs in bold italics have been in every season.

Sponsorship

The Premiership Rugby league has had different sponsors over the years. The sponsor's name is usually part of the league's 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–current	Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	Gallagher Premiership

How Premiership Rugby Works

Referees

Referees in Premiership Rugby are chosen from a special group of professional referees by the RFU. There are 15 main referees, and their games are decided by a team of former international referees.

List of Premiership Referees

Many assistant referees also help them during games.

The League Season

The Premiership Rugby season usually runs from September to June. Each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away. This makes 18 rounds of matches. Teams get points based on their results:

• 4 points for a win.
• 2 points for a draw (a tie).
• 0 points for a loss.
• 1 extra point if they lose by 7 points or less (this is a bonus point).
• 1 extra point if they score 4 tries or more in a match (another bonus point).

If a game is cancelled because of a COVID-19 outbreak in a team, a special panel decides the outcome. If the game cannot be played later, it's recorded as a 0–0 draw. If one team could have played, they get 4 points, and the team with the outbreak gets 2 points. If both teams are affected, they each get 2 points.

Play-offs

After all the regular season games are played, the top 4 teams go into the play-offs in June. The teams that finished first and second get to play their semi-final games at home. The first-placed team plays the fourth-placed team. The second-placed team plays the third-placed team. The winners of these semi-finals then play in the final at Twickenham Stadium. The team that wins the final is crowned the Premiership champion.

Moving Up and Down (Promotion and Relegation)

Premiership Rugby is the top level (Level 1) of the English rugby system. Teams can move between the Premiership and the RFU Championship (the second level). Usually, the team that wins the Championship moves up to the Premiership. The team that finishes last in the Premiership moves down to the Championship.

However, a team moving up from the Championship must meet certain "Minimum Standards Criteria." These standards are about things like their stadium and finances. If a team doesn't meet these standards, they cannot be promoted. For example, in 2011–12, London Welsh won the Championship but were first told they couldn't move up. They appealed and were eventually allowed to join the Premiership.

Recent Changes to Relegation

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rule was made in February 2021 to stop teams from being moved down from the Premiership for a few seasons. This meant the Premiership would grow to 13 teams in the 2021–22 season.

This rule was extended for two more seasons. New rules also said that there might be a playoff game between the last-placed Premiership team and the top Championship team in 2023–24.

The Premiership could have grown to 14 teams, but it went back to 12 teams in October 2022. This happened when Worcester Warriors were removed from the league because of financial problems. Wasps also faced similar issues and were moved down. Then, London Irish were suspended before the next season. This meant the Premiership shrunk to only ten teams for the 2023–24 season.

Qualifying for European Competitions

The top seven teams in Premiership 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 that moved up from the Championship.

Premiership Champions

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

This change was a bit controversial at first. For example, Wasps won four of the first six playoff finals without ever finishing first in the regular season. Over time, the playoff system has become more accepted. However, as of 2022, only seven teams have managed to both finish top of the regular season table and win the Premiership final.

In most seasons, at least one team has been moved down at the end of the season. However, there was no relegation in 1995–96 to allow the league to grow. Also, in 2001–02, Leeds was saved from relegation because the second-division champions didn't have a suitable stadium to move up. Relegation was also paused between 2020–21 and 2022–23 to allow for more expansion. However, Worcester and Wasps were still moved down in 2022–23 for financial reasons. London Irish also moved down before the 2023–24 season.

Summary of Winners

This table shows which teams have won the Premiership and how many times.

Player Records

These records are from the 1997–98 season onwards, when the league became known as the Premiership. Bold italics means the player is still active in the 2023–24 Premiership season.

Most Appearances

This table shows the players who have played the most games in Premiership Rugby.

Rank	Nationality	Player	Club(s)	Years	Apps
1	England	Richard Wigglesworth	Sale, Saracens, Leicester	2002–2022	322
2	England	Danny Care	Leeds, Harlequins	2005–	279
3	England	Mike Brown	Harlequins, Newcastle, Leicester	2005–	274
4	England	Alex Waller	Northampton	2009–	270
5	England	Alex Goode	Saracens	2008–	268
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
10	England	Tom May	Newcastle, Northampton, London Welsh	1999–2015	247

Most Points Scored

This table shows the players who have scored the most points in Premiership Rugby.

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	Stephen Myler	Northampton, London Irish	2006–2020	1,778
4	England	George Ford	Leicester, Bath, Sale	2009–	1,766
5	New Zealand	Jimmy Gopperth	Newcastle, Wasps, Leicester	2009–2023	1,737
6	England	Owen Farrell	Saracens	2009–	1,728
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

This table shows the players who have scored the most tries (like touchdowns in American football) in Premiership Rugby.

Rank	Nationality	Player	Club(s)	Years	Tries
1	England	Chris Ashton	Northampton, Saracens, Sale, Harlequins, Worcester, Leicester	2008–2023	101
2	England	Tom Varndell	Leicester, Wasps, Bristol	2004–2017	92
3	England	Mark Cueto	Sale	2001–2015	90
4	England	Danny Care	Leeds, Harlequins	2005–	85
5	England	Christian Wade	Wasps	2011–2018	82
6	England	Jonny May	Gloucester, Leicester	2010–	76
7	England	Steve Hanley	Sale	1998–2007	75
8	England	Matt Banahan	Bath, Gloucester	2007–2021	71
9	England	Mike Brown	Harlequins, Newcastle, Leicester	2005–	70
10	England	Paul Sackey	Bedford, London Irish, Wasps, Harlequins	1999–2014	69

Awards for Players

These tables show the players who have won the Premiership Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.

Premiership Player of the Year Year Nationality Player Team 1996–1997  England Martin Johnson Leicester 1997–1998  England Neil Back Leicester (2) 1998–1999  England Martin Johnson (2) Leicester (3) 1999–2000  England Austin Healey Leicester (4) 2000–2001  Australia Pat Howard Leicester (5) 2001–2002  England Jason Robinson Sale 2002–2003  South Africa Jake Boer Gloucester 2003–2004  England Simon Shaw Wasps 2004–2005  England Martin Corry Leicester (6) 2005–2006  England Mike Catt London Irish 2006–2007  Italy Martín Castrogiovanni Leicester (7) 2007–2008  England James Simpson-Daniel Gloucester (2) 2008–2009  England Chris Robshaw Harlequins 2009–2010  England Chris Ashton Northampton 2010–2011  England Tom Wood Northampton (2) 2011–2012  England Chris Robshaw (2) Harlequins (2) 2012–2013  England Tom Youngs Leicester (8) 2013–2014  England Mike Brown Harlequins (3) 2014–2015  England George Ford Bath 2015–2016  England Alex Goode Saracens 2016–2017  New Zealand Jimmy Gopperth Wasps (2) 2017–2018  Fiji Vereniki Goneva Newcastle 2018–2019  England Danny Cipriani Gloucester (3) 2019–2020  England Jack Willis Wasps (3) 2020–2021  England Sam Simmonds Exeter 2021–2022  England Ben Earl Saracens (2) 2022–2023  England Ollie Lawrence Bath (2)

Young Player of the Year Year Nationality Player Team 1996–1997 Not awarded 1997–1998 1998–1999  England Jonny Wilkinson Newcastle 1999–2000  England Iain Balshaw Bath 2000–2001  England Iain Balshaw (2) Bath (2) 2001–2002  England Lewis Moody Leicester 2002–2003  England James Forrester Gloucester 2003–2004  England Olly Barkley Bath (3) 2004–2005  England Ollie Smith Leicester (2) 2005–2006  England Tom Varndell Leicester (3) 2006–2007  England Tom Rees Wasps 2007–2008  England Danny Cipriani Wasps (2) 2008–2009  England Jordan Turner-Hall Harlequins 2009–2010  England Ben Youngs Leicester (4) 2010–2011  England Manu Tuilagi Leicester (5) 2011–2012  England Owen Farrell Saracens 2012–2013  England Joe Launchbury Wasps (3) 2013–2014  England Billy Vunipola Saracens (2) 2014–2015  England Henry Slade Exeter 2015–2016  England Maro Itoje Saracens (3) 2016–2017  England Ellis Genge Leicester (6) 2017–2018  England Sam Simmonds Exeter (2) 2018–2019  England Tom Curry Sale 2019–2020  England Jack Willis Wasps (4) 2020–2021  Wales Ioan Lloyd Bristol 2021–2022  England Henry Arundell London Irish 2022–2023  England Tom Pearson London Irish (2)

Coaches

Current Coaches

This table lists the main coaches for each Premiership club in the 2023–24 season. The title (like "Director of Rugby" or "Head Coach") and their exact jobs can be different for each club.

Coach	Nationality	Club	Appointed	Time in role	Ref
Rob Baxter	England	Exeter Chiefs	7 May 2009	16 years, 38 days
Mark McCall	Ireland	Saracens	9 January 2011	14 years, 156 days
Pat Lam	Samoa	Bristol Bears	1 June 2017	8 years, 13 days
George Skivington	England	Gloucester	3 July 2020	4 years, 346 days
Alex Sanderson	England	Sale Sharks	15 January 2021	4 years, 150 days
Phil Dowson	England	Northampton Saints	1 June 2022	3 years, 13 days
Johann van Graan	South Africa	Bath	11 July 2022	2 years, 338 days
Billy Millard	Australia	Harlequins	14 June 2023	2 years, 0 days
Dan McKellar	Australia	Leicester Tigers	1 July 2023	1 year, 348 days
Steve Diamond	England	Newcastle Falcons	1 February 2024	1 year, 133 days

Award-Winning Coaches

These tables show the senior coaches who have won the Premiership Director of Rugby of the Season Award since 2000.

Director of Rugby of the Season (2000–2012) Season Nationality Winner Club 1999–00  England Andy Robinson Bath 2000–01  England Dean Richards Leicester 2001–02  Ireland Conor O'Shea London Irish  South Africa Brendan Venter 2002–03  New Zealand Warren Gatland Wasps 2003–04  Australia John Connolly Bath (2) 2004–05  England John Wells Leicester (2) 2005–06  France Philippe Saint-André Sale 2006–07  Australia Pat Howard Leicester (3) 2007–08  England Dean Ryan Gloucester 2008–09  England Richard Cockerill Leicester (4) 2009–10  England Andy Key Leeds 2010–11  England Jim Mallinder Northampton 2011–12  England Rob Baxter Exeter

Director of Rugby of the Season (2013–) Season Nationality Winner Club 2012–13  Ireland Mark McCall Saracens 2013–14  Ireland Mark McCall (2) Saracens (2) 2014–15  England Mike Ford Bath (3) 2015–16  Ireland Mark McCall (3) Saracens (3) 2016–17  Wales Dai Young Wasps (2) 2017–18  England Dean Richards (2) Newcastle 2018–19  Ireland Mark McCall (4) Saracens (4) 2019–20  England Rob Baxter (2) Exeter (2) 2020–21  Samoa Pat Lam Bristol 2021–22  England Steve Borthwick Leicester (5) 2022–23  Ireland Mark McCall (5) Saracens (5)

Hall of Fame

The Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame honors important former players and officials. They have been added to the Hall of Fame since 2013.

Note: From 1997 to 2012, the winners of the Player of the Season and Director of Rugby of the Season awards were automatically included in the Hall of Fame.

Year	Nationality	Inductee	Position	Club(s)
2013	England	George Chuter	Player	Saracens, Leicester
	England	Charlie Hodgson	Player	Sale, Saracens
	Ireland	Geordan Murphy	Player	Leicester
2014	England	Martin Johnson	Player	Leicester
	England	Lewis Moody	Player	Leicester, Bath
	England	Ed Morrison	Referee	Not applicable
	Scotland	Tom Walkinshaw	Owner	Gloucester
2015	England	Lawrence Dallaglio	Player	Wasps
	England	Josh Lewsey	Player	Bristol, Wasps
	England	Simon Shaw	Player	Bristol, Wasps
	England	James Simpson-Daniel	Player	Gloucester
	England	Phil Vickery	Player	Gloucester, Wasps
	England	Peter Wheeler	CEO	Leicester
	England	Jonny Wilkinson	Player	Newcastle
2016	England	Neil Back	Player	Leicester
	England	Mark Cueto	Player	Sale
	England	Richard Hill	Player	Saracens
	England	Mike Tindall	Player	Bath, Gloucester
	England	Hugh Vyvyan	Player	Newcastle, Saracens
2017	England	Steve Borthwick	Player	Bath, Saracens
	England	Kyran Bracken	Player	Bristol, Saracens
	England	Nick Easter	Player	Harlequins
	England	Ben Kay	Player	Leicester
	England	Jason Robinson	Player	Sale
2019	England	Matt Dawson	Player	Northampton, Wasps
	New Zealand	Nick Evans	Player	Harlequins
	England	Jason Leonard	Player	Saracens, Harlequins
2021	England	Christian Day	Player	Sale, Northampton
	England	Andy Goode	Player	Leicester, Saracens, Worcester, Wasps, Newcastle
	England	Paul Grayson	Player	Northampton
	England	Steve Thompson	Player	Northampton, Leeds, Wasps
2022	England	Will Greenwood	Player	Harlequins, Leicester
	England	Tom Varndell	Player	Leicester, Wasps, Bristol
	England	Trevor Woodman	Player	Gloucester
2023	England	Matt Banahan	Player	Bath, Gloucester
	England	Brad Barritt	Player	Saracens
	England	Tom Youngs	Player	Leicester

Attendances

These tables show how many people have attended Premiership Rugby games each season.

Salary Cap Rules

Premiership Rugby has a "salary cap." This is a rule that limits how much money a club can spend on player salaries each season. The Premiership Rugby Board sets this limit. For the 2023–24 season, the basic cap is £5 million. Clubs can also get an "academy credit" of up to £600,000. This means they can spend an extra £100,000 for up to six young players.

A player can count towards the academy credit if they:

• Joined the club before their 18th birthday.
• Are under 24 years old at the start of the season.
• Earn more than £50,000 a year.

The first £100,000 of such a player's salary does not count against the main salary cap.

Player Exclusions

Since the 2022–23 season, each club can choose one player whose salary does not count towards the cap. Before this, clubs could exclude two players. If a team still has two excluded players under old contracts, both remain excluded until one of their contracts ends.

A player can be chosen as an "excluded player" if they meet certain rules:

• They have played for their Premiership club for at least two full seasons before being chosen.
• They played for their Premiership club for the full season before being chosen, after playing outside the Premiership.
• They played outside the Premiership in the season before they were chosen.

Media Coverage

In the United Kingdom, TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) shows most of the games. They broadcast up to 80 live matches each season from Premiership Rugby and the Premiership Rugby Cup. They also show highlights and other rugby programs. This deal lasts until the end of the 2023–24 season.

ITV also shows 7 live matches for free, including the final. They have their own presenters and commentators. ITV also shows a weekly highlights program. Talksport and BBC Radio 5 Live, along with local BBC radio stations, broadcast live commentary and rugby shows.

Premiership Rugby is also shown in many other countries:

• Australia: Stan Sport
• New Zealand: Sky Sports
• Oceanic islands: TVWan Sport
• United States: The Rugby Network (since 2023)
• Canada: Sportsnet
• Southern Africa: SuperSport
• Malta: TSN
• Italy: Mola
• France: RMC Sport
• DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland): MTS and DAZN
• Czech Republic and Slovakia: Nova Sport
• Scandinavian States: Viaplay
• MENA region and Asia: Premier Sports
• China (since 2017)
• Japan: DAZN

See also

In Spanish: Premiership Rugby para niños