2008–09 Premiership Rugby
The 2008–09 Guinness Premiership was the 22nd season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between September 2008 and May 2009. Round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham, between the four London teams. This season saw the introduction of the controversial ELVs, although only 13 of the rules were used, as opposed to the 30 that were trialled in the Super 14. The previous season Northampton Saints gained promotion to the league this season by finishing top of the National Division One, taking the place of Leeds Carnegie who were relegated. In 2007–2008, Gloucester RFC finished top of the league but were beaten by Leicester Tigers in the semi-finals. London Wasps went on to beat Leicester Tigers 26–16 in the final. Season synopsis Leicester Tigers finished top of the league table, then were crowned Champions after defeating Bath 24–10 in the semi-final and London Irish 10–9 in the final at Twickenham. Going into ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home matches at Welford Road Stadium, Mattioli Woods Welford Road in the south of the city. The club has been known by the nickname Tigers since at least 1885. In the 2024–25 Premiership Rugby, 2024–25 Premiership Rugby season Tigers finished 2nd, losing the Premiership final, this entitled them to compete in the 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current head coach is Geoff Parling who will join for the 2025–26 Premiership Rugby season. Leicester have won 21 major titles. They were European Champions twice, back-to-back in 2001 Heineken Cup Final, 2001 and 2002 Heineken Cup Final, 2002; have won a record 11 Premiership Rugby, English Championships, five RFU Knockout Cups and three Anglo-Welsh Cups, most recently in 2016-17 Anglo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gloucester Rugby
Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches at Kingsholm Stadium in the north of the city. In the 2024–25 Premiership Rugby season, Gloucester finished 5th which earned them a space in the 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current director of rugby (DOR) is George Skivington who took the role of head coach in the summer of 2020 before being promoted to DOR in the Autumn of 2023. Gloucester have won 8 major titles; four RFU Knockout Cup's in 1971–72, 1977–78, 1981–82 and 2002–03, one Anglo-Welsh Cup win in 2010–11, and one Premiership Rugby Cup win in 2023–24. The Premiership Rugby Cup win in 2024 meant they became the first club to win all three iterations of the English domestic cup competition. Outside of England, Gloucester has also seen succes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Club and briefly assumed their name until 1887. In 1990, the name was changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1996, following the start of professionalism the club briefly adopted the name Newcastle Rugby Club before adopting its current name. Newcastle have won five major titles. They won the Premiership in 1998 and four domestic cups in 1976, 1977, 2001 and 2004. Newcastle was the only English club of Jonny Wilkinson, where he played from 1997 to 2009, and as well as Wilkinson in 2003 Newcastle saw three players in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final with Mathew Tait starting and Toby Flood appearing from the bench. Mark Wilson played in the 2019 Rug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2007–08 National Division One
The 2007–08 National Division One was the 21st full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams included Northampton Saints (relegated from the Guinness Premiership 2006–07) and Esher and Launceston (both promoted from National Division Two 2006–07). After two seasons Rotherham dropped the 'Earth' from their name to return to 'Rotherham Titans' (which they had been rebranded to in 2005 for the 2005–06 season) as sponsor Earth Mortgages ran into financial difficulties and Complete Technical Services instead became the club's new sponsor. Following their relegation from the previous season, Northampton Saints won the National Division One title at the first attempt and returned to the Guinness Premiership for season 2008–09 with Chris Ashton setting what was then the English league try record of 39 tries in a season (although Phil Chesters broke this record with 70 tries in a season in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Promotion And Relegation
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes called open leagues. In a system of promotion and relegation, the best-ranked team(s) in a lower division are ''promoted'' to a higher division for the next season, and the worst-ranked team(s) in the higher division are ''relegated'' to the lower division for the next season. During the season, teams that are high enough in the league table that they would qualify for promotion are sometimes said to be in the ''promotion zone'', and those at the bottom are in the ''relegation zone'' (colloquially the ''drop zone'' or ''facing the drop''). These can also involve being in zones where promotion and relegation is not automatic but subject to a playoff, such as in the EFL Championship where teams 3rd to 6th enter a playoff for promotion to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008–09 European Challenge Cup
The 2008–09 European Challenge Cup was the 13th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended with the final at the Twickenham Stoop in London on 22 May 2009, in which Northampton Saints defeated Bourgoin 15–3. With the win, the Saints not only claimed the trophy, but also won a berth in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup. Teams Seven French teams competed instead of the normal eight, as a French team, Toulouse, progressed farther in the previous year's Heineken Cup than any English or Italian team. Other nations had their usual number of participants: England six, Italy four, Ireland one, Spain one and Romania one. Pool stage The draw for the pool stages took place on 23 June 2008. The draw was conducted using the ERC European Ranking system which was based on the qualified teams' performances and participation in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CS Bourgoin-Jallieu
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club competing in the third level of the French league system, Nationale. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the French Cup competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup. Founded in 1906 as "Club Sportif Bergusien". They play at Stade Pierre Rajon (capacity 9,441). They are based in Bourgoin-Jallieu in the Isère department in the province of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. History The club was established in 1906 as "Club Sportif Bergusien". 1997 season In 1997 the club had a successful season. Runners-up French Cup 1997 The club contested the Challenge Yves du Manoir final, losing to Section Paloise 13 to 11. Runners-up French Championship 1997 The club made it to the 1997 final of the French championship, where they went down to Toulouse, 12 to 6 at Parc des Princes in Paris. Winners of the European Challenge 1997 They made it to the final of the Challenge Cup, where they defeated fellow French clu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership Rugby, Premiership and the United Rugby Championship, which brings together top clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa), from which the most successful teams go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 Pro12, 2013–14 season. The first ever final took place in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club (which is now a Sale FC Rugby Club, distinct amateur club), it is one of the Oldest football clubs, oldest existing football clubs. It adopted the nickname ''Sharks'' in 1999. Since 2012 Sale have played their home games at the Salford Community Stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell, Eccles, Greater Manchester, Salford which they share with Salford Red Devils rugby league club. Between 1905 and 2003 they played at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale, before moving to Edgeley Park in Stockport where they stayed until 2012. Historically one of the leading teams in the Northern England, north of England, their traditional colours are blue and white. Domestically, Sale were Premiership champions in 2005-06 Premiership R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harlequin F
Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan Ganassa in the late 16th century, was definitively popularized by the Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585, and became a stock character after Martinelli's death in 1630. The Harlequin is characterised by his checkered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble, and Tricky slave, astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Columbina, Columbine, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. He later develops into a prototype of the romantic hero. Harlequin inherits his physical agility and his trickster qualities, as well as his name, from a mischievous "Devil in Christianity#Early Middle Ages, devil" character ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successful club in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup a record six times – in 1995–96 Heineken Cup, 1996, 2002–03 Heineken Cup, 2003, 2004–05 Heineken Cup, 2005, 2009–10 Heineken Cup, 2010, 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup, 2021 and 2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup, 2024. They were also runners-up in 2003–04 Heineken Cup, 2004 and 2007–08 Heineken Cup, 2008 against Wasps RFC, London Wasps and Munster Rugby, Munster, respectively. Stade Toulousain have also won a record 23 Bouclier de Brennus, Boucliers de Brennus, the French domestic league trophy. It is traditionally one of the main providers for the French national rugby union team, French national team and its youth academy is one of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008–09 Heineken Cup
The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Irish side Leinster became the champions, defeating Leicester Tigers 19–16 in the final. Teams Seven French teams competed, as a French team, Toulouse, progressed further in the previous year's tournament than any English or Italian team. Four Welsh teams competed, as Italy forfeited its place in the Italo-Celtic playoff and a Welsh team were the highest-placed team in the previous year's Celtic league not to qualify otherwise. Other nations had their usual number of participants: England six, Ireland three, Italy two and Scotland two. Seeding The seeding system for participating teams changed from previous editions of the Heineken Cup. Previously, each participating nation would seed one of their teams and the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |