The 2023–24 Premiership Rugby is the 37th season of the top flight of English domestic

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

competition and the sixth to be sponsored by Gallagher. The competition was broadcast by

TNT Sports TNT Sports is the brand name for sports television channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world that are owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The name originates from the American cable television ...

for the eleventh year of their broadcast deal, with six league season games and the final also simulcast free-to-air by ITV. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown on ITV, with extended highlights on TNT Sports. This was the first season to be aired on TNT Sports since it rebranded from BT Sport in July 2023. The reigning champions entering the season are

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, who claimed their 6th league title after winning the 2023 final. No team was promoted from the

2022–23 RFU Championship The 2022–23 RFU Championship is the fourteenth season of the RFU Championship, the professional second tier of rugby union in England. It features eleven English teams and one from Jersey. Jersey Reds won the league with one match remaining. ...

, as the champions were not able to satisfy the eligibility criteria required to enter the league.

Rule changes

The 2023–24 season is set to be the final year under the current Premiership competition structure, before a planned 're-launch' taking place ahead of the 2024–25 season. As a result, the moratorium on

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 call ...

to the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

will cease and be replaced by a play-off between the team placed last in the Premiership and the team placed first in the Championship. Promotion from the Championship is therefore also set to be reinstated, subject to the winning club successfully fulfilling the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It prom ...

minimum standards criteria. This season is also the last year of the league's temporary

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

reduction, implemented to keep the participating clubs financially solvent following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with further regulatory changes set to be made for the 2024–25 season.

Teams

The competition will feature 10 of the 13 teams which began the 2022–23 season. Two of the other three –

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

and

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

– were previously confirmed to be excluded from competing in the 2023–24 season, after both clubs were expelled from the league, upon entering into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in 2022. The final team –

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

– had originally been due to compete, but the club was also expelled in summer 2023, prior to the start of the season, because of insufficient funds to continue operating. As a result, the 2023–24 season is the first time the top flight of English rugby has featured just 10 teams since the 1995–96 season. For the second consecutive year, the top team in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

was ineligible for

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the Premiership, after 2022–23 Championship winners

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds was a rugby union club based in Jersey, Channel Islands. On 28th September 2023, the club ceased trading and shortly thereafter went into liquidation following the withdrawal of financial support from a key investor. Until seaso ...

failed to meet the minimum standards criteria to join the competition.

London Irish administration

On 15 May 2023,

were warned by the

that they faced suspension from the Premiership ahead of the beginning of the 2023–24 season, unless they met a deadline of 30 May to complete a

takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...

by new ownership, due to concerns about the club's finances. On 31 May, the RFU granted the club a one-week extension, on the condition that evidence of funding for the 2023–24 season, from either the existing benefactor or the prospective new owners, was provided by 6 June. On 2 June,

HMRC His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...

issued a winding-up petition against the club, in response to unpaid tax. On 6 June, after failing to provide proof of funds for the upcoming season, London Irish were officially suspended from the Premiership. The following day, the club filed for

, resulting in automatic

under RFU regulations.

Stadiums and locations

Notes * – Harlequins would also play two home games at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

in December 2023 and April 2024, respectively. * – On 19 January 2024,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

announced that head coach Alex Codling would be stepping down from his role. Forwards coach

Micky Ward George Michael Ward Jr. (born October 4, 1965), often known by his nickname, "Irish" Micky Ward, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2003. He challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 1997, and held ...

served as interim head coach for one Premiership match at the end of the month, before Steve Diamond took over for the remainder of the season – in the position of consultant director of rugby – from the beginning of February. * –

would also play one home game at

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur in North London, replacing the club's previous ground, White Hart Lane. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the List of football stadium ...

in March 2024.

Player movements

Table

Round-by-round progression

The grid below shows each team's progression throughout the season, indicating their points total (and league table position) at the end of every round:

Regular season

The regular season fixtures were announced on 18 July 2023. They are due to play out over the course of 18 rounds, with each round consisting of five matches. The league began on 13 October 2023, with the full season schedule staggered to start and finish one month later than the 2022–23 season, in order to reduce fixture overlap with the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

, which reaches the knockout stages on the same weekend as the Premiership's opening round. A revamped version of the

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby and from the 2023–24 season the RFU Championship. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Wels ...

, involving teams from the

, was also announced to take place before the beginning of the Premiership season. The Premiership season will pause for eight weeks between the ends of January 2023 and March 2023, to avoid any fixture clashes with the 2024 Six Nations. Highlights of the season include: * Derby Weekend – All five fixtures scheduled for Round 6, on the weekend of 17–19 November 2023, are derby matches between local rivals – the Northern Derby (

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 ...

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 Cl ...

), the West Country Derbies (

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

and

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

), East Midlands Derby (

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 ...

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

), and the London Derby ( Harlequins v

). * Slater Cup –

and

will contest the Slater Cup at

Kingsholm Kingsholm is an area of Gloucester, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is home to Kingsholm Stadium, which hosts Gloucester Rugby and other international matches. It is also home to a Church of England school, Kingsholm Primary Sch ...

on 25 November 2023, and at Welford Road on 22 March 2023, in honour of former Leicester and Gloucester player Ed Slater. * Big Game 15 – Harlequins will host

in this season's edition of The Big Game at

on 30 December 2023. * The Showdown 4 –

will host Harlequins in this season's edition of The Showdown at

on 23 March 2024. * Big Summer Kick-Off 3 – Harlequins will host

in this season's edition of the Big Summer Kick-Off at

on 27 April 2024. All fixtures are subject to change. Referees appointed to officiate Premiership matches are employed by the

, unless indicated otherwise.

Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Play-offs

As in previous seasons, the top four teams in the Premiership table, following the conclusion of the regular season, will contest the play-off semi-finals in a 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd format, with the higher ranking team having home advantage. The dates and times for the two play-off semi-finals were announced on 11 May 2024, after the first two teams qualified during round 17 of the regular season. The four qualifying teams were confirmed after the final day of the regular season, on 18 May 2024. The two winners of the semi-finals then meet in the Premiership Final at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

on 8 June 2024.

Semi-finals

Final

Promotion/relegation play-off

Subject to meeting the eligible criteria for promotion, the team which places 1st in the 2023–24 RFU Championship will contest a play-off against the team which finishes bottom of the Premiership table, with the winner competing in the following year's Premiership season. If the

winner is ineligible for promotion, no play-off will take place. On 29 June 2023, it was announced that the promotion/relegation play-off would take place across two legs, with each team playing one of the matches at their home ground, during the weekends of 31 May – 2 June and 7–9 June 2024. On 20 March 2024, it was confirmed that only

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Knights Rugby Football Club ''(formerly, Doncaster RFC)'' are a professional rugby union club representing the city of Doncaster, England. The club play in the 2nd division of English rugby, the RFU Championship. Being the most prom ...

would be eligible for promotion, should they top the

table. They were therefore also the only

team that would be able to compete in the play-off, if appropriate. Despite winning the 2023–24 Championship,

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the reigning RFU Championship champions of 2024–25 but were considered ineligible for promotion to Premiership Rugby a ...

did not meet the RFU's minimum standards criteria, so no promotion/relegation play-off took place this season.

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Most points

Source:

Most tries

Source:

Attendances

Discipline

Citings/bans

Notes:

Awards

Player of the Month

The following players have received the Gallagher Premiership Player of the Month award during the 2023–24 season, as selected by a panel of media commentators, in addition to monthly public polls.

End-of-season awards

The nominees for the 2024 Premiership Rugby Awards were announced on 20 May 2024. The winners were revealed on 22 May 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Premiership Rugby, 2023-24 2023–24 English Premiership (rugby union) 2023-24 1

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Rule changes

Teams

London Irish administration

Stadiums and locations

Player movements

Table

Round-by-round progression

Regular season

Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Play-offs

Semi-finals

Final

Promotion/relegation play-off

Leading scorers

Most points

Most tries

Attendances

Discipline

Citings/bans

Awards

Player of the Month

End-of-season awards

See also

References

External links