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1997–98 Premiership 1

Rugby union competition in England

Rugby union competition in England

FieldValue
name1997–98 Premiership 1
countriesEngland
championsNewcastle Falcons (1st title)
runnersupSaracens
relegatedBristol
matches132
date23 August 1997 – 17 May 1998
highest attendance19,764 – Saracens v Newcastle (19 April 1998)
lowest attendance1,500 – London Irish v Bristol (20 February 1998)
attendance823446
top point scorer279 – Michael Lynagh (Saracens)
top try scorer17 – Dominic Chapman (Richmond)
prevseason1996–97
nextseason1998–99

The 1997–98 Premiership 1 was the eleventh season of the top tier of the English rugby union league system, currently known as Premiership Rugby, and the first to be sponsored by Allied Dunbar, having previously been sponsored by Courage Brewery. The end of the previous season had seen a wide scale restructuring of the old league system, with the two leagues (formerly National Division 1 and 2) being renamed as Premiership 1 and Premiership 2, with Allied Dunbar agreeing to sponsor the top two divisions for £7,500,000. Wasps were defending champions and Richmond and Newcastle Falcons the promoted sides.

Newly promoted Newcastle Falcons finished as league champions for the first time in their history, just one point clear of runners up Saracens. Only one side was relegated this season, with Bristol enduring a nightmare season and dropping down to the 1998–99 Premiership 2, in what would be their first season outside of the top flight since the leagues began.

Structure

Each side played one another twice, in a round robin system, home and away, to make a total of twenty-two matches for each team. The bottom side would be automatically relegated to Premiership 2 (formerly known as National Division 1).

Participating teams

TeamStadiumCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season
BathRecreation Ground8,300 (1,000 seats)Bath, Somerset2nd
BristolMemorial Stadium8,500 (1,200 seats)Bristol, Avon10th
GloucesterKingsholm12,000Gloucester, Gloucestershire7th
HarlequinsThe Stoop9,000 (2,000 seats)Twickenham, London3rd
Leicester TigersWelford Road17,000Leicester, Leicestershire4th
London IrishThe Avenue6,600Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey9th
Newcastle FalconsKingston Park6,900Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and WearPromoted from National 2 (2nd)
Northampton SaintsFranklin's Gardens9,000Northampton, Northamptonshire8th
RichmondAthletic Ground, Richmond7,300 (1,300 seats)Richmond, LondonPromoted from National 2 (1st)
SaleHeywood Road4,800Sale, Greater Manchester5th
SaracensVicarage Road22,000Watford, Hertfordshire6th
WaspsLoftus Road18,439Shepherd's Bush, LondonChampions

Final table

Fixtures & Results

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Week 18

Week 19

Week 20

Week 21

Week 22

Week 23

Week 24

Week 25

Week 26

  • Newcastle Falcons are champions.

Attendances

ClubHome
GamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity
Bath1180,1007,2828,2005,50088%
Bristol1139,6533,6055,6011,54742%
Gloucester1183,4737,58810,5745,68963%
Harlequins1164,9305,9038,8974,12766%
Leicester Tigers11141,44612,85916,9008,67876%
London Irish1140,9003,7185,0001,50056%
Newcastle Falcons1155,2515,02311,7502,63862%
Northampton Saints1171,6616,5158,9894,60072%
Richmond1139,7183,6116,5002,00049%
Sale1139,8003,6184,5002,50075%
Saracens11102,3359,30319,7643,72242%
Wasps1164,1795,8349,7003,79132%

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who did not earn international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Most points

Source:

RankPlayerClubPoints
1AUS Michael LynaghSaracens279
2ENG Mark MapletoftGloucester275
3CAN Gareth ReesWasps253
RSA Joel StranskyLeicester Tigers
5IRE Niall WoodsLondon Irish237
6ENG Rob AndrewNewcastle Falcons226
7NZL Shane HowarthSale224
8ENG Paul GraysonNorthampton Saints210
9ENG Jon CallardBath183
10FRA Thierry LacroixHarlequins169

Most tries

Source:

RankPlayerClubTries
1ENG Dominic ChapmanRichmond17
2ENG Tom BeimSale14
3SCO Gary ArmstrongNewcastle Falcons13
4WAL Scott QuinnellRichmond10
5ENG Will GreenwoodLeicester Tigers9
SAM Pat LamNorthampton Saints
SCO Andy NicolBath
ENG Daren O'LearyHarlequins
911 players8

Note

References

References

  1. (1997). "Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98". Headline Book Publishing.
  2. (26 April 1997). "Rugby: Team Dallaglio take the title". The Independent.
  3. (18 May 1998). "Rugby Union: Newcastle triumph with passion". The Independent.
  4. (1990). "Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91". Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  5. (1990). "Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91". Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  6. (1990). "Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91". Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  7. (1990). "Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91". Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  8. "The Avenue, London Irish R.F.C., 1931-1999". Rugby Journal.
  9. (1 March 1999). "Rugby Union: Winger Inga has the power". Independent.
  10. (13 January 1997). "Grayson's deftness tames the Tigers". The Independent.
  11. (1990). "Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91". Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  12. (1990). "Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91". Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  13. (6 March 2002). "Sale Sharks - Heywood Rd". BBC Sport.
  14. "1997-98 Premiership Rugby top points scorers". ESPNScrum.
  15. "1997-98 Premiership Rugby top try scorers". ESPNscrum.
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