2026–27 Premiership Rugby
Season in English rugby union
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The 2026–27 PREM Rugby season, also known as 2026–27 Premiership Rugby and for sponsorship reasons 2026–27 Gallagher PREM Rugby, will be the 40th season of the top flight English domestic men's rugby union competition. The season will be the first to be contested under a franchise-based model, following the abolition of automatic promotion and relegation between the PREM and Champ Rugby from the start of the 2026–27 season.[2] The competition will be broadcast by TNT Sports for the fourteenth consecutive year, with seven select matches, broadcast free-to-air on ITV.[3]
| 2026–27 PREM Rugby | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  England |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Date | 25 September 2026 – 19 June 2027[1] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Background
Franchise model and end of promotion and relegation
On 27 February 2026, the Rugby Football Union council approved a reform of the structure of professional rugby in England.[4] From the 2026–27 campaign, automatic promotion and relegation between the PREM and Champ Rugby is replaced by a criteria-based expansion and demotion model.[5] Automatic promotion had effectively been dormant for several seasons, as Champ Rugby champions Ealing Trailfinders were repeatedly unable to meet the PREM's minimum stadium capacity criteria.[6]
Relegation remains possible but will no longer be automatic, and would only occur where a stronger, financially viable replacement candidate exists.[7]
Teams
The same ten clubs that competed in the 2025–26 season will contest the 2026–27 season.
| Club | Director of Rugby / Head Coach |
Captain | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath |  Johann van Graan |
Ben Spencer |
The Recreation Ground[A] | 14,509 | Bath, Somerset |
| Bristol Bears |  Pat Lam[9] |
Fitz Harding |
Ashton Gate[B] | 27,000 | Bristol |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter |
 Dafydd Jenkins |
Sandy Park | 15,600 | Exeter, Devon |
| Gloucester |  Chris Boyd[C] George Skivington |
Kingsholm | 16,115 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire | |
| Harlequins |  Jason Gilmore |
Alex Dombrandt |
Twickenham Stoop[D] | 14,800 | Twickenham, Greater London |
| Leicester Tigers | Geoff Parling |
Ollie Chessum |
Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester, Leicestershire |
| Newcastle Red Bulls | Dan McFarland[12] |
Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear | |
| Northampton Saints | Phil Dowson |
Fraser Dingwall[13] |
Franklin's Gardens | 15,249 | Northampton, Northamptonshire |
| Sale Sharks | Alex Sanderson |
Ernst van Rhyn |
CorpAcq Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| Saracens | Brendan Venter[14] |
Maro Itoje |
StoneX Stadium[E] | 10,500 | Hendon, Greater London |
Player movements
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Play-offs |
| 2 | Bristol Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Exeter Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Gloucester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Harlequins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBC |
| 6 | Leicester Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Newcastle Red Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Northampton Saints | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Sale Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Saracens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.
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:
| Team Progression | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 |
| Bath | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bristol Bears | ||||||||||||||||||
| Exeter Chiefs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gloucester | ||||||||||||||||||
| Harlequins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Leicester Tigers | ||||||||||||||||||
| Newcastle Red Bulls | ||||||||||||||||||
| Northampton Saints | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sale Sharks | ||||||||||||||||||
| Saracens | ||||||||||||||||||
| Updated: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Key | ||
| Win | Draw | Loss |
Regular season
The regular season fixtures were announced on 28 July 2026.[16]
Highlights of the season include:
- Derby Weekends – All fixtures scheduled for Round 4 are derby matches between local rivals – the Northern Derby (Sale Sharks v Newcastle Red Bulls), the West Country Derbies (Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester v Bath), the East Midlands Derby (Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers), and the London Derby (Harlequins v Saracens).[16]
- Slater Cup – Leicester Tigers and Gloucester will contest the Slater Cup at Welford Road on 9 October 2026, and at Kingsholm Stadium on 28 March 2027, in honour of former Leicester and Gloucester player Ed Slater.
- Big Game 18 – Harlequins will host Northampton Saints in this season's edition of The Big Game at Twickenham Stadium on 28 December 2026, during Round 8.[11]
- The Showdown 7 – Saracens will host Harlequins in this season's edition of The Showdown on 20 March 2027, during Round 11.[15]
- Big Summer Kick-Off 7 – Harlequins will host Newcastle Red Bulls in this season's edition of the Big Summer Kick-Off at Twickenham Stadium in May 2027, during Round 15.[11]
- Big Day Out – Bristol Bears will host Gloucester in the third edition of the Big Day Out at Millennium Stadium in April 2027, during Round 13.[10]
Notes
- All fixtures are subject to change.
- Referees appointed to officiate Premiership matches are employed by the RFU, unless indicated otherwise.
Results
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4 (Derby Weekend)
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 two winners of the semi-finals will then meet in the Premiership Final at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, London on 19 June 2027.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 11/12 June 2027 | ||||||
| First in standings | ||||||
| 19 June 2027 – Twickenham | ||||||
| Fourth in standings | ||||||
| Winner SF1 | ||||||
| 11/12 June 2027 | ||||||
| Winner SF2 | ||||||
| Second in standings | ||||||
| Third in standings | ||||||
Semi-finals
| 11/12 June 2027 |
| First in standings | – | Fourth in standings |
| 11/12 June 2027 |
| Second in standings | – | Third in standings |
Final
Broadcast coverage
The competition will be broadcast by TNT Sports for the fourteenth consecutive year, all matches will be shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.[18][19]
In addition, seven matches per season will be broadcast free-to-air on ITV, including the final, across ITV1 and ITVX. All matches broadcast on ITV will be simulcast from TNT Sports.[20][3]
Notes
- Bristol will host one game away from Ashton Gate, the round 13 fixture against Gloucester at the Millennium Stadium.[10]
- Technical Director
- Harlequins will host two games away from The Stoop. The round 8 fixture agaisnt Northampton Saints and the round 15 game agaisnt Newcastle Red Bulls will both instead be played at Twickenham Stadium.[11]