2025–26 Premiership Rugby
| 2025–26 Premiership Rugby | |
|---|---|
| Countries | England |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Date | 2025 – 2026 |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The 2025–26 Premiership Rugby is scheduled to be the 39th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition. The competition is being broadcast by TNT Sports for the thirteenth consecutive year and the second year of their current broadcast deal.
The reigning champions entering the season are Bath, who claimed their seventh league title after winning the 2025 final. No team was promoted from the 2024–25 RFU Championship, as the champions, Ealing Trailfinders, were not able to satisfy the eligibility criteria required to enter the league.
Teams
The competition will feature the same 10 teams from the 2024–25 season as for the fourth consecutive season, the top team in the Championship was ineligible for promotion to the Premiership, after 2024–25 Championship winners Ealing Trailfinders failed to meet the minimum standards criteria to join the competition.[1]
Stadiums and locations
| Club | Director of Rugby/ Head Coach |
Captain | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | Johann van Graan | Ben Spencer | The Recreation Ground | 14,509 | Bath, Somerset |
| Bristol Bears | Pat Lam | Fitz Harding[2] | Ashton Gate1 | 27,000 | Bristol |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Dafydd Jenkins | Sandy Park | 15,600 | Exeter, Devon |
| Gloucester | George Skivington | Lewis Ludlow[3] | Kingsholm | 16,115 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire |
| Harlequins | Danny Wilson | Alex Dombrandt[4] | Twickenham Stoop3 | 14,800 | Twickenham, Greater London |
| Leicester Tigers | Geoff Parling | Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester, Leicestershire | |
| Newcastle Falcons | Steve Diamond | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear | |
| Northampton Saints | Phil Dowson | George Furbank[5] | Franklin's Gardens | 15,249 | Northampton, Northamptonshire |
| Sale Sharks | Alex Sanderson | Ben Curry[6] | Salford Community Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Maro Itoje[7] | StoneX Stadium4 | 10,500 | Hendon, Greater London |
Notes
- ^1 – Bristol Bears will also play one home game at Principality Stadium, Cardiff.[8]
- ^3 – Harlequins will also play two home games at Allianz Stadium, London.[9]
- ^4 – Saracens will also play one home game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.[10]
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 Falcons | 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 | Relegation play-off |
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 Falcons | ||||||||||||||||||
| Northampton Saints | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sale Sharks | ||||||||||||||||||
| Saracens | ||||||||||||||||||
| Updated: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Key | ||
| Win | Draw | Loss |
Regular season
The regular season fixtures are not yet announced.
Notes
- All fixtures are subject to change.[11]
- Referees appointed to officiate Premiership matches are employed by the RFU, unless indicated otherwise.[12]
Results
Promotion/relegation play-off
Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for promotion, the champions of the 2025–26 Champ Rugby season will play in a two-legged play-off against the team which finishes 10th in the Premiership table at the end of the regular season. The winner, based on aggregate score, will play in the Premiership for the following season.[13]
Broadcast coverage
The competition is being broadcast by TNT Sports for the thirteenth consecutive year. The 2025–26 season is the second of the new broadcast deal with Premiership Rugby, under which all 93 matches will be shown live on TNT and Discovery+.[14] In addition, seven select matches, including the Premiership Final, will be broadcast free-to-air on ITV over the course of the season.[15]
This season will be the second to have the one-hour highlights programme, titled Gallagher Premiership Unleashed, which is aired on ITV4 each Wednesday at 7pm, recapping all of the fixtures held over the previous weekend. An abridged, half-hour version of the show is also shown on ITV1 every Wednesday at 11.45pm, while both programmes will remain available to view on demand via ITVX.[16]
See also
- 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
- 2025–26 EPCR Challenge Cup
- 2025–26 Premiership Rugby Cup
- 2025–26 Champ Rugby
- 2025–26 United Rugby Championship
- 2025–26 Top 14 season
- 2025–26 Rugby Pro D2 season
- 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season
References
- ^ Jones, Chris (18 March 2025). "Ealing fail to meet Premiership promotion criteria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Fitz Harding named Club Captain and signs long-term extension". Bristol Bears. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Lewis Ludlow to lead Gloucester Rugby for 2021-22 season". Gloucester Rugby. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Alex Dombrandt Named Men's Club Captain". Harlequins. 10 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "George Furbank named Northampton Saints' new Club Captain". Northampton Saints. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Captain Curry - Ben Curry will lead your Sharks for a second season". www.facebook.com/SaleSharksRugby. Sale Sharks. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Maro Itoje announced as new Saracens Club Captain". Saracens. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Bears to face Bath in Big Day Out at Cardiff's Principality Stadium". Bristol Bears. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Big Game Returns For 16th Edition". Harlequins. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Introducing... The Showdown 5!". Saracens. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Premiership Rugby – FAQs". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Match officials: profiles". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ Raisey, Josh (15 May 2025). "Extra drama added at both ends as RFU unveil new-look Champ Rugby". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Every Premiership game to be shown live next season". BBC Sport. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Premiership matches remain free-to-air after record ITV figures last season". The Telegraph. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "New on ITV: Gallagher Premiership Unleashed". Premiership Rugby. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.