2015–16 Premiership Rugby
The 2015–16 English Premiership was the 29th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition, and the sixth to be sponsored by Aviva. The competition began slightly later than normal, due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup taking place in England, and was broadcast by BT Sport for the third successive season. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown on ITV4. The 2015 London Double Header games at Twickenham were played at round 5 instead of round 1.
The reigning champions entering the season were Saracens, who had claimed their second title after defeating Bath in the 2014–15 final. Saracens defended their title – becoming the first team to do since Leicester Tigers in 2008–09 and 2009–10 – with a 28–20 win over the Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham. The Chiefs, who made the playoffs for the first time in their history, had the top points scorer Gareth Steenson, and top try scorer Thomas Waldrom in the competition.
With their title win, Saracens sealed a European–league double – having won the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup Final a fortnight prior, against Racing 92 – the first English team to do so since Wasps in 2004. London Irish were relegated to the 2016–17 RFU Championship with a round to spare, after losing 32–25 to Harlequins. They will be replaced by 2015–16 RFU Championship winners Bristol, who beat Doncaster Knights 60–47 in the two-legged play-off final.
Rule changes
Salary cap
This season was the first for several significant changes to the Premiership's salary cap regulations:- The base salary cap, which was £4.76 million in 2014–15, rose to £5.1 million.
- The amount of "academy credits" available to each club—credits against the cap for younger players on the senior squad who were developed at the club—rose from £240,000 to £400,000. The number of "academy credits" remained at eight, as in past seasons, but the credit per player rose from £30,000 to £50,000. A club that could use all of its available credits in both 2014–15 and 2015–16 saw its effective cap rise from £5 million to £5.5 million.
- Each club is now allowed to exclude two players from the salary cap calculations, up from one in 2014–15. However, the two slots for what the Premiership calls "excluded players" differ in how they can be used. The first slot can be used on a player on the club's current roster. The new slot can only be used for a player who had not been in the Premiership during the 12 months preceding the start of his contract. In a change from the rules that prevailed from 2011–12 through to 2014–15, a player's presence on or absence from a Rugby World Cup roster is no longer relevant to his status as an excluded player.
Teams
, having beaten Bristol 59–58 on aggregate in the Greene King IPA Championship play-off final, replaced London Welsh, who finished last season having not won a single game.Club | Coach | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
Bath | ![]() | ![]() | The Recreation Ground | 13,516 | Bath, Somerset |
Exeter Chiefs | ![]() | ![]() | Sandy Park | 12,300 | Exeter, Devon |
Gloucester | ![]() | ![]() | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,121 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire |
Harlequins | ![]() | ![]() | Twickenham Stoop | 14,816 | Twickenham, Greater London |
Leicester Tigers | ![]() | ![]() | Welford Road | 25,800 | Leicester, Leicestershire |
London Irish | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Madejski Stadium | 24,161 | Reading, Berkshire |
Newcastle Falcons | ![]() | ![]() | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle, Tyne and Wear |
Northampton Saints | ![]() | ![]() | Franklin's Gardens | 15,500 | Northampton, Northamptonshire |
Sale Sharks | ![]() | ![]() | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
Saracens | ![]() | ![]() | Allianz Park | 10,000 | Hendon, Greater London |
Wasps | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Coventry, West Midlands |
Worcester Warriors | ![]() | ![]() | Sixways Stadium | 12,024 | Worcester, Worcestershire |
Table
Pre-season
The 2015 edition of the Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens was held in August. Once again, the four Welsh Regions contested a group, alongside the twelve Premiership clubs, which were split into three groups. The top two sides from each group contested the series final at the Twickenham Stoop on 28 August. The series was won by Welsh region Newport Gwent Dragons who beat Premiership side Wasps in the final.Regular season
Fixtures for the season were announced by Premiership Rugby at 11am on 3 July 2015. Unlike previous seasons, the London Double Header would not take place in round 1 because Twickenham Stadium was being used for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but would instead take place during round 5, on 28 November 2015.One game during this season was played on foreign soil, in the United States. The London Irish v Saracens match – played in [|Round 16] on 12 March 2016 – took place at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
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
Round 19
Round 20
Round 9 rescheduled match
This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 9, on 8 January 2016 – was postponed due to a European Rugby Champions Cup fixture rearrangement that occurred as a result of the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015. It was further rescheduled from 13 April 2016, after Sale Sharks were eliminated from the European Rugby Challenge Cup.Round 21
Round 22
Play-offs
Semi-finals
As with previous seasons, the top four teams contested the semi-finals in a 1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd format.Final
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 have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.Top points scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Points |
1 | ![]() | Exeter Chiefs | 258 |
2 | ![]() | Wasps | 185 |
3 | ![]() | Sale Sharks | 182 |
4 | ![]() | Northampton Saints | 173 |
5 | ![]() | Saracens | 154 |
6 | ![]() | Harlequins | 153 |
7 | ![]() | Worcester Warriors | 143 |
8 | ![]() | Harlequins | 129 |
9 | ![]() | Saracens | 122 |
10 | ![]() | Gloucester | 118 |
Top try scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
1 | ![]() | Exeter Chiefs | 13 |
2 | ![]() | Bath | 12 |
2 | ![]() | Wasps | 12 |
4 | ![]() | Saracens | 11 |
5 | ![]() | Harlequins | 10 |
6 | ![]() | Wasps | 9 |
6 | ![]() | Newcastle Falcons | 9 |
6 | ![]() | Exeter Chiefs | 9 |
6 | ![]() | Leicester Tigers | 9 |
6 | ![]() | Harlequins | 9 |
6 | ![]() | Worcester Warriors | 9 |
Season attendances
By club
- Attendances do not include the final at Twickenham.
Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
Bath | 11 | 145,537 | 13,231 | 13,562 | 12,684 | 98% |
Exeter Chiefs | 12 | 133,912 | 11,159 | 12,612 | 7,130 | 89% |
Gloucester | 11 | 152,738 | 13,885 | 16,115 | 11,095 | 84% |
Harlequins | 11 | 212,376 | 19,307 | 70,718 | 12,157 | 95% |
Leicester Tigers | 11 | 239,469 | 21,770 | 25,849 | 17,510 | 86% |
London Irish | 11 | 130,167 | 11,833 | 42,680 | 5,541 | 37% |
Newcastle Falcons | 11 | 71,191 | 6,472 | 7,756 | 5,049 | 63% |
Northampton Saints | 11 | 170,215 | 15,474 | 20,034 | 14,246 | 94% |
Sale Sharks | 11 | 67,667 | 6,152 | 7,687 | 4,236 | 51% |
Saracens | 12 | 214,969 | 17,914 | 80,650 | 7,231 | 88% |
Wasps | 11 | 165,557 | 15,051 | 24,053 | 10,093 | 46% |
Worcester Warriors | 11 | 99,458 | 9,042 | 10,727 | 7,156 | 75% |
Highest attendances
Home club | Away club | Stadium | Attendance |
Saracens | Harlequins | Wembley Stadium | 80,650 |
Harlequins | Gloucester | Twickenham Stadium | 70,718 |
Saracens London Irish | Worcester Wasps | Twickenham Stadium | 42,680 |
Leicester | Northampton | Welford Road | 25,849 |
Wasps | Saracens | Ricoh Arena | 24,053 |
Leicester | London Irish | Welford Road | 23,173 |
Leicester | Sale | Welford Road | 22,737 |
Leicester | Bath | Welford Road | 22,530 |
Leicester | Saracens | Welford Road | 22,282 |
Leicester | Gloucester | Welford Road | 22,223 |
Wasps | Leicester | Ricoh Arena | 22,241 |
Leicester | Worcester | Welford Road | 21,682 |
Leicester | Newcastle | Welford Road | 21,564 |
Leicester | Exeter | Welford Road | 20,173 |
Northampton | Newcastle | Stadium mk | 20,034 |
Leicester | Wasps | Welford Road | 19,746 |
London Irish | Gloucester | Madejski Stadium | 17,752 |
Leicester | Harlequins | Welford Road | 17,510 |
Wasps | Northampton | Ricoh Arena | 17,422 |
Wasps | London Irish | Ricoh Arena | 16,902 |
Gloucester | London Irish | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 |
Gloucester | Leicester | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 |
Gloucester | Bath | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 |
Gloucester | Northampton | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 |