2016–17 Premiership Rugby
The 2016–17 Premiership Rugby was the 30th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition, and the seventh to be sponsored by Aviva. The competition was broadcast by BT Sport for the fourth successive season. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown for the final time on ITV with extended highlights on BT Sport.
The reigning champions entering the season were Saracens, who claimed their 3rd title after defeating Exeter Chiefs in the 2015–16 final.
In the final on 27 May, Exeter Chiefs defeated Wasps 23-20 to win their first ever Premiership title.
After just one season back in the Premiership, Bristol were relegated with two games to go after they lost 21-36 to Wasps at Ashton Gate on 16 April 2017.
Teams
, having beaten Doncaster Knights 60 – 47 on aggregate in the Greene King IPA Championship play-off final, replace London Irish, who were relegated last season after finishing bottom of the table.| Club | Coach | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Bath |  Todd Blackadder |  Guy Mercer | The Recreation Ground | 14,500 | Bath, Somerset |
| Bristol | Mark Tainton |  Jack Lam | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Ashton Gate, Bristol |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Sandy Park | 12,600 | Exeter, Devon |
| Gloucester |  David Humphreys |  Greig Laidlaw | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,500 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire |
| Harlequins | John Kingston | Danny Care | Twickenham Stoop | 14,816 | Twickenham, Greater London |
| Leicester Tigers |  Matt O'Connor | Tom Youngs | Welford Road | 25,800 | Leicester, Leicestershire |
| Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Will Welch | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle, Tyne and Wear |
| Northampton Saints | Jim Mallinder |  Tom Wood | Franklin's Gardens | 15,500 | Northampton, Northamptonshire |
| Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Josh Beaumont | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | Allianz Park | 10,000 | Hendon, Greater London |
| Wasps |  Dai Young | Joe Launchbury | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Coventry, West Midlands |
| Worcester Warriors |  Gary Gold | Gerrit-Jan van Velze | Sixways Stadium | 12,024 | Worcester, Worcestershire |
Pre-season
The 2016 Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens was held in July and August. Once again, the four Welsh Regions contested as 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 Ricoh Arena on 6 August.Table
Regular season
Fixtures for the season were announced by Premiership Rugby on 7 July 2016. As is the norm, round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham. For the first time since its 2004 inception, the Double Header involved only two of the original London teams - Harlequins and Saracens - with London Irish having been relegated to the Championship for 2016-17 and Wasps no longer being based near London. Unlike the previous year, no games would take place abroad. All fixtures are subject to change.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
- Bristol are relegated providing the 2016–17 RFU Championship winners meet the minimum standards criteria.
Round 21
Round 22
Play-offs
As in previous seasons, the top four teams contest the semi-finals in a 1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd format with the higher ranking team having home advantage. The two winners of the semi-finals meet in the final at Twickenham on 27 May.Bracket
Semi-finals
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
Last updated 27 May 2017Source:
| Rank | Player | Club | Points |
| 1 | Jimmy Gopperth | Wasps | 292 |
| 2 | Stephen Myler | Northampton | 190 |
| 3 | Freddie Burns | Leicester | 183 |
| 3 | Gareth Steenson | Exeter | 183 |
| 5 | Alex Lozowski | Saracens | 175 |
| 6 | George Ford | Bath | 142 |
| 7 | Owen Williams | Leicester | 125 |
| 8 | Nick Evans | Harlequins | 115 |
| 9 | Tim Swiel | Harlequins | 103 |
| 10 |  AJ MacGinty | Sale | 101 |
Top try scorers
Last updated 25 May 2017Source:
| Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
| 1 | Christian Wade | Wasps | 17 |
| 2 | James Short | Exeter | 11 |
| 3 | Jimmy Gopperth | Wasps | 10 |
| 3 | Denny Solomona | Sale | 10 |
| 3 | Semesa Rokoduguni | Bath | 10 |
| 3 | Olly Woodburn | Exeter | 10 |
| 7 | Chris Ashton | Saracens | 9 |
| 7 |  Vereniki Goneva | Newcastle | 9 |
| 7 | Matt Scott | Gloucester | 9 |
| 7 | Charlie Sharples | Gloucester | 9 |
| 7 | Thomas Waldrom | Exeter | 9 |
Attendances
By club
- Attendances do not include the final at Twickenham. The figures on the left hand side include marquee games, the attendances for which are in bold.