The English Premiership, currently sponsored by Aviva, is a professional league competition for the top twelve rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system.. The Premiership began in 1987 with relegation to and promotion from the RFU Championship. Clubs competing in the Aviva Premiership qualify for Europe’s two club competitions, the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup..
In 1987 the Courage Leagues were created, a league pyramid with around 1000 clubs playing in 108 leagues each with promotion and relegation. The original clubs were Bath, Bristol, Coventry, Gloucester, Harlequins, Leicester, Moseley, Nottingham, Orrell, Sale, Wasps and Waterloo.
The league turned professional at the start of the 1996/97 season when the first winners were Wasps RFC, now known as London Wasps, joining Bath and Leicester as the only champions in the first 10 years.
The current play-off format was introduced for the 2005–06 season in which the first placed team would play the fourth placed team in a semi-final with the runners-up playing the third-placed team. Only two teams have won both the regular season and play-offs in the same year; Leicester in 2000–01 and again in 2008–09 and 2009–10, and Sale Sharks in 2005–06. London Wasps have established a reputation for reaching their peak form in the play-offs and have been crowned Champions in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. Wasps did not lead the league standings at the end of the season in any of these years. In contrast, Gloucester Rugby led the table at the end of the 2003, 2007 and 2008 seasons, only to fail in the play-offs. The 2010-11 season saw Saracens add their name to the trophy with a repeat of the 2010 final against the defending and nine-time champions Leicester Tigers.
The Aviva Premiership regular season runs from September to May and comprises 22 rounds of matches, with each club playing each of its rivals home and away. The points system is 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer, 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.
The bottom club at the end of the season is relegated into the RFU Championship (the former National Division One), while the winner of the Championship play-offs is promoted to the Premiership (subject to conforming to the Minimum Standards Criteria).
27 clubs have been competed in the league since its inception in the 1987–88 season; the most recent debutante being Exeter in 2010–11. Bath, Gloucester, Leicester Tigers and Wasps, have appeared in all 24 seasons.
Premiership Rugby Betting
English Premiership Rugby bets are much the same as any other rugby union bets. Odds are offered on head-to-head and Line betting, winning margins and futures for the play-off games. You can improve your Premiership betting by learning the strengths and weaknesses of the teams and paying close attention to the markets.
As well as the more traditional betting markets, there are wide range of markets including highest try scorer, highest points scorer and best regional team. Teams can also be backed in different Aviva Premiership markets to finish in a certain part of the table.
There are also a host of betting opportunities on the play-offs and the championship format leads to some interesting futures betting, as many of the teams who finish at the top of the league can fall short in the playoffs
Premiership Rugby Odds
English Premiership Rugby is one of the most popular rugby union competitions. While the Leicester Tigers have dominated the contest in recent years, the league is still very competitive and this makes for some interesting rugby union betting opportunities.
The Premiership receives widespread coverage with match and handicap betting opportunities available from the majority of sportsbooks. There are odds on the championship itself, league finishing positions and points totals.
There are betting specials for important games including half-time/full-time options, first scoring play, first player to score and total score. There can also be special markets for first card, highest scoring half and winning margin.