1997–98 Premiership 1
The 1997–98 Premiership 1 was the eleventh season of the top tier of the English rugby union league system, currently known as Premiership Rugby, and the first to be sponsored by Allied Dunbar, having previously been sponsored by Courage Brewery. The end of the previous season had seen a wide scale restructuring of the old league system, with the two leagues being renamed as Premiership 1 and Premiership 2, with Allied Dunbar agreeing to sponsor the top two divisions for £7,500,000. Wasps were defending champions and Richmond and Newcastle Falcons the promoted sides.
Newly promoted Newcastle Falcons finished as league champions for the first time in their history, just one point clear of runners up Saracens. Only one side was relegated this season, with Bristol enduring a nightmare season and dropping down to the 1998–99 Premiership 2, in what would be their first season outside of the top flight since the leagues began.
Structure
Each side played one another twice, in a round robin system, home and away, to make a total of twenty-two matches for each team. The bottom side would be automatically relegated to Premiership 2.Participating teams
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
| Bath | Recreation Ground | 8,300 | Bath, Somerset | 2nd |
| Bristol | Memorial Stadium | 8,500 | Bristol, Avon | 10th |
| Gloucester | Kingsholm | 12,000 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire | 7th |
| Harlequins | The Stoop | 9,000 | Twickenham, London | 3rd |
| Leicester Tigers | Welford Road | 17,000 | Leicester, Leicestershire | 4th |
| London Irish | The Avenue | 6,600 | Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey | 9th |
| Newcastle Falcons | Kingston Park | 6,900 | Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear | Promoted from National 2 |
| Northampton Saints | Franklin's Gardens | 9,000 | Northampton, Northamptonshire | 8th |
| Richmond | Athletic Ground, Richmond | 7,300 | Richmond, London | Promoted from National 2 |
| Sale | Heywood Road | 4,800 | Sale, Greater Manchester | 5th |
| Saracens | Vicarage Road | 22,000 | Watford, Hertfordshire | 6th |
| Wasps | Loftus Road | 18,439 | Shepherd's Bush, London | Champions |
Fixtures & Results
Week 1
----Week 2
----Week 3
----Week 4
----Week 5
----Week 6
----Week 7
----Week 8
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----Week 10
----Week 11
----Week 12
----Week 13
----Week 14
----Week 15
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----Week 17
----Week 18
----Week 19
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----Week 21
----Week 22
----Week 23
----Week 24
----Week 25
----Week 26
- Newcastle Falcons are champions.
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 did not earn international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.Most points
Source:| Rank | Player | Club | Points |
| 1 |  Most triesSource: |