1998–99 Premiership 1


The 1997–98 Premiership 1 was the twelfth season of the top tier of the English rugby union league system, currently known as Premiership Rugby, and the second to be sponsored by Allied Dunbar, having previous been sponsored by Courage Brewery. Newcastle Falcons were the defending champions and Bedford, London Scottish and West Hartlepool the promoted sides.
Leicester Tigers finished the season as champions for the third time, while West Hartlepool were relegated to as the bottom place side, dropping to the 1999–00 Premiership 2. 9th place Richmond and 12th London Scottish were placed into administration at the end of the campaign, merging with London Irish, and thus did not compete in the subsequent season.

Structure

Following restructuring from the previous season, the league increased from twelve to fourteen teams, with each side playing one another twice, in a round robin system, home and away, to make a total of twenty-six matches for each team. The bottom side would be automatically relegated to Premiership 2.

Participating teams

TeamStadiumCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season
BathRecreation Ground8,500Bath, Somerset3rd
BedfordGoldington Road6,500Bedford, BedfordshirePromoted from Premiership 2
GloucesterKingsholm12,000Gloucester, Gloucestershire6th
HarlequinsThe Stoop9,000 Twickenham, London10th
Leicester TigersWelford Road17,000Leicester, Leicestershire4th
London IrishThe Avenue6,710Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey11th
London ScottishThe Stoop9,000 Twickenham, LondonPromoted from Premiership 2
Newcastle FalconsKingston Park6,900Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and WearChampions
Northampton SaintsFranklin's Gardens10,000Northampton, Northamptonshire8th
RichmondMadejski Stadium24,161Reading, Berkshire5th
SaleHeywood Road4,800Sale, Greater Manchester7th
SaracensVicarage Road22,000Watford, Hertfordshire2nd
WaspsLoftus Road18,439Shepherd's Bush, London9th
West HartlepoolVictoria Park7,856Hartlepool, County DurhamPromoted from Premiership 2

Results

Week 7

Week 15

Week 23

Week 27

  • Leicester Tigers 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 yet earn international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Most points

Source:
RankPlayerClubPoints
1

Most tries

Source:
RankPlayerClubTries
1