1997–98 Premiership 1

Rugby union competition in England October 2021 1997–98 Premiership 1 England Newcastle Falcons (1st title) Saracens Bristol 132 23 August 1997 – 17 May 1998 19,764 – Saracens v Newcastle (19 April 1998) 1,500 – London Irish v Bristol (20 February 1998) 823446 279 – Michael Lynagh (Saracens) 17 – Dominic Chapman (Richmond) 1996–97 1998–99 The 1997–98 Premiership 1 was the eleventh season of the top tier of the English rugby union league system, currently known as PREM 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 (formerly National Division 1 and 2) being renamed as Premiership 1 and Premiership 2, with Allied Dunbar agreeing to sponsor the top two divisions for £7,500,000.Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98 1997 Headline Book Publishing London 0-7472-7732-X Mick Cleary and John Griffiths Wasps were defending champions and Richmond and Newcastle Falcons the promoted sides.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-team-dallaglio-take-the-title-1269495.html Rugby: Team Dallaglio take the title The Independent 26 April 1997 Newly promoted Newcastle Falcons finished as league champions for the first time in their history, just one point clear of runners up Saracens.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-union-newcastle-triumph-with-passion-1159022.html Rugby Union: Newcastle triumph with passion The Independent 18 May 1998 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. yes 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 (formerly known as National Division 1). Participating teams England 400 right Locations of the 1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership One teams England 51.375801 -2.3599030 white Bath bottom 80 England 51.45 -2.583333 white Bristol left 80 England 51.864244 -2.238156 white Gloucester left 80 England 52.636877 -1.139759 white Leicester left 80 England 51.403928 -0.412931 white L Irish bottom 80 England 55.01562 -1.67643 white Newcastle left 80 England 52.240477 -0.902655 white Northampton right 80 England 53.425560 -2.323702 white Sale right 80 England 51.656489 -0.390319 white Saracens top 80 England 51.50737 -0.12766 white London right 80 Cyan pog.svg Greater London 1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership One teams in London Greater London Courage League Division 1 teams right 400 Greater London 51.444581 -0.335245 white Harlequins left 80 Greater London 51.46647 -0.30334 white Richmond right 80 Greater London 51.560859 -0.328098 white Wasps left 80 TeamStadiumCapacityCity/AreaPrevious seasonBathRecreation Ground8,300 (1,000 seats)Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 1990 Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd Windsor 3rd Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell 40 Bath F.C. (Ground Details)Bath, Somerset2ndBristolMemorial Stadium8,500 (1,200 seats)Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 1990 Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd Windsor 3rd Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell 43 Bristol F.C. (Ground Details)Bristol10thGloucesterKingsholm12,000Gloucester, Gloucestershire7thHarlequinsThe Stoop9,000 (2,000 seats)Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 1990 Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd Windsor 3rd Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell 50 Harlequins F.C. (Ground Details)Twickenham, London3rdLeicester TigersWelford Road17,000Leicester, Leicestershire4thLondon IrishThe Avenue6,600The Avenue capacity up from 3,600 to around 6,600 for the 1997–98 season.Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 1990 Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd Windsor 3rd Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell 98 London Irish R.F.C. (Ground Details)https://www.therugbyjournal.com/ghost-grounds/the-avenue-sunbury-on-thames-london-irish-1931-1999-1 The Avenue, London Irish R.F.C., 1931-1999 Rugby Journal 1 January 2026 .Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey9thNewcastle FalconsKingston ParkNewcastle played two home games at the 11,800 capacity Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead on 4 May 1998 and 11 May 1998.6,900Kingston Park capacity was up from 6,600 to around 6,900 for the 1997–98 season with 6,868 attending for the fixture against Saracens on 25 March 1998.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-union-winger-inga-has-the-power-1077669.html Rugby Union: Winger Inga has the power Independent 1 March 1999 Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and WearPromoted from National 2 (2nd)Northampton SaintsFranklin's Gardens9,000Franklin's Gardens capacity up from 8,400 to around 9,000 for the 1997–98 season with a crowd of 8,989 attending the home fixture against Newcastle Falcons on 31 January 1998.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/grayson-s-deftness-tames-the-tigers-1282959.html Grayson's deftness tames the Tigers The Independent 13 January 1997 Northampton, Northamptonshire8thRichmondAthletic Ground, Richmond7,300 (1,300 seats)Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 1990 Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd Windsor 3rd Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell 112 Richmond F.C. (Ground Details)Richmond, LondonPromoted from National 2 (1st)SaleHeywood Road4,800The capacity of Heywood Road went up from 4,000 to around 4,800 for the 1997–98 season.Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 1990 Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd Windsor 3rd Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell 118 Sale F.C. (Ground Details)http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/rugby_special/1614902.stm BBC Sport Sale Sharks - Heywood Rd 6 March 2002 Sale, Greater Manchester5thSaracensVicarage RoadFor the 1997–98 season Saracens would groundshare with football team Watford at Vicarage Road having spent the previous season ground sharing with Enfield at Southbury Road. 22,000Watford, Hertfordshire6thWaspsLoftus RoadWasps would continue to groundshare with football team Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. 18,439Shepherd's Bush, LondonChampions Final table main Rugby Q 2 1 n NEW Newcastle Falcons C SAR Saracens BAT Bath LEI Leicester Tigers RIC Richmond GLO Gloucester SAL Sale NOR Northampton Saints WAS Wasps HAR Harlequins LIR London Irish BRI Bristol R 19 0 3 645 387 85 31 18 1 3 584 396 59 36 13 0 9 575 455 66 49 12 2 8 569 449 64 45 12 0 10 607 499 81 50 11 1 10 512 528 52 65 10 2 10 605 558 71 60 9 1 12 493 472 46 53 8 1 13 490 609 47 68 8 0 14 516 645 58 73 6 0 16 457 673 45 82 2 0 20 351 733 36 98 #d8ffeb Champions C #ffcccc Relegated R complete Fixtures & Results Week 1 23 August 1997 14:15 Bath 13–20 Newcastle Falcons Recreation Ground 7,000 23 August 1997 15:00 Gloucester 35–13 Bristol Kingsholm 7,564 23 August 1997 15:00 Northampton Saints 23–26 NEC Harlequins Franklin’s Gardens 6,027 23 August 1997 15:00 Richmond 32–12 London Irish Athletic Ground 4,779 24 August 1997 15:00 Sale 10–19 Saracens Heywood Road 3,000 Week 2 30 August 1997 14:15 NEC Harlequins 20–27 Bath Twickenham Stoop 6,154 30 August 1997 15:00 Bristol 21–38 London Wasps Memorial Stadium 4,000 30 August 1997 15:00 Leicester Tigers 33–16 Gloucester Welford Road 11,159 30 August 1997 15:00 London Irish 20–26 Sale The Avenue 5,000 Week 3 8 October 1997 19:30 Newcastle Falcons 37–12 Northampton Saints Kingston Park 3,390 8 October 1997 20:00 Saracens 15–9 Richmond Vicarage Road 4,134 Week 4 18 October 1997 14:15 Richmond 37–16 NEC Harlequins Athletic Ground 4,836 18 October 1997 15:00 Bath 44–15 Bristol Recreation Ground 8,000 18 October 1997 15:00 Northampton Saints 25–6 Leicester Tigers Franklin’s Gardens 8,186 18 October 1997 15:00 Sale 26–33 Newcastle Falcons Heywood Road 4,000 19 October 1997 15:00 London Wasps 15–19 Saracens Loftus Road 9,700 19 October 1997 15:15 Gloucester 29–7 London Irish Kingsholm 6,287 Week 5 25 October 1997 14:15 Leicester Tigers 33–22 Bath Welford Road 16,000 25 October 1997 15:00 NEC Harlequins 52–41 Sale Twickenham Stoop 6,810 26 October 1997 15:00 Bristol 22–15 Northampton Saints Memorial Stadium 4,062 26 October 1997 15:00 London Irish 22–17 London Wasps The Avenue 4,000 26 October 1997 15:00 Newcastle Falcons 18–12 Richmond Kingston Park 4,202 26 October 1997 15:00 Saracens 42–24 Gloucester Vicarage Road 5,163 Week 6 1 November 1997 15:00 Bath 47–31 Richmond Recreation Ground 8,000 1 November 1997 15:00 London Irish 19–35 Newcastle Falcons The Avenue 5,000 2 November 1997 15:00 Gloucester 16–17 NEC Harlequins Kingsholm 7,937 2 November 1997 15:00 London Wasps 22–38 Sale Loftus Road 4,105 2 November 1997 15:00 Saracens 31–9 Bristol Vicarage Road 4,258 Week 7 8 November 1997 15:00 Northampton Saints 13–19 Saracens Franklin’s Gardens 7,088 9 November 1997 15:00 Sale 76–0 Report Bristol Rees (3) Beim (4) Sanderson Winstanley (2) Ellis Mallinder Howarth (8/12) Heywood Road 2,500 J.P. Pearson Week 8 13 December 1997 14:15 Leicester Tigers 55–15 Sale Welford Road 10,695 13 December 1997 15:00 Bristol 12–13 Richmond Memorial Stadium 2,415 13 December 1997 15:00 London Irish 10–51 Northampton Saints The Avenue 4,300 13 December 1997 15:00 NEC Harlequins 53–17 London Wasps Twickenham Stoop 7,812 14 December 1997 15:00 Newcastle Falcons 37–27 Gloucester Kingston Park 3,000 14 December 1997 15:00 Saracens 50–23 Bath Vicarage Road 10,658 16 December 1997 20:00 Richmond 32–15 Leicester Tigers Athletic Ground 2,076 Week 9 20 December 1997 15:00 Leicester Tigers 27–3 NEC Harlequins Welford Road 11,606 21 December 1997 14:30 Richmond 21–24 Northampton Saints Athletic Ground 2,204 Week 10 26 December 1997 15:00 Saracens 21–22 Leicester Tigers Vicarage Road 14,291 27 December 1997 14:00 Bristol 8–50 Newcastle Falcons Memorial Stadium 5,000 27 December 1997 15:00 Gloucester 26–20 Richmond Kingsholm 8,328 27 December 1997 15:00 NEC Harlequins 26–24 London Irish Twickenham Stoop 7,348 27 December 1997 15:00 Northampton Saints 18–10 London Wasps Franklin’s Gardens 8,772 27 December 1997 15:00 Sale 11–13 Bath Heywood Road 4,500 Week 11 30 December 1997 15:00 Bath 26–3 Northampton Saints Recreation Ground 8,000 30 December 1997 19:30 London Irish 10–25 Saracens The Avenue 3,800 30 December 1997 19:30 London Wasps 22–18 Richmond Loftus Road 4,912 30 December 1997 19:30 Sale 24–24 Gloucester Heywood Road 3,500 30 December 1997 19:45 Leicester Tigers 19–25 Newcastle Falcons Welford Road 16,000 31 December 1997 15:00 NEC Harlequins 38–40 Bristol Twickenham Stoop 5,124 Week 12 10 January 1998 15:00 Northampton Saints 33–14 Sale Franklin’s Gardens 5,929 11 January 1998 15:00 London Wasps 26–20 Gloucester Loftus Road 4,245 11 January 1998 15:00 Newcastle Falcons 46–13 London Irish Kingston Park 3,500 11 January 1998 15:00 Saracens 25–16 NEC Harlequins Vicarage Road 10,753 Week 13 17 January 1998 14:00 Leicester Tigers 45–21 London Wasps Welford Road 15,000 17 January 1998 15:00 London Irish 14–45 Richmond The Avenue 3,500 18 January 1998 15:00 Bristol 13–14 Gloucester Memorial Stadium 5,601 18 January 1998 15:00 NEC Harlequins 5–30 Northampton Saints Twickenham Stoop 4,612 Week 14 31 January 1998 14:30 Richmond 10–15 Saracens Athletic Ground 3,888 31 January 1998 15:00 Northampton Saints 17–21 Newcastle Falcons Franklin’s Gardens 8,989 1 February 1998 15:00 Gloucester 32–25 Leicester Tigers Kingsholm 7,963 1 February 1998 15:00 London Wasps 32–18 Bristol Loftus Road 4,112 1 February 1998 15:00 Sale Sharks 41–16 London Irish Heywood Road 3,500 Week 15 11 February 1998 19:15 Bath 47–3 Gloucester Recreation Ground 5,500 14 February 1998 14:00 Gloucester 20–15 Northampton Saints Kingsholm 5,689 14 February 1998 15:00 Bath 43–27 London Wasps Recreation Ground 8,000 14 February 1998 15:00 Bristol 20–37 Saracens Memorial Stadium 3,239 14 February 1998 15:00 Leicester Tigers 34–19 London Irish Welford Road 10,762 15 February 1998 15:00 Newcastle Falcons 43–15 NEC Harlequins Kingston Park 5,031 15 February 1998 15:00 Richmond 20–28 Sale Athletic Ground 2,017 Week 16 20 February 1998 20:00 London Irish 38–23 Bristol The Avenue 1,500 24 February 1998 19:30 Saracens 42–20 Sale Vicarage Road 3,722 Week 17 28 February 1998 15:00 Bath 39–13 NEC Harlequins Recreation Ground 7,200 28 February 1998 15:00 Bristol 24–27 Leicester Tigers Memorial Stadium 3,143 Week 18 7 March 1998 15:00 Leicester Tigers 15–15 Northampton Saints Welford Road 14,500 7 March 1998 15:00 NEC Harlequins 41–12 Richmond Twickenham Stoop 4,532 8 March 1998 15:00 Bristol 16–22 Bath Memorial Stadium 5,271 8 March 1998 15:00 Saracens 33–27 London Wasps Vicarage Road 12,332 10 March 1998 19:30 Newcastle Falcons 23–18 Sale Kingston Park 2,638 11 March 1998 19:30 Gloucester 22–15 London Wasps Kingsholm 6,629 Week 19 14 March 1998 14:15 Bath 16–5 Leicester Tigers Recreation Ground 8,200 14 March 1998 15:00 Northampton Saints 35–12 Bristol Franklin’s Gardens 4,900 14 March 1998 15:00 Richmond 30–17 Newcastle Falcons Athletic Ground 4,367 14 March 1998 15:00 Sale 23–13 NEC Harlequins Heywood Road 4,000 15 March 1998 15:00 Gloucester 38–15 Saracens Kingsholm 7,135 15 March 1998 15:00 London Wasps 19–38 London Irish Loftus Road 7,935 Week 20 24 March 1998 19:30 London Irish 23–19 Gloucester The Avenue 2,300 25 March 1998 19:30 Newcastle Falcons 30–25 Saracens Kingston Park 6,868 28 March 1998 15:00 Leicester Tigers 42–19 Richmond Welford Road 10,146 28 March 1998 15:00 London Irish 35–49 Bath The Avenue 4,800 29 March 1998 15:00 NEC Harlequins 36–16 Gloucester Twickenham Stoop 4,127 Week 21 7 April 1998 19:30 Newcastle Falcons 20–13 London Wasps Kingston Park 4,500 10 April 1998 15:00 Bath 13–29 Saracens Recreation Ground 8,200 10 April 1998 15:00 Richmond 43–3 Bristol Athletic Ground 2,500 11 April 1998 15:00 Gloucester 27–29 Newcastle Falcons Kingsholm 9,048 11 April 1998 15:00 Sale 35–21 Leicester Tigers Heywood Road 4,000 12 April 1998 15:00 London Wasps 29–26 NEC Harlequins Loftus Road 5,749 Week 22 13 April 1998 15:00 Richmond 32–14 Bath Athletic Ground 6,500 15 April 1998 19:15 Bristol 15–25 Sale Memorial Stadium 1,547 18 April 1998 14:00 NEC Harlequins 14–23 Leicester Tigers Twickenham Stoop 5,362 18 April 1998 15:00 Gloucester 27–17 Bath Kingsholm 10,574 18 April 1998 15:00 Northampton Saints 39–47 Richmond Franklin’s Gardens 5,350 18 April 1998 15:00 Sale 28–28 London Wasps Heywood Road 3,800 19 April 1998 15:00 Bristol 5–17 London Irish Memorial Stadium 2,265 19 April 1998 15:05 Saracens 12–10 Newcastle Falcons Vicarage Road 19,764 Week 23 22 April 1998 19:30 Northampton Saints 33–18 London Irish Franklin’s Gardens 4,600 22 April 1998 19:45 London Wasps 18–17 Newcastle Falcons Loftus Road 5,045 25 April 1998 14:15 Leicester Tigers 10–10 Saracens Welford Road 16,900 25 April 1998 15:00 Bath 19–29 Sale Recreation Ground 6,500 25 April 1998 15:00 London Irish 62–14 NEC Harlequins The Avenue 4,200 25 April 1998 15:00 Richmond 33–22 Gloucester Athletic Ground 2,000 26 April 1998 15:00 London Wasps 31–15 Northampton Saints Loftus Road 5,261 26 April 1998 15:00 Newcastle Falcons 43–18 Bristol Kingston Park 3,162 Week 24 28 April 1998 19:15 Bath 20–3 London Irish Recreation Ground 5,500 29 April 1998 19:30 NEC Harlequins 26–28 Saracens Twickenham Stoop 4,152 29 April 1998 19:45 London Wasps 17–13 Leicester Tigers Loftus Road 3,791 2 May 1998 15:00 Gloucester 31–19 Sale Kingsholm 6,319 2 May 1998 15:00 Northampton Saints 16–15 Bath Franklin’s Gardens 6,320 2 May 1998 15:00 Richmond 51–29 London Wasps Athletic Ground 4,551 3 May 1998 15:00 Bristol 19–26 NEC Harlequins Memorial Stadium 3,110 3 May 1998 15:00 Saracens 29–21 London Irish Vicarage Road 8,143 Week 25 4 May 1998 15:00 Newcastle Falcons 27–10 Leicester Tigers Gateshead International Stadium 7,210 10 May 1998 15:00 Leicester Tigers 34–25 Bristol Welford Road 8,678 10 May 1998 15:00 Sale 30–19 Northampton Saints Heywood Road 3,000 Week 26 11 May 1998 19:30 Newcastle Falcons 20–15 Bath Gateshead International Stadium 11,750 14 May 1998 19:45 Saracens 43–20 Northampton Saints Vicarage Road 9,117 17 May 1998 13:00 NEC Harlequins 20–44 Newcastle Falcons Twickenham Stoop 8,897 Newcastle Falcons are champions. 17 May 1998 15:00 London Irish 16–55 Leicester Tigers The Avenue 2,500 17 May 1998 15:00 London Wasps 17–31 Bath Loftus Road 9,324 17 May 1998 15:00 Northampton Saints 22–24 Gloucester Franklin’s Gardens 5,500 17 May 1998 15:00 Sale 28–40 Richmond Heywood Road 4,000 Attendances ClubHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity Bath 11 80,100 7,282 8,200 5,500 88% Bristol 11 39,653 3,605 5,601 1,547 42% Gloucester 11 83,473 7,588 10,574 5,689 63% Harlequins 11 64,930 5,903 8,897 4,127 66% Leicester Tigers 11 141,446 12,859 16,900 8,678 76% London Irish 11 40,900 3,718 5,000 1,500 56% Newcastle Falcons 11 55,251 5,023 11,750 2,638 62% Northampton Saints 11 71,661 6,515 8,989 4,600 72% Richmond 11 39,718 3,611 6,500 2,000 49% Sale 11 39,800 3,618 4,500 2,500 75% Saracens 11 102,335 9,303 19,764 3,722 42% Wasps 11 64,179 5,834 9,700 3,791 32% 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:http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_points.html?id=1997%2F98;trophy=65;type=season ESPNScrum 1 September 2020 1997-98 Premiership Rugby top points scorers Rank Player ClubPoints1AUS Michael LynaghSaracens2792ENG Mark MapletoftGloucester2753CAN Gareth ReesWasps253RSA Joel StranskyLeicester Tigers5IRE rugby union Niall WoodsLondon Irish2376ENG Rob AndrewNewcastle Falcons2267NZL Shane HowarthSale2248ENG Paul GraysonNorthampton Saints2109ENG Jon CallardBath18310FRA Thierry LacroixHarlequins169 Most tries Source:http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_tries.html?id=1997%2F98;trophy=65;type=season;type=tournament ESPNscrum 1 September 2020 1997-98 Premiership Rugby top try scorers Rank Player ClubTries1ENG Dominic ChapmanRichmond172ENG Tom BeimSale143SCO Gary ArmstrongNewcastle Falcons134WAL Scott QuinnellRichmond105ENG Will GreenwoodLeicester Tigers9SAM Pat LamNorthampton SaintsSCO Andy NicolBathENG Daren O'LearyHarlequins911 players8 See also 1997–98 Premiership 2 1997–98 National League 1 1997–98 National League 2 North 1997–98 National League 2 South Note References 30em External links Official site 1997-98 England