English Premiership
The Aviva Premiership is the current name given to the English Premiership as the Aviva insurance company sponsor the competition. It is the league format in England for the top English rugby union sides. The league began in 1987 and 12 teams compete in it each season. For the 2011/12 season, the competing teams consist of: Harlequins, Saracens, Sale, London Irish, Exeter, Gloucester, Bath, Wasps, Northampton, Worcester, Leicester and Newcastle. Rugby Shirt Blog will provide the latest information on Aviva Premiership rugby shirts.
The league has three broadcast partnerships with ESPN UK and Sky Sports for live matches and highlights are shown on ITV. The currently league title holders are Saracens for the 2010/11 season and Leicester Tigers have won the most titles, with 9 successes. An Aviva Premiership side will play 22 matches each campaign and the league season runs from September until May. There are also four different ways for a team to earn points in a league match.
4 points are awarded to the team who wins the match. For a draw, both sides score 2 points. If a team loses a match by 7 points or less, they receive 1 bonus point and another bonus point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.
The side who finishes bottom of the table at the end of the season in May is then relegated to the RFU Championship for the following season. If a team plays in the Aviva Premiership and finishes in the top 4 at the end of the campaign, they will qualify to compete in the Heineken Cup for the next season.
