The Zurich Premiership is the present name for the leading rugby union league competition for English clubs. From 1987/88 until 1996/97 it was known as the Courage League, and from 1997/98 until 1999/2000 as the Allied Dunbar Premiership. The league has traditionally been dominated by two clubs, Bath and Leicester.
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The following twelve teams currently (2003-4 season) play in the league:
Worcester Rugby have been promoted from, and will play in the league in the 2004-5 season, pending RFU approval.
In the 2001/02 season a controversial knock-out cup style play-off system was introduced. Half-way through the season, with Leicester odds-on to win their fourth title in succession, the league decided that the winners of the playoffs would be crowned champions. There was an outcry from fans and this proposal was dropped, but the next year a similar proposal was adopted under which the winner of the league had to play the winner of a match between the second- and third-placed teams for the title. Although Gloucester won the league by a clear margin, second-placed Wasps (who had defeated third-placed Northampton) beat them easily in the play-offs. Fans do not generally recognise the winner of this competition as the English champion club.
| Ranking | Team | Times won |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath | 7 (plus 1 in a playoff year) |
| 2 | Leicester | 6 |
| 3 | Wasps | 2 (plus 1 playoff) |
| 4= | Gloucester | 1 (in playoff year) |
| 4= | Newcastle | 1 |
| English Zurich Premiership rugby union clubs: | |
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Bath | Gloucester | Harlequins | Leeds Tykes | Leicester Tigers | London Irish | Newcastle Falcons | Northampton Saints | Sale Sharks | Saracens | Wasps | |
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relegated (2003-4) Rotherham Titans | promoted (2003-4) Worcester Rugby | |
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Zurich Premiership, Heineken Cup, European Rugby Shield, Powergen Cup |