1997–98 English Premiership (rugby union)

1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership
Countries  England
Champions Newcastle Falcons (1st title)
Runners-up Saracens
Relegated Bristol
Matches played 132

The 1997–98 English Premiership (called the Allied Dunbar Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the league at the top of the English rugby union pyramid.

Contents

Table

Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Tries For Tries Against Points
1 Newcastle Falcons (C) 22 19 0 3 645 387 +258 85 31 38
2 Saracens 22 18 1 3 584 396 +188 59 36 37
3 Bath 22 13 0 9 575 455 +120 66 49 26
4 Leicester Tigers 22 12 2 8 569 449 +120 64 45 26
5 Richmond 22 12 0 10 607 499 +108 81 50 24
6 Gloucester 22 11 1 10 512 528 −16 52 65 23
7 Sale Sharks 22 10 2 10 605 558 +47 71 60 22
8 Northampton Saints 22 9 1 12 493 472 +21 46 53 19
9 London Wasps 22 8 1 13 490 609 −119 47 68 17
10 Harlequins 22 8 0 14 516 645 −129 58 73 16
11 London Irish 22 6 0 16 457 673 −216 45 82 12
12 Bristol (R) 22 2 0 20 351 733 −382 36 98 4

Results

Week 1

23 August 1997
14:15
Bath 13 – 20 Newcastle Falcons Recreation Ground
Attendance: 7,000
23 August 1997
15:00
Gloucester 35 – 13 Bristol Kingsholm
Attendance: 7,564
23 August 1997
15:00
Northampton Saints 23 – 26 NEC Harlequins Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 6,027
23 August 1997
15:00
Richmond 32 – 12 London Irish Athletic Ground
Attendance: 4,779
24 August 1997
15:00
Sale Sharks 10 – 19 Saracens Heywood Road
Attendance: 3,000

Week 2

30 August 1997
14:15
NEC Harlequins 20 – 27 Bath Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 6,154
30 August 1997
15:00
Bristol 21 – 38 London Wasps Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 4,000
30 August 1997
15:00
Leicester Tigers 33 – 16 Gloucester Welford Road
Attendance: 11,159
30 August 1997
15:00
London Irish 20 – 26 Sale Sharks The Avenue
Attendance: 5,000

Week 3

8 October 1997
19:30
Newcastle Falcons 37 – 12 Northampton Saints Kingston Park
Attendance: 3,390
8 October 1997
20:00
Saracens 15 – 9 Richmond Vicarage Road
Attendance: 4,134

Week 4

18 October 1997
14:15
Richmond 37 – 16 NEC Harlequins Athletic Ground
Attendance: 4,836
18 October 1997
15:00
Bath 44 – 15 Bristol Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000
18 October 1997
15:00
Northampton Saints 25 – 6 Leicester Tigers Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 8,186
18 October 1997
15:00
Sale Sharks 26 – 33 Newcastle Falcons Heywood Road
Attendance: 4,000
19 October 1997
15:00
London Wasps 15 – 19 Saracens Loftus Road
Attendance: 9,700
19 October 1997
15:15
Gloucester 29 – 7 London Irish Kingsholm
Attendance: 6,287

Week 5

25 October 1997
14:15
Leicester Tigers 33 – 22 Bath Welford Road
Attendance: 16,000
25 October 1997
15:00
NEC Harlequins 52 – 41 Sale Sharks Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 6,810
26 October 1997
15:00
Bristol 22 – 15 Northampton Saints Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 4,062
26 October 1997
15:00
London Irish 22 – 17 London Wasps The Avenue
Attendance: 4,000
26 October 1997
15:00
Newcastle Falcons 18 – 12 Richmond Kingston Park
Attendance: 4,202
26 October 1997
15:00
Saracens 42 – 24 Gloucester Vicarage Road
Attendance: 5,163

Week 6

1 November 1997
15:00
Bath 47 – 31 Richmond Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000
1 November 1997
15:00
London Irish 19 – 35 Newcastle Falcons The Avenue
Attendance: 5,000
2 November 1997
15:00
Gloucester 16 – 17 NEC Harlequins Kingsholm
Attendance: 7,937
2 November 1997
15:00
London Wasps 22 – 38 Sale Sharks Loftus Road
Attendance: 4,105
2 November 1997
15:00
Saracens 31 – 9 Bristol Vicarage Road
Attendance: 4,258

Week 7

8 November 1997
15:00
Northampton Saints 13 – 19 Saracens Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 7,088
9 November 1997
15:00
Sale Sharks 76 – 0 Bristol Heywood Road
Attendance: 2,500

Week 8

13 December 1997
14:15
Leicester Tigers 55 – 15 Sale Sharks Welford Road
Attendance: 10,695
13 December 1997
15:00
Bristol 12 – 13 Richmond Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 2,415
13 December 1997
15:00
London Irish 10 – 51 Northampton Saints The Avenue
Attendance: 4,300
13 December 1997
15:00
NEC Harlequins 53 – 17 London Wasps Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 7,812
14 December 1997
15:00
Newcastle Falcons 37 – 27 Gloucester Kingston Park
Attendance: 3,000
14 December 1997
15:00
Saracens 50 – 23 Bath Vicarage Road
Attendance: 10,658
16 December 1997
20:00
Richmond 32 – 15 Leicester Tigers Athletic Ground
Attendance: 2,076

Week 9

20 December 1997
15:00
Leicester Tigers 27 – 3 NEC Harlequins Welford Road
Attendance: 11,606
21 December 1997
14:30
Richmond 21 – 24 Northampton Saints Athletic Ground
Attendance: 2,204

Week 10

26 December 1997
15:00
Saracens 21 – 22 Leicester Tigers Vicarage Road
Attendance: 14,291
27 December 1997
14:00
Bristol 8 – 50 Newcastle Falcons Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 5,000
27 December 1997
15:00
Gloucester 26 – 20 Richmond Kingsholm
Attendance: 8,328
27 December 1997
15:00
NEC Harlequins 26 – 24 London Irish Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 7,348
27 December 1997
15:00
Northampton Saints 18 – 10 London Wasps Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 8,772
27 December 1997
15:00
Sale Sharks 11 – 13 Bath Heywood Road
Attendance: 4,500

Week 11

30 December 1997
15:00
Bath 26 – 3 Northampton Saints Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000
30 December 1997
19:30
London Irish 10 – 25 Saracens The Avenue
Attendance: 3,800
30 December 1997
19:30
London Wasps 22 – 18 Richmond Loftus Road
Attendance: 4,912
30 December 1997
19:30
Sale Sharks 24 – 24 Gloucester Heywood Road
Attendance: 3,500
30 December 1997
19:45
Leicester Tigers 19 – 25 Newcastle Falcons Welford Road
Attendance: 16,000
31 December 1997
15:00
NEC Harlequins 38 – 40 Bristol Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 5,124

Week 12

10 January 1998
15:00
Northampton Saints 33 – 14 Sale Sharks Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 5,929
11 January 1998
15:00
London Wasps 26 – 20 Gloucester Loftus Road
Attendance: 4,245
11 January 1998
15:00
Newcastle Falcons 46 – 13 London Irish Kingston Park
Attendance: 3,500
11 January 1998
15:00
Saracens 25 – 16 NEC Harlequins Vicarage Road
Attendance: 10,753

Week 13

17 January 1998
14:00
Leicester Tigers 45 – 21 London Wasps Welford Road
Attendance: 15,000
17 January 1998
15:00
London Irish 14 – 45 Richmond The Avenue
Attendance: 3,500
18 January 1998
15:00
Bristol 13 – 14 Gloucester Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 5,601
18 January 1998
15:00
NEC Harlequins 5 – 30 Northampton Saints Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 4,612

Week 14

31 January 1998
14:30
Richmond 10 – 15 Saracens Athletic Ground
Attendance: 3,888
31 January 1998
15:00
Northampton Saints 17 – 21 Newcastle Falcons Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 8,989
1 February 1998
15:00
Gloucester 32 – 25 Leicester Tigers Kingsholm
Attendance: 7,963
1 February 1998
15:00
London Wasps 32 – 18 Bristol Loftus Road
Attendance: 4,112
1 February 1998
15:00
Sale Sharks 41 – 16 London Irish Heywood Road
Attendance: 3,500

Week 15

11 February 1998
19:15
Bath 47 – 3 Gloucester Recreation Ground
Attendance: 5,500
14 February 1998
14:00
Gloucester 20 – 15 Northampton Saints Kingsholm
Attendance: 5,689
14 February 1998
15:00
Bath 43 – 27 London Wasps Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000
14 February 1998
15:00
Bristol 20 – 37 Saracens Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 3,239
14 February 1998
15:00
Leicester Tigers 34 – 19 London Irish Welford Road
Attendance: 10,762
15 February 1998
15:00
Newcastle Falcons 43 – 15 NEC Harlequins Kingston Park
Attendance: 5,031
15 February 1998
15:00
Richmond 20 – 28 Sale Sharks Athletic Ground
Attendance: 2,017

Week 16

20 February 1998
20:00
London Irish 38 – 23 Bristol The Avenue
Attendance: 1,500
24 February 1998
19:30
Saracens 42 – 20 Sale Sharks Vicarage Road
Attendance: 3,722

Week 17

28 February 1998
15:00
Bath 39 – 13 NEC Harlequins Recreation Ground
Attendance: 7,200
28 February 1998
15:00
Bristol 24 – 27 Leicester Tigers Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 3,143

Week 18

7 March 1998
15:00
Leicester Tigers 15 – 15 Northampton Saints Welford Road
Attendance: 14,500
7 March 1998
15:00
NEC Harlequins 41 – 12 Richmond Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 4,532
8 March 1998
15:00
Bristol 16 – 22 Bath Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 5,271
8 March 1998
15:00
Saracens 33 – 27 London Wasps Vicarage Road
Attendance: 12,332
10 March 1998
19:30
Newcastle Falcons 23 – 18 Sale Sharks Kingston Park
Attendance: 2,638
11 March 1998
19:30
Gloucester 22 – 15 London Wasps Kingsholm
Attendance: 6,629

Week 19

14 March 1998
14:15
Bath 16 – 5 Leicester Tigers Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,200
14 March 1998
15:00
Northampton Saints 35 – 12 Bristol Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 4,900
14 March 1998
15:00
Richmond 30 – 17 Newcastle Falcons Athletic Ground
Attendance: 4,367
14 March 1998
15:00
Sale Sharks 23 – 13 NEC Harlequins Heywood Road
Attendance: 4,000
15 March 1998
15:00
Gloucester 38 – 15 Saracens Kingsholm
Attendance: 7,135
15 March 1998
15:00
London Wasps 19 – 38 London Irish Loftus Road
Attendance: 7,935

Week 20

24 March 1998
19:30
London Irish 23 – 19 Gloucester The Avenue
Attendance: 2,300
25 March 1998
19:30
Newcastle Falcons 30 – 25 Saracens Kingston Park
Attendance: 6,868
28 March 1998
15:00
Leicester Tigers 42 – 19 Richmond Welford Road
Attendance: 10,146
28 March 1998
15:00
London Irish 35 – 49 Bath The Avenue
Attendance: 4,800
29 March 1998
15:00
NEC Harlequins 36 – 16 Gloucester Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 4,127

Week 21

7 April 1998
19:30
Newcastle Falcons 20 – 13 London Wasps Kingston Park
Attendance: 4,500
10 April 1998
15:00
Bath 13 – 29 Saracens Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,200
10 April 1998
15:00
Richmond 43 – 3 Bristol Athletic Ground
Attendance: 2,500
11 April 1998
15:00
Gloucester 27 – 29 Newcastle Falcons Kingsholm
Attendance: 9,048
11 April 1998
15:00
Sale Sharks 35 – 21 Leicester Tigers Heywood Road
Attendance: 4,000
12 April 1998
15:00
London Wasps 29 – 26 NEC Harlequins Loftus Road
Attendance: 5,749

Week 22

13 April 1998
15:00
Richmond 32 – 14 Bath Athletic Ground
Attendance: 6,500
15 April 1998
19:15
Bristol 15 – 25 Sale Sharks Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 1,547
18 April 1998
14:00
NEC Harlequins 14 – 23 Leicester Tigers Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 5,362
18 April 1998
15:00
Gloucester 27 – 17 Bath Kingsholm
Attendance: 10,574
18 April 1998
15:00
Northampton Saints 39 – 47 Richmond Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 5,350
18 April 1998
15:00
Sale Sharks 28 – 28 London Wasps Heywood Road
Attendance: 3,800
19 April 1998
15:00
Bristol 5 – 17 London Irish Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 2,265
19 April 1998
15:05
Saracens 12 – 10 Newcastle Falcons Vicarage Road
Attendance: 19,764

Week 23

22 April 1998
19:30
Northampton Saints 33 – 18 London Irish Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 4,600
22 April 1998
19:45
London Wasps 18 – 17 Newcastle Falcons Loftus Road
Attendance: 5,045
25 April 1998
14:15
Leicester Tigers 10 – 10 Saracens Welford Road
Attendance: 16,900
25 April 1998
15:00
Bath 19 – 29 Sale Sharks Recreation Ground
Attendance: 6,500
25 April 1998
15:00
London Irish 62 – 14 NEC Harlequins The Avenue
Attendance: 4,200
25 April 1998
15:00
Richmond 33 – 22 Gloucester Athletic Ground
Attendance: 2,000
26 April 1998
15:00
London Wasps 31 – 15 Northampton Saints Loftus Road
Attendance: 5,261
26 April 1998
15:00
Newcastle Falcons 43 – 18 Bristol Kingston Park
Attendance: 3,162

Week 24

28 April 1998
19:15
Bath 20 – 3 London Irish Recreation Ground
Attendance: 5,500
29 April 1998
19:30
NEC Harlequins 26 – 28 Saracens Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 4,152
29 April 1998
19:45
London Wasps 17 – 13 Leicester Tigers Loftus Road
Attendance: 3,791
2 May 1998
15:00
Gloucester 31 – 19 Sale Sharks Kingsholm
Attendance: 6,319
2 May 1998
15:00
Northampton Saints 16 – 15 Bath Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 6,320
2 May 1998
15:00
Richmond 51 – 29 London Wasps Athletic Ground
Attendance: 4,551
3 May 1998
15:00
Bristol 19 – 26 NEC Harlequins Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 3,110
3 May 1998
15:00
Saracens 29 – 21 London Irish Vicarage Road
Attendance: 8,143

Week 25

4 May 1998
15:00
Newcastle Falcons 27 – 10 Leicester Tigers Gateshead International Stadium
Attendance: 7,210
10 May 1998
15:00
Leicester Tigers 34 – 25 Bristol Welford Road
Attendance: 8,678
10 May 1998
15:00
Sale Sharks 30 – 19 Northampton Saints Heywood Road
Attendance: 3,000

Week 26

11 May 1998
19:30
Newcastle Falcons 20 – 15 Bath International Stad.
Attendance: 11,750
14 May 1998
19:45
Saracens 43 – 20 Northampton Saints Vicarage Road
Attendance: 9,117
17 May 1998
13:00
NEC Harlequins 20 – 44 Newcastle Falcons Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 8,897
17 May 1998
15:00
London Irish 16 – 55 Leicester Tigers The Avenue
Attendance: 2,500
17 May 1998
15:00
London Wasps 17 – 31 Bath Loftus Road
Attendance: 9,324
17 May 1998
15:00
Northampton Saints 22 – 24 Gloucester Franklin’s Gardens
Attendance: 5,500
17 May 1998
15:00
Sale Sharks 28 – 40 Richmond Heywood Road
Attendance: 4,000

External links