2002–03 English Premiership (rugby union)

2002-2003 Zurich Premiership
Countries	England
Champions	London Wasps (3rd title)
Runners-up	Gloucester
Relegated	Bristol
Matches played	135
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002-03 Zurich Premiership was the 16th season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions.

The Zurich Championship which had been competed for in seasons 2000–01 and 2001–02 was dropped from this season.

Contents 1 Table 2 Results 2.1 Week 1 2.2 Week 2 2.3 Week 3 2.4 Week 4 2.5 Week 5 2.6 Week 6 2.7 Week 7 2.8 Week 8 2.9 Week 9 2.10 Week 10 2.11 Week 11 2.12 Week 12 2.13 Week 13 2.14 Week 14 2.15 Week 15 2.16 Week 16 2.17 Week 17 2.18 Week 18 2.19 Week 19 2.20 Week 20 2.21 Week 21 2.22 Week 22 2.23 Week 23 2.24 Week 24 3 Play-offs 3.1 Semi final 3.2 Final 4 Zurich Wildcard 4.1 Semi-finals 4.1.1 First leg 4.1.2 Second leg 4.2 Final 5 References

Table

	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Gloucester (F)	22	17	2	3	617	396	+221	67	35	7	3	82
2	London Wasps (C)	22	13	2	7	553	460	+93	55	36	6	5	67
3	Northampton Saints (SF)	22	13	0	9	512	376	+136	52	24	5	5	62
4	Sale Sharks	22	12	2	8	556	470	+86	61	46	8	2	62
5	Leeds Tykes	22	12	2	8	478	435	+43	38	39	1	5	58
6	Leicester Tigers	22	12	0	10	448	396	+52	44	32	4	3	55
7	Harlequins	22	9	0	13	461	560	-99	43	60	3	5	44
8	Saracens	22	8	0	14	499	587	-88	49	61	5	5	42
9	London Irish	22	8	1	13	432	485	-53	32	46	2	4	40
10	Newcastle Falcons	22	8	0	14	388	545	-157	31	58	3	5	40
11	Bath	22	7	2	13	385	490	-105	33	44	1	3	36
12	Bristol (R)	22	7	1	14	504	633	-129	47	71	3	3	36
Source:Guinness Premiership Green background denotes qualification for the playoffs. These teams and those highlighted in blue qualified for the 2003–04 Heineken Cup.

Wasps won the 2002–03 Parker Pen Challenge Cup therefore automatically qualifying for the 2003–04 Heineken Cup. WIth Leicester Tigers winning the Zurich Wildcard Final, the final 2003–04 Heineken Cup berth was awarded to Leeds Tykes, placed fifth in the league.^[1]

Results

Week 1

30 August 2002 19:45	The Sharks	24 – 21	Northampton Saints	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,313

31 August 2002 14:00	Leeds Tykes	26 – 13	Leicester Tigers	Headingley Attendance: 4,301

31 August 2002 15:00	NEC Harlequins	19 – 25	Gloucester	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,015

1 September 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	24 – 17	London Wasps	Kingston Park Attendance: 5,263

1 September 2002 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	30 – 45	Saracens	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,761

1 September 2002 15:00	London Irish	22 – 24	Bath	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,203

Week 2

7 September 2002 14:00	Northampton Saints	31 – 13	Newcastle Falcons	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 10,213

7 September 2002 15:00	Gloucester	44 – 8	Sale Sharks	Kingsholm Attendance: 9,544

7 September 2002 15:00	Leicester Tigers	30 – 6	Harlequins	Welford Road Attendance: 15,387

8 September 2002 14:30	Leeds Tykes	41 – 16	London Irish	Headingley Attendance: 3,190

8 September 2002 15:00	London Wasps	38 – 35	Bristol Shoguns	Adams Park Attendance: 7,171

8 September 2002 15:00	Saracens	28 – 3	Bath	Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,068

Week 3

13 September 2002 19:45	The Sharks	29 – 16	Leicester Tigers	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,678

14 September 2002 14:00	Bath Rugby	27 – 27	London Wasps	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

14 September 2002 15:00	NEC Harlequins	23 – 33	Leeds Tykes	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 5,352

15 September 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	19 – 22	Gloucester	Kingston Park Attendance: 5,304

15 September 2002 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	28 – 36	Northampton Saints	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,674

15 September 2002 15:00	London Irish	32 – 10	Saracens	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 7,177

Week 4

20 September 2002 20:00	Leeds Tykes	29 – 29	Sale Sharks	Headingley Attendance: 5,123

21 September 2002 14:00	Gloucester	45 – 18	Bristol Shoguns	Kingsholm Attendance: 10,117

21 September 2002 15:00	Leicester Tigers	52 – 9	Newcastle Falcons	Welford Road Attendance: 15,656

21 September 2002 15:00	NEC Harlequins	29 – 19	London Irish	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,223

21 September 2002 15:00	Northampton Saints	24 – 3	Bath	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 9,560

22 September 2002 15:00	London Wasps	51 – 23	Saracens	Adams Park Attendance: 8,512

Week 5

27 September 2002 19:45	The Sharks	20 – 16	Harlequins	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,613

28 September 2002 14:00	Saracens	31 – 19	Northampton Saints	Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,289

28 September 2002 14:15	Bath Rugby	21 – 21	Gloucester	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

29 September 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	27 – 20	Leeds Tykes	Kingston Park Attendance: 5,457

29 September 2002 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	25 – 20	Leicester Tigers	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 6,237

29 September 2002 15:00	London Irish	21 – 31	London Wasps	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,267

Week 6

5 October 2002 14:00	The Sharks	36 – 14	London Irish	Heywood Road Attendance: 4,514

5 October 2002 15:00	Gloucester	44 – 14	Saracens	Kingsholm Attendance: 10,439

5 October 2002 15:00	Leicester Tigers	22 – 20	Bath	Welford Road Attendance: 16,811

5 October 2002 15:00	NEC Harlequins	47 – 23	Newcastle Falcons	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,923

5 October 2002 15:00	Northampton Saints	34 – 20	London Wasps	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 9,888

6 October 2002 14:30	Leeds Tykes	25 – 13	Bristol Shoguns	Headingley Attendance: 4,420

Week 7

26 October 2002 14:00	London Wasps	23 – 16	Gloucester	Adams Park Attendance: 8,768

26 October 2002 14:15	Bath Rugby	20 – 22	Leeds Tykes	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

27 October 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	31 – 20	Sale Sharks	Kingston Park Attendance: 4,245

27 October 2002 15:00	London Irish	12 – 14	Northampton Saints	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 7,579

27 October 2002 15:00	Saracens	18 – 26	Leicester Tigers	Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,531

Week 8

1 November 2002 19:45	The Sharks	28 – 14	Bristol Shoguns	Heywood Road Attendance: 4,688

2 November 2002 14:00	NEC Harlequins	18 – 9	Bath	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 8,311

2 November 2002 15:00	Gloucester	18 – 9	Northampton Saints	Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

2 November 2002 15:00	Leicester Tigers	9 – 6	London Wasps	Welford Road Attendance: 16,845

3 November 2002 14:30	Leeds Tykes	27 – 18	Saracens	Headingley Attendance: 5,015

3 November 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	16 – 24	London Irish	Kingston Park Attendance: 4,515

Week 9

9 November 2002 12:00	Northampton Saints	3 – 16	Leicester Tigers	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 12,600

10 November 2002 14:15	Bath Rugby	24 – 18	Sale Sharks	Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,430

10 November 2002 14:30	London Irish	19 – 40	Gloucester	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 8,449

10 November 2002 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	38 – 10	Newcastle Falcons	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,342

10 November 2002 15:00	London Wasps	27 – 27	Leeds Tykes	Adams Park Attendance: 4,475

10 November 2002 15:00	Saracens	36 – 30	Harlequins	Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,634

Week 10

15 November 2002 19:45	Leicester Tigers	20 – 15	Gloucester	Welford Road Attendance: 16,845

15 November 2002 19:45	The Sharks	37 – 26	Saracens	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,196

17 November 2002 14:30	Leeds Tykes	26 – 19	Northampton Saints	Headingley Attendance: 4,017

17 November 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	20 – 24	Bath	Kingston Park Attendance: 4,532

17 November 2002 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	32 – 32	London Irish	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 5,005

17 November 2002 15:00	NEC Harlequins	27 – 14	London Wasps	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,252

Week 11

23 November 2002 12:00	Northampton Saints	35 – 7	Harlequins	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 8,296

24 November 2002 14:15	Bath Rugby	19 – 30	Bristol Shoguns	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

24 November 2002 14:30	Gloucester	28 – 10	Leeds Tykes	Kingsholm Attendance: 10,276

24 November 2002 15:00	London Irish	27 – 7	Leicester Tigers	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 10,605

24 November 2002 15:00	London Wasps	25 – 32	Sale Sharks	Adams Park Attendance: 5,242

24 November 2002 15:00	Saracens	17 – 13	Newcastle Falcons	Vicarage Road Attendance: 5,742

Week 12

29 November 2002 19:45	The Sharks	36 – 18	Bath	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,700

30 November 2002 15:00	Gloucester	25 – 20	London Irish	Kingsholm Attendance: 10,217

30 November 2002 15:00	NEC Harlequins	36 – 32	Saracens	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,714

30 November 2002 17:35	Leicester Tigers	12 – 25	Northampton Saints	Welford Road Attendance: 16,875

1 December 2002 14:30	Leeds Tykes	15 – 18	London Wasps	Headingley Attendance: 4,751

1 December 2002 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	12 – 20	Bristol Shoguns	Kingston Park Attendance: 3,273

Week 13

27 December 2002 15:00	London Wasps	26 – 13	Leicester Tigers	Adams Park Attendance: 10,000

28 December 2002 14:15	Bath Rugby	23 – 9	Harlequins	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

28 December 2002 14:30	Northampton Saints	13 – 16	Gloucester	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 12,500

29 December 2002 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	18 – 6	Sale Sharks	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 5,642

29 December 2002 15:00	London Irish	20 – 0	Newcastle Falcons	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 10,877

29 December 2002 15:00	Saracens	11 – 6	Leeds Tykes	Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,328

Week 14

3 January 2003 19:00	Leeds Tykes	20 – 7	Bath	Headingley Attendance: 4,553

3 January 2003 19:45	The Sharks	38 – 3	Newcastle Falcons	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,678

4 January 2003 15:00	Gloucester	24 – 17	London Wasps	Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

4 January 2003 15:00	Leicester Tigers	23 – 18	Saracens	Welford Road Attendance: 16,845

4 January 2003 15:00	NEC Harlequins	26 – 17	Bristol Shoguns	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,123

4 January 2003 15:00	Northampton Saints	10 – 22	London Irish	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 10,604

Week 15

1 February 2003 14:00	Newcastle Falcons	32 – 17	Harlequins	Kingston Park Attendance: 6,109

1 February 2003 14:15	Bath Rugby	8 – 15	Leicester Tigers	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

2 February 2003 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	12 – 17	Leeds Tykes	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 5,032

2 February 2003 15:00	London Irish	11 – 23	Sale Sharks	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 7,565

2 February 2003 15:00	London Wasps	16 – 9	Northampton Saints	Adams Park Attendance: 9,400

2 February 2003 15:00	Saracens	22 – 29	Gloucester	Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,089

Week 16

7 February 2003 20:00	Leeds Tykes	12 – 17	Newcastle Falcons	Headingley Attendance: 7,207

8 February 2003 14:00	Leicester Tigers	40 – 6	Bristol Shoguns	Welford Road Attendance: 16,875

8 February 2003 15:00	Gloucester	29 – 16	Bath	Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

8 February 2003 15:00	NEC Harlequins	0 – 45	Sale Sharks	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 6,823

8 February 2003 15:00	Northampton Saints	34 – 25	Saracens	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 12,500

9 February 2003 15:00	London Wasps	35 – 11	London Irish	Adams Park Attendance: 8,590

Week 17

1 March 2003 14:15	Bath Rugby	30 – 9	Saracens	Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,290

1 March 2003 15:00	London Wasps	13 – 12	Newcastle Falcons	Adams Park Attendance: 6,199

2 March 2003 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	48 – 41	Harlequins	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 5,205

Week 18

15 March 2003 14:15	Bath Rugby	10 – 27	Northampton Saints	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

15 March 2003 14:30	The Sharks	32 – 20	Leeds Tykes	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,700

16 March 2003 14:30	London Irish	6 – 16	Harlequins	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 18,585

16 March 2003 14:30	Newcastle Falcons	24 – 22	Leicester Tigers	Kingston Park Attendance: 9,105

16 March 2003 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	21 – 38	Gloucester	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 10,693

16 March 2003 15:00	Saracens	31 – 42	London Wasps	Vicarage Road Attendance: 8,912

Week 19

4 April 2003 20:00	Leeds Tykes	23 – 22	Harlequins	Headingley Attendance: 4,305

6 April 2003 15:00	London Wasps	36 – 17	Bath	Adams Park Attendance: 8,231

6 April 2003 15:00	Saracens	12 – 14	London Irish	Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,089

6 April 2003 16:45	Leicester Tigers	33 – 20	Sale Sharks	Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

Week 20

10 April 2003 20:00	Bath Rugby	18 – 15	London Irish	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

12 April 2003 15:00	Gloucester	25 – 23	Newcastle Falcons	Kingsholm Attendance: 10,404

Week 21

16 April 2003 20:00	Northampton Saints	43 – 13	Bristol Shoguns	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 8,805

18 April 2003 15:00	The Sharks	30 – 30	Gloucester	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,800

19 April 2003 15:00	NEC Harlequins	17 – 9	Leicester Tigers	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,123

20 April 2003 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	19 – 34	London Wasps	Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,866

20 April 2003 15:00	London Irish	14 – 26	Leeds Tykes	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 7,125

20 April 2003 15:00	Newcastle Falcons	22 – 20	Northampton Saints	Kingston Park Attendance: 7,428

Week 22

26 April 2003 15:00	Gloucester	29 – 11	Harlequins	Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

26 April 2003 15:00	Leicester Tigers	18 – 17	Leeds Tykes	Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

26 April 2003 16:00	Northampton Saints	27 – 17	Sale Sharks	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 9,202

29 April 2003 19:30	Saracens	17 – 16	Bristol Shoguns	Vicarage Road Attendance: 5,090

Week 23

2 May 2003 19:45	NEC Harlequins	19 – 31	Northampton Saints	Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 6,423

3 May 2003 14:00	Leicester Tigers	19 – 20	London Irish	Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

3 May 2003 17:15	The Sharks	9 – 16	London Wasps	Heywood Road Attendance: 5,800

4 May 2003 14:30	Leeds Tykes	30 – 23	Gloucester	Headingley Attendance: 6,088

4 May 2003 15:00	Bristol Shoguns	30 – 20	Bath	Ashton Gate Attendance: 20,793

4 May 2003 15:00	Newcastle Falcons	26 – 22	Saracens	Kingston Park Attendance: 9,127

Week 24

10 May 2003 15:00	Bath Rugby	24 – 12	Newcastle Falcons	Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

10 May 2003 15:00	Gloucester	31 – 13	Leicester Tigers	Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

10 May 2003 15:00	London Irish	41 – 21	Bristol Shoguns	Madejski Stadium Attendance: 12,696

10 May 2003 15:00	London Wasps	21 – 25	Harlequins	Adams Park Attendance: 8,747

10 May 2003 15:00	Northampton Saints	28 – 6	Leeds Tykes	Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 12,500

10 May 2003 15:00	Saracens	34 – 19	Sale Sharks	Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,211

Play-offs

Semi final

17 May 2003 18:00	London Wasps	19 – 10	Northampton Saints	Adams Park Attendance: 7,398

Final

31 May 2003 15:30	Gloucester	3 – 39	London Wasps	Twickenham Attendance: 42,000

Zurich Wildcard

Meanwhile, Leeds (5th place), Leicester (6th), Harlequins (7th), Saracens (8th) played for a Zurich Wildcard to the 2003–04 Heineken Cup:

Semi-finals

First leg

14 May 2003	Harlequins	26 – 23	Leicester Tigers	Twickenham Stoop Referee: D Pearson
		Report

14 May 2003	Saracens	57 – 21	Leeds Tykes	Vicarage Road Referee: Roy Maybank
		Report

Second leg

18 May 2003	Leicester Tigers	28– 13	Harlequins	Welford Road
		[ Report]

Leicester advanced to the wildcard final due to a superior aggregate score of 51-39

18 May 2003	Leeds Tykes	27 – 13	Saracens	Headingley Referee: Tony Spreadbury
		Report

Saracens advanced to the wildcard final due to a superior aggregate score of 70-48

Final

31 May 2003	Leicester Tigers	27 – 20 (a.e.t.)	Saracens	Franklin's Gardens
		[ Report]

References

English Premiership 2011-12 teams Bath Exeter Chiefs Gloucester Harlequins Leicester Tigers London Irish London Wasps Newcastle Falcons Northampton Saints Sale Sharks Saracens Worcester Warriors Seasons 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12