The 2009–10 Guinness Premiership was the 23rd season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the fifth and final one to be sponsored by Guinness. The reigning champions entering the season were Leicester Tigers, who had claimed their eighth title after defeating London Irish in the 2009 final. Leeds Carnegie had been promoted as champions from the 2008–09 National Division One at the first attempt.

Summary Leicester Tigers won their ninth title after defeating Saracens in the final at Twickenham having also topped the regular season table. Worcester Warriors were relegated on the last day of the season. It was the first time that Worcester have been relegated from the top flight since they first achieved promotion.

As usual, round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham, the sixth instance since its inception in 2004.

Teams Twelve teams compete in the league–the top eleven teams from the previous season and Leeds Carnege who were promoted from the 2008–09 National Division One after a top flight absence of one year. They replaced Bristol Bears who were relegated after four years in the top flight.

Stadiums and locations

Club Captain Kit Supplier Stadium Capacity City/Area Bath Puma The Recreation Ground 11,700 Bath Gloucester RugbyTech Kingsholm 16,500 Gloucester Harlequins KooGa Twickenham Stoop 14,282 Twickenham, Greater London Leeds Carnegie ISC Headingley Stadium 22,250 Leeds Leicester Tigers Cotton Traders Welford Road 24,000 Leicester London Irish RugbyTech Madejski Stadium 24,161 Reading London Wasps Canterbury Adams Park 10,516 High Wycombe Newcastle Falcons Cotton Traders Kingston Park 10,200 Newcastle upon Tyne Northampton Saints Rhino Sportswear Franklin's Gardens 13,591 Northampton Sale Sharks Cotton Traders Edgeley Park 10,852 Stockport, Greater Manchester Saracens KooGa Vicarage Road 19,920 Watford Worcester Warriors Kukri Sixways Stadium 12,068 Worcester

Table

Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Rearranged fixture

Round 18

Rearranged fixture

Round 19

Rearranged fixtures

Round 20

Rearranged fixture

Round 21

Round 22

Play-offs As in previous seasons, the top four teams in the Premiership table, following the conclusion of the regular season, contest the play-off semi-finals in a 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd format, with the higher ranking team having home advantage. The two winners of the semi-finals then meet in the Premiership Final at Twickenham on 29 May 2010.

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

FB 15 Geordan Murphy (c) RW 14 Scott Hamilton OC 13 Matt Smith IC 12 Anthony AllenLW 11 Alesana Tuilagi FH 10 Toby FloodSH 9 Ben YoungsN8 8 Jordan CraneOF 7 Lewis Moody BF 6 Tom CroftRL 5 Geoff ParlingLL 4 Louis DeaconTP 3 Martin Castrogiovanni HK 2 George ChuterLP 1 Marcos Ayerza Replacements:HK 16 Joe DuffeyPR 17 Boris Stankovich PR 18 Dan Cole FL 19 Craig Newby FL 20 Ben WoodsSH 21 James GrindalFH 22 Jeremy Staunton CE 23 Dan Hipkiss Coach: Richard Cockerill FB 15 Alex GoodeRW 14 Michael TagicakibauOC 13 Adam PowellIC 12 Brad BarrittLW 11 Chris WylesFH 10 Glen JacksonSH 9 Neil de Kock N8 8 Ernst Joubert OF 7 Andy Saull BF 6 Jacques BurgerRL 5 Hugh Vyvyan LL 4 Steve Borthwick (c)TP 3 Petrus du Plessis HK 2 Schalk BritsLP 1 Matías Agüero Replacements:HK 16 Fabio OngaroPR 17 Rhys Gill PR 18 Richard Skuse LK 19 Mouritz Botha FL 20 Justin Melck SH 21 Justin Marshall CE 22 Derick HougaardWG 23 Kameli Ratuvou Coach: Brendan Venter

Leading scorers Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Most points Source: Rank Player Club Points 1 Jimmy Gopperth Newcastle Falcons 219 2 Toby Flood Leicester Tigers 216 3 Nicky Robinson Gloucester 198 4 Willie Walker Worcester Warriors 187 5 Glen Jackson Saracens 178 6 Nick Evans Harlequins 175 7 Charlie Hodgson Sale Sharks 149 Ceiron Thomas Leeds Tykes 9 Stephen Myler Northampton Saints 145 10 Ryan Lamb London Irish 143

Most tries Source: Rank Player Club Tries 1 Chris Ashton Northampton Saints 16 2 Joe Maddock Bath 11 3 Matt Banahan Bath 10 4 Steffon Armitage London Irish 8 James Simpson-Daniel Gloucester 6 Schalk Brits Northampton Saints 7 George Lowe Harlequins Charlie Sharples Gloucester 9 Jon Clarke Northampton Saints 6 Ernst Joubert Saracens Sailosi Tagicakibau London Irish Tom Varndell London Wasps

References

External links Official site