| top point scorer = | top try scorer = | website = https://www.premiershiprugby.com | prevseason = 2025–26 | nextseason = 2027–28 }} The 2026–27 PREM Rugby season, also known as 2026–27 Premiership Rugby and for sponsorship reasons 2026–27 Gallagher PREM Rugby, will be the 40th season of the top flight English domestic men's rugby union competition. The season will be the first to be contested under a franchise-based model, following the abolition of automatic promotion and relegation between the PREM and Champ Rugby from the start of the 2026–27 season. The competition will be broadcast by TNT Sports for the fourteenth consecutive year, with seven select matches, broadcast free-to-air on ITV.
Background Franchise model and end of promotion and relegation On 27 February 2026, the Rugby Football Union council approved a reform of the structure of professional rugby in England. From the 2026–27 campaign, automatic promotion and relegation between the PREM and Champ Rugby is replaced by a criteria-based expansion and demotion model. Automatic promotion had effectively been dormant for several seasons, as Champ Rugby champions Ealing Trailfinders were repeatedly unable to meet the PREM's minimum stadium capacity criteria.
Relegation remains possible but will no longer be automatic, and would only occur where a stronger, financially viable replacement candidate exists.
Teams The same ten clubs that competed in the 2025–26 season will contest the 2026–27 season.
Club Director of Rugby /Head Coach Captain Stadium Capacity City/Area Bath Johann van Graan Ben Spencer The Recreation Ground 14,509 Bath, Somerset Bristol Bears Pat Lam Fitz Harding Ashton Gate 27,000 Bristol Exeter Chiefs Rob Baxter Dafydd Jenkins Sandy Park 15,600 Exeter, Devon Gloucester Chris Boyd George Skivington Dewi Lake Kingsholm 16,115 Gloucester,Gloucestershire Harlequins Jason Gilmore Alex Dombrandt Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Twickenham,Greater London Geoff Parling Ollie Chessum Welford Road 25,849 Leicester,Leicestershire Newcastle Red Bulls Dan McFarland Tom Christie Kingston Park 10,200 Newcastle upon Tyne,Tyne and Wear Northampton Saints Phil Dowson Fraser Dingwall Franklin's Gardens 15,249 Northampton,Northamptonshire Sale Sharks Alex Sanderson Ernst van Rhyn CorpAcq Stadium 12,000 Salford,Greater Manchester Saracens Brendan Venter Maro Itoje StoneX Stadium 10,500 Hendon,Greater London
Player movements
Table
Round-by-round progression The grid below shows each team's progression throughout the season, indicating their points total (and league table position) at the end of every round: Team Progression Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 R16 R17 R18 Gloucester5(2nd)10(1st) Bristol Bears5(4th)10(2nd) Bath5(3rd)10(3rd) 5(1st)6(4th) Leicester Tigers2(6th)6(5th) Saracens5(5th)6(6th) Sale Sharks0(9th)4(7th) Exeter Chiefs1(7th)3(8th) Newcastle Red Bulls1(8th)2(9th) Harlequins0(10th)0(10th)Updated: 4 October 2026 Key Win Draw Loss
Regular season The regular season fixtures were announced on 28 July 2026.
Highlights of the season include: Derby Weekends – All fixtures scheduled for Round 4 are derby matches between local rivals – the Northern Derby (Sale Sharks v Newcastle Red Bulls), the West Country Derbies (Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester v Bath), the East Midlands Derby (Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers), and the London Derby (Harlequins v Saracens). Slater Cup – Leicester Tigers and Gloucester will contest the Slater Cup at Welford Road on 9 October 2026, and at Kingsholm Stadium on 28 March 2027, in honour of former Leicester and Gloucester player Ed Slater. Big Game 18 – Harlequins will host Northampton Saints in this season's edition of The Big Game at Twickenham Stadium on 28 December 2026, during Round 8. The Showdown 7 – Saracens will host Harlequins in this season's edition of The Showdown on 20 March 2027, during Round 11. Big Summer Kick-Off 7 – Harlequins will host Newcastle Red Bulls in this season's edition of the Big Summer Kick-Off at Twickenham Stadium in May 2027, during Round 15. Big Day Out – Bristol Bears will host Gloucester in the third edition of the Big Day Out at Millennium Stadium in April 2027, during Round 13.
Notes All fixtures are subject to change. Referees appointed to officiate Premiership matches are employed by the RFU, unless indicated otherwise.
Results
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4 (Derby Weekend)
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
Round 18
Play-offs As in previous seasons, the top four teams in the Premiership table, following the conclusion of the regular season, will 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 will then meet in the Premiership Final at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, London on 19 June 2027.
Semi-finals
Final
Leading scorers Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.
Most points
Rank Player Club Points 1 Finn Russell Bath 21 2 Louis Rees-Zammit Bristol 20 3 James Williams Bristol 18 4 Billy Searle Leicester 17 5 Fin Smith Northampton 16 6 George Barton Gloucester 15 Tommy Freeman Northampton Gabriel Hamer-Webb Leicester George Hendy Northampton Ben Loader Gloucester Tom O'Flaherty Sale James Pater Northampton Harry Randall Bristol
Most tries
Rank Player Club Tries 1 Louis Rees-Zammit Bristol 4 2 Tommy Freeman Northampton 3 Gabriel Hamer-Webb Leicester George Hendy Northampton Ben Loader Gloucester Tom O'Flaherty Sale James Pater Northampton Harry Randall Bristol 9 11 Players tied 2
Discipline Citings/bans Player Match Citing date Law breached Result Nick Isiekwe Leicester vs. Saracens(27 September 2026) 29 September 2026 9.13 – Dangerous Tackling(Red card) Red card rescinded Notes:
Broadcast coverage The competition will be broadcast by TNT Sports for the fourteenth consecutive year, all matches will be shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
In addition, seven matches per season will be broadcast free-to-air on ITV, including the final, across ITV1 and ITVX. All matches broadcast on ITV will be simulcast from TNT Sports.
Notes
References