2009–10 Premiership Rugby
Introduction 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 Carnege 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 Stadium 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 ClubPoints 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 ClubTries 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