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2019/20 Gallagher Premiership fixtures released
Premiership Rugby has confirmed that the new Gallagher Premiership Rugby season will kick off on Friday, October 18, at Ashton Gate with Bristol Bears taking on Bath Rugby.
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The West Country derby is part of a compelling first round of Gallagher Premiership action on the same weekend as the World Cup quarter-finals in Japan.
Gallagher Premiership Rugby – Round One
Friday 18 October – Bristol Bears v Bath Rugby (7.45pm, BT Sport);
Saturday 19 October – Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins (3pm, BT Sport), Sale Sharks v Gloucester Rugby (3pm), Saracens v Northampton Saints (3pm), Worcester Warriors v Leicester Tigers (3pm);
Sunday 20 October – Wasps v London Irish (3pm, BT Sport).
(Continue reading below…)
Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better start than Bath. When we launched Gallagher Premiership Rugby last year it was a huge, full house at Ashton Gate with both sets of supporters, the weather was good, we played good rugby and obviously got the win – it was a magical night.
“To be asked to do it again – you’ve got supporters from both sets who were there, there are people who missed out and heard about it, so there’s no doubt they’ll want to be there. There’s a good rivalry. All we’ve got to do is play our part in it and make sure we’re at our best.”
Premiership Rugby will break new ground in the 2019-20 season by staging the first rugby match at the new £1billion Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which will also host the Heineken Cup Champions Cup Final in 2021.
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We're LIVE at the BT Tower as we reveal the #GallagherPrem 2019-20 fixtures https://t.co/vSDp8fAvJv
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) July 10, 2019
The release of the Gallagher Premiership Rugby fixtures confirms that the Gallagher Premiership Rugby champions, Saracens, will play Harlequins on Saturday, March 28, at the 62,000-seater state of the art stadium in north London.
“I look forward to all the big games – I love them!” said Saracens assistant Alex Sanderson. “There’s no better place to play Harlequins than the big stadiums. I’m really looking forward to going down there. The boys have been there, and they’ve said it’s worth every penny of the billion pounds it cost.”
The clash with Harlequins is one of the red-letter dates in the Gallagher Premiership calendar. It has been staged at Wembley Stadium and the London Stadium before moving into its exciting new home.
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Sanderson added: “When we started using the bigger stadiums people said we wouldn’t get any crowds, then we started getting 60,000, 80,000, and these younger lads that are coming through – they won’t get that kind of experience – for some of them it’ll be the biggest game they’ll play ever.
“It’s a great experience before you start getting to semi-finals and finals. It’s good preparation for the whole team, but certainly for the young lads to get that exposure on the big stage which is slightly out of their comfort zone and where they have to focus on their game. “
Saracens start the defence of their title with a repeat of the 2014 final at home to Northampton Saints. Sanderson added: “There are two big fixtures to start us off given how well Northampton Saints are doing and the comeback that Leicester Tigers are going to make. We’re pretty big targets for both teams.
Happy @premrugby fixtures day! ?
Who do you think Saracens will face on the opening day? ???? pic.twitter.com/1vJ6cSyEuj
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) July 10, 2019
“The opener is going to be a tough game. Saints have made massive strides with Chris Boyd – he’s a good coach. He’s put real confidence into some of his younger players as well – particularly in the backline. If you look at the stats, they’re probably the best-attacking team in terms of yardage.
“They’re able to score long-distance tries with some of the attacking prowess of a team almost in the Hurricanes making, it’s that kind of style that means they’re able to score from anywhere.
“And that’s just off the back of one season – the longer you work together the better you fit together, and I can only imagine that that’s going to be up a level again with another pre-season. For a defence coach, that’s worrying – how you’re going to be able to contain them.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzc4HrsHulR/
Promoted side London Irish start their campaign on Sunday, October 20, at the Ricoh Arena against Wasps with their first home match against Sale Sharks on October 26, their last season at Madejski Stadium before the move to Brentford.
“There’s excitement on many levels. It’s our last season at Madejski Stadium so we need to make sure we do that justice for the supporters but then if we get it right we’re moving to Brentford and there’s a massive opportunity there,” said London Irish head coach Les Kiss.
“First and foremost, we want to survive because we want to be a club that’s sustainable at the next level. Wasps is a pretty tough place to go. They’ve got some changes in their team, they’ve lost a few but you look at what they’ve signed, it’ll be a tough gig for sure. It’s a handy enough start for us to see where we are.”
“Sale really have strengthened. They’re a team that’s probably going to see a huge rise in their fortunes this year. They were close to it last season and the way they’ve strengthened with the du Preez brothers and they’ve obviously got the Curry boys too.
“A few of them will be missing early in the season when we play them but they’re a team on the rise. To get them at first, hopefully that falls in our favour.”
To help supporters plan ahead Premiership Rugby has been able to work with BT Sport to ensure all Gallagher Premiership Rugby fixtures up to and including January 5 have already been confirmed six months in advance.
As proud partners of @premrugby we were delighted with our inaugural #GallagherPremFinal?? at @twickenhamstad.
Congratulations to both @Saracens and @ExeterChiefs, for both performing brilliantly!
Take a look at what we got up to here ???? pic.twitter.com/LuxHt8xLvU
— Gallagher UK (@GallagherUK) June 6, 2019
A Premiership Rugby spokesperson said: “It’s not easy to deliver, but we make a commitment to our fans to announce fixtures as early as possible as we know they need time to plan. Without BT Sport’s co-operation it would not be possible.”
The top flight season kicks off in England on Friday, September 13, with the Premiership Rugby 7s – contested by all 12 Gallagher Premiership Rugby – sides with the first match in the Premiership Rugby Cup taking place on Friday, September 20.
WATCH: Going Pro, the RugbyPass behind the scenes documentary on the title-winning Saracens women’s team
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments