2014–15 Aviva Premiership | |
---|---|
Countries | England |
Date | 5 September 2014 – 30 May 2015 |
Champions | Saracens |
Runners-up | Bath |
Relegated | London Welsh |
Matches played | 135 |
Attendance | 1,804,914 (average 13,370 per match) |
Tries scored | 709 (average 5.252 per match) |
Top point scorer |
Andy Goode (Wasps) (240 points) |
Top try scorer |
Thomas Waldrom (Exeter) (16 tries) |
Official website | |
www |
|
← 2013–14
2015–16 →
|
The 2014–15 Aviva Premiership was the 28th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition, and the fifth to be sponsored by Aviva. The competition was broadcast by BT Sport for the second successive season, showing sixty-nine live matches. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown on ITV.
The reigning champions entering the season were Northampton Saints, who claimed their first title after defeating Saracens in the 2013–14 final. Northampton were unable to defend their title, as Saracens avenged their previous defeat with a 29–24 win in the play-off semi-final. Saracens – who finished fourth and only made the play-offs on the final day of the season – went on to win their second Premiership title, beating Bath 28–16 in the final.
Worcester Warriors, having finished bottom of the 2013–14 table, were relegated to the RFU Championship. They were replaced by London Welsh, who made an immediate return to the Premiership, having beaten Bristol in the 2013–14 RFU Championship play-off final. These places were reversed at the end of the season; London Welsh were relegated after losing all 22 games during the 2014–15 season and scoring just one point in the competition – the worst season statistically in the competition's history – while Worcester Warriors defeated Bristol 59–58 over the two-legged Championship play-off final.
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
The Premiership Rugby Sevens Series continued with the 2014 edition. In a change to the format, the series was expanded to include the four Welsh Regions. As a result, the series began on 26 July 2014, at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, continuing at Kingsholm, Franklin's Gardens and Kingston Park on 31 July, 1 August and 2 August 2014 respectively. The finals were on 8 August 2014 at the Twickenham Stoop. This was the first opportunity of the season for any of the teams competing in the Premiership to win a trophy.