| 2015–16 Aviva Premiership | |
| Champions: | Saracens (3rd title) |
| Runnersup: | Exeter Chiefs |
| Relegated: | London Irish |
| Matches: | 135 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Gareth Steenson (Exeter) (258 points) |
| Top Try Scorer: | Thomas Waldrom (Exeter) (13 tries) |
| Website: | www.premiershiprugby.com |
| Prevseason: | 2014–15 |
| Nextseason: | 2016–17 |
The 2015–16 Aviva Premiership was the 29th season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the sixth one to be sponsored by Aviva. The reigning champions entering the season were Saracens, who had claimed their second title after defeating Bath in the 2015 final. Worcester Warriors had been promoted as champions from the 2014–15 RFU Championship at the first attempt.
The competition was broadcast by BT Sport for the third successive season. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown on ITV4.
Saracens won their third title after defeating Exeter Chiefs in the final at Twickenham having also topped the regular season table. London Irish were relegated after being unable to win their penultimate game of the season. It was the second time that London Irish have been relegated from the top flight since the leagues began and the first time since the 1993–94 Premiership Rugby season.
The competition began slightly later than normal, due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup taking place in England and in a slight change to usual, the London Double Header at Twickenham, the twelfth instance since its inception in 2004, was played in round 5 instead of round 1.
This season was the first of several significant changes to the Premiership's salary cap regulations:[1] [2]
In addition to the above, a standard cap provision applicable only in Rugby World Cup years, gave each club a £35,000 cap credit (up from £30,000 in the last World Cup season of 2011–12)[2] for each member of the senior squad who participated in the tournament.
Twelve teams compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and Worcester Warriors who were promoted from the 2014–15 RFU Championship after a top flight absence of one year. They replaced London Welsh who were relegated after one year in the top flight.
| Club | Director of Rugby / Head Coach | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | The Recreation Ground | align=center | 13,516 | Bath, Somerset | |||
| Exeter Chiefs | Sandy Park | align=center | 12,300 | Exeter, Devon | |||
| Gloucester | Kingsholm Stadium | align=center | 16,121 | Gloucester | |||
| Harlequins | Twickenham Stoop | align=center | 14,816 | Twickenham, Greater London | |||
| Leicester Tigers | Welford Road | align=center | 25,800 | Leicester | |||
| London Irish | Madejski Stadium | align=center | 24,161 | Reading, Berkshire | |||
| Newcastle Falcons | Kingston Park | align=center | 10,200 | Newcastle, Tyne and Wear | |||
| Northampton Saints | Franklin's Gardens | align=center | 15,500 | Northampton | |||
| Sale Sharks | AJ Bell Stadium | align=center | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester | |||
| Saracens | Allianz Park | align=center | 10,000 | Hendon, Greater London | |||
| Wasps | Ricoh Arena | align=center | 32,609 | Coventry, West Midlands | |||
| Worcester Warriors | Sixways Stadium | align=center | 12,024 | Worcester |
The 2015 edition of the Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens was held in August. Once again, the four Welsh Regions contested a group, alongside the twelve Premiership clubs, which were split into three groups. The top two sides from each group contested the series final at the Twickenham Stoop on 28 August. The series was won by Welsh region Newport Gwent Dragons who beat Premiership side Wasps in the final.
Fixtures for the season were announced by Premiership Rugby at 11am on 3 July 2015.[3] Unlike previous seasons, the London Double Header would not take place in round 1 because Twickenham Stadium was being used for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but would instead take place during round 5, on 28 November 2015.[4]
One game during this season was played on foreign soil, in the United States. The London Irish v Saracens match – played in Round 16 on 12 March 2016 – took place at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.[5]
This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 9, on 8 January 2016 – was postponed due to a European Rugby Champions Cup fixture rearrangement that occurred as a result of the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015. It was further rescheduled from 13 April 2016, after Sale Sharks were eliminated from the European Rugby Challenge Cup.[6]
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 28 May 2016.
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| Man of the Match: Alex Goode (Saracens) Assistant referees: |
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
Source:[7]
| Rank | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 258 | ||
| 2 | 185 | ||
| 3 | 182 | ||
| 4 | 173 | ||
| 5 | 154 | ||
| 6 | 153 | ||
| 7 | 143 | ||
| 8 | 129 | ||
| 9 | 122 | ||
| 10 | 118 | ||
Source:[8]
| Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | ||
| 2 | 12 | ||
| Wasps | |||
| 4 | 11 | ||
| 5 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 9 | ||
| Newcastle Falcons | |||
| Exeter Chiefs | |||
| Leicester Tigers | |||
| Harlequins | |||
| Worcester Warriors | |||
The winners of the 2016 Premiership Rugby Awards were announced on 18 May 2016.[9]
| Nominee | width=80 | Club | width=70 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alex Goode | ||||
| Saracens | ||||
| Saracens | ||||
| Wasps | ||||
| Wasps | ||||
| Exeter | ||||
| Nominee | width=80 | Club | width=70 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Maro Itoje | ||||
| Northampton | ||||
| Saracens | ||||
| Sale | ||||
| Northampton | ||||
| Leicester | ||||
| Nominee | width=80 | Club | width=70 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mark McCall | ||||
| Sale | ||||
| Saracens | ||||
| Wasps | ||||
| Nominee | width=80 | Club | width=70 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John O'Donnell | ||||
| Worcester | ||||
| Saracens | ||||
| Sale | ||||
| Newcastle | ||||
| Nationality | width=140 | Player | width=80 | Position | width=80 | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mako Vunipola | Saracens | ||||
| 2 | Mike Haywood | Northampton | ||||
| 3 | Vadim Cobîlaș | Sale | ||||
| 4 | Maro Itoje | Saracens | ||||
| 5 | George Kruis | Saracens | ||||
| 6 | Teimana Harrison | Northampton | ||||
| 7 | George Smith | Wasps | ||||
| 8 | Billy Vunipola | Saracens | ||||
| Nationality | width=140 | Player | width=80 | Position | width=80 | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Francois Hougaard | Worcester | ||||
| 10 | Gareth Steenson | Exeter | ||||
| 11 | Telusa Veainu | Leicester | ||||
| 12 | Charles Piutau | Wasps | ||||
| 13 | Elliot Daly | Wasps | ||||
| 14 | Jack Nowell | Exeter | ||||
| 15 | Alex Goode | Saracens | ||||
