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The Gallagher Premiership Rugby is a professional rugby union competition in England. It is also known as the Gallagher Premiership or Premiership Rugby and is the top division of the English rugby union system. The Premiership clubs qualify for Europe’s two main club competitions: European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup. The club which finishes at the bottom of the Premiership each season is relegated to the second division called the RFU Championship while the winner of the latter is promoted to the Premiership during the next term.
The competition has been held since 1987 and currently, the Premiership is composed of 12 teams. The 2019-20 Premiership Rugby will begin on September 20, 2019, and will end on June 20, 2020. It will be the 33rd season of Premiership Rugby and is sponsored by Gallagher, hence the name Gallagher Premiership Rugby.
The regular season consists of 22 matches per team with each team playing the other teams twice in a home and away format. A team is awarded four points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat. An extra one point is given to a losing team which loses the match by seven points or fewer and an additional one point bonus is given to a team which scored four tries or more in a match.
After the regular season, the Top 4 teams in the Premiership table will advance to the playoffs where they will be paired as 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. The top two teams will have home advantage. The winners of the semifinals will then meet in the Premiership Grand Final which is scheduled for June 20, 2020, at Twickenham.
Saracens are the current Premiership Champions after defeating the Exeter Chiefs in the 2019 Premiership Grand Final. The Leicester Tigers are the winningest team in Premiership Rugby with a total of 10 titles although they have not won since 2012-13. Bath and Wasps are next with six Premiership titles each. Saracens are fourth with four total titles.
Saracens are the current betting favorites to win the 2020 Premiership title at -125. They are followed by last year’s losing Grand Finalist in the Exeter Chiefs at +225. Here are the odds to win the 2019-20 Rugby Union Gallagher Premiership. These odds were taken from TitanBet as of 7/25/19:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Saracens | -125 |
| Exeter Chiefs | +225 |
| Gloucester Rugby | +1600 |
| Northampton Saints | +1600 |
| Leicester Tigers | +2000 |
| Wasps | +2200 |
| Bath Rugby | +2500 |
| Harlequins | +2500 |
| Sale Sharks | +2500 |
| Bristol Bears | +4000 |
| London Irish | +5000 |
| Worcester Warriors | +5000 |
Who are the Favorites?
Saracens are the current rugby betting favorites to win the 2020 Premiership Rugby title. Saracens are the reigning back to back champions after defeating the Exeter Chiefs 37-34 in the 2018-19 Final. The win was Saracens’ fourth title in the last five years and fifth overall.
The Exeter Chiefs are the runners-up from 2018-19 after losing 34-37 to Saracens in the Final. We talked about Saracens winning the title in four out of the last five seasons and the Chiefs are the team that prevented them from possibly winning five in a row by defeating Saracens in the 2017 semifinals en route to winning the 2017 Premiership title.
Gloucester Rugby finished 3rd in 2018-19 to qualify for the 2019-20 European Rugby Champions Cup. Gloucester made three finals appearances in four European Rugby Challenge Cups from 2015-2018, winning the cup in 2015. When it comes to the Premiership, Gloucester has never won it before.
The Northampton Saints secured their first Top 4 finish since 2015 under new boss Chris Boyd. They also defeated Saracens 23-9 to win the inaugural Premiership Rugby Cup earlier this year. Northampton has won the Premiership only once before and that was in 2014.
The Leicester Tigers are the winningest team in the history of the premiership. The Tigers have won a total of 10 Premiership titles overall but they have not tasted victory since 2014. The Tigers 11th during the 2018-19 tournament which is their worst ever finish in the tournament.
Who Wins?
The last three Premiership finals were played between Saracens and the Exeter Chiefs with Saracens winning twice and Exeter once. Last season, these two teams were at least 10 points and at least three wins clear of the third-placed team Gloucester. The point difference in 2019 is three more than 2018 which only means that these two teams dominated the previous term and which also means they may be pulling away from the rest of the field. That said, I think this year’s Final will be between these two teams again. And I think that the team which has won four out of the last five years is the safe bet to make here. So yeah, I’m picking Saracens to win the Premiership title in 2019-20. Prediction: Saracens
