2001–02 English Premiership (rugby union)

2001-2002 Zurich Premiership
Countries	England
Champions	Leicester Tigers (6th title)
Runners-up	Sale Sharks
Relegated	None
Matches played	139
Attendance	1,043,625 (average 7,508 per match)
← 2000–01 2002–03 →

The 2001-02 Zurich Premiership was the 15th season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions.

Leeds Tykes were promoted to replace the relegated Rotherham.

Halfway through the season, with Leicester odds-on to win their fourth title in succession, it was decided that the winners of the playoffs would be crowned champions. After a public outcry at moving the goalposts halfway through the tournament, this was not followed through. Instead, they launched the Zurich Championship, a play off competition involving 8 teams below the champions, providing the winner with a 'wildcard' European qualification. Leicester did finish top of the league and were crowned champions; their fourth title in succession and their sixth overall. Gloucester won the eight team Zurich Championship play-offs in 2001–02.

Leeds Tykes finished bottom of the table but avoided relegation due to the inadequacies of Rotherham's ground.

Participating teams

Bath

Bristol

Gloucester

Harlequins

Leeds

Leicester

L Irish

Newcastle

Northampton

Sale

Saracens

L Wasps

Locations of the 2001-02 Zurich Premiership teams

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
Bath	Bath	8,200	Bath, Somerset
Bristol Shoguns	Memorial Stadium	12,100	Bristol, Avon
Gloucester	Kingsholm	11,000	Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Harlequins	The Stoop	8,500	Twickenham, London
Leeds Tykes	Headingley Stadium	22,250	Leeds, West Yorkshire
Leicester Tigers	Welford Road	16,250	Leicester, Leicestershire
London Irish	Madejski Stadium	24,161	Reading, Berkshire
London Wasps	Loftus Road	18,439	Shepherd's Bush, London
Newcastle Falcons	Kingston Park	10,000	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Northampton Saints	Franklin's Gardens	11,700	Northampton, Northamptonshire
Sale	Heywood Road	5,400	Sale, Greater Manchester
Saracens	Vicarage Road	22,000	Watford, Hertfordshire

Table

	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Leicester Tigers (C)	22	18	0	4	658	349	+309	72	19	10	1	83
2	Sale Sharks	22	14	1	7	589	517	+72	67	47	9	2	69
3	Gloucester	22	14	0	8	692	485	+207	68	45	8	4	68
4	London Irish	22	11	3	8	574	465	+109	46	37	3	4	57
5	Northampton Saints	22	12	1	9	506	426	+80	48	36	4	2	56
6	Newcastle Falcons	22	12	1	9	490	458	+32	43	40	3	3	56
7	London Wasps	22	12	0	10	519	507	+12	42	41	3	3	54
8	Bristol Shoguns	22	9	1	12	591	632	-41	55	66	7	5	50
9	Harlequins	22	5	3	14	434	507	-73	33	52	5	4	35
10	Saracens	22	7	0	15	425	671	-246	33	68	1	5	34
11	Bath	22	7	0	15	311	524	-213	21	47	0	5	33
12	Leeds Tykes	22	6	0	16	406	654	-248	38	68	2	2	28
Source:Guinness Premiership Green background denotes qualification for the playoffs. These teams and those highlighted in blue qualified for the 2002–03 Heineken Cup. Leeds were spared relegation due to inadequacies of Rotherham's ground.

Results

Week 1

1 September 2001 15:00

Gloucester	22 - 9	Northampton Saints

Kingsholm Attendance: 8,682

1 September 2001 15:00

NEC Harlequins	21 - 32	London Irish

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,287

2 September 2001 14:00

Newcastle Falcons	19 - 16	Leicester Tigers

Kingston Park Attendance: 7,490

2 September 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	10 - 6	Bath Rugby

Headingley Attendance: 5,181

2 September 2001 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	25 - 35	Sale Sharks

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,020

2 September 2001 15:00

London Wasps	12 - 8	Saracens

Loftus Road Attendance: 5,929

Week 2

8 September 2001 14:00

NEC Harlequins	32 - 38	Bristol Shoguns

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 5,220

8 September 2001 14:00

Saracens	34 - 30	Gloucester

Vicarage Road Attendance: 7,262

8 September 2001 14:15

Leicester Tigers	45 - 15	London Wasps

Welford Road Attendance: 13,837

8 September 2001 15:00

Northampton Saints	26 - 7	Bath Rugby

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 10,241

8 September 2001 15:00

Sale Sharks	37 - 11	Newcastle Falcons

Heywood Road Attendance: 4,865

9 September 2001 15:00

London Irish	42 - 14	Leeds Tykes

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 4,219

Week 3

15 September 2001 14:15

Bath Rugby	20 - 27	Saracens

Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,968

15 September 2001 15:00

Gloucester	18 - 40	Leicester Tigers

Kingsholm Attendance: 9,729

16 September 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	6 - 26	Northampton Saints

Headingley Attendance: 4,080

16 September 2001 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	6 - 6	NEC Harlequins

Kingston Park Attendance: 5,551

16 September 2001 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	19 - 19	London Irish

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,000

16 September 2001 15:00

London Wasps	21 - 40	Sale Sharks

Loftus Road Attendance: 4,403

Week 4

22 September 2001 13:00

Leicester Tigers	48 - 9	Bath Rugby

Welford Road Attendance: 15,145

22 September 2001 15:00

NEC Harlequins	33 - 13	London Wasps

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 6,698

22 September 2001 15:00

Sale Sharks	21 - 44	Gloucester

Heywood Road Attendance: 4,682

23 September 2001 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	34 - 29	Leeds Tykes

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,632

23 September 2001 15:00

London Irish	18 - 22	Newcastle Falcons

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 5,419

23 September 2001 15:00

Saracens	25 - 20	Northampton Saints

Vicarage Road Attendance: 8,527

Week 5

13 October 2001 14:15

Bath Rugby	20 - 17	Sale Sharks

Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,875

13 October 2001 15:00

Gloucester	33 - 7	NEC Harlequins

Kingsholm Attendance: 8,005

13 October 2001 15:00

Northampton Saints	11 - 21	Leicester Tigers

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 11,700

14 October 2001 13:30

London Wasps	15 - 20	London Irish

Loftus Road Attendance: 5,101

14 October 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	27 - 14	Saracens

Headingley Attendance: 3,328

14 October 2001 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	37 - 20	Bristol Shoguns

Kingston Park Attendance: 4,401

Week 6

20 October 2001 12:35

Sale Sharks	34 - 14	Northampton Saints

Heywood Road Attendance: 3,612

20 October 2001 13:00

Leicester Tigers	36 - 10	Saracens

Welford Road Attendance: 13,762

20 October 2001 13:00

NEC Harlequins	15 - 8	Bath Rugby

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 5,428

21 October 2001 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	19 - 8	Leeds Tykes

Kingston Park Attendance: 4,248

21 October 2001 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	43 - 22	London Wasps

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,174

21 October 2001 15:00

London Irish	19 - 15	Gloucester

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 5,937

Week 7

9 November 2001 19:30

Northampton Saints	13 - 13	NEC Harlequins

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 8,667

10 November 2001 12:30

Gloucester	51 - 17	Bristol Shoguns

Kingsholm Attendance: 8,431

11 November 2001 14:15

Bath Rugby	19 - 11	London Irish

Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,656

11 November 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	37 - 16	Leicester Tigers

Headingley Attendance: 7,162

11 November 2001 15:00

London Wasps	30 - 33	Newcastle Falcons

Loftus Road Attendance: 3,955

11 November 2001 15:00

Saracens	26 - 25	Sale Sharks

Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,059

Week 8

16 November 2001 19:45

NEC Harlequins	43 - 6	Saracens

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 6,450

17 November 2001 12:30

Sale Sharks	3 - 37	Leicester Tigers

Heywood Road Attendance: 5,429

18 November 2001 14:05

London Wasps	64 - 14	Leeds Tykes

Loftus Road Attendance: 3,507

18 November 2001 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	18 - 16	Gloucester

Kingston Park Attendance: 5,576

18 November 2001 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	31 - 17	Bath Rugby

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 10,021

18 November 2001 15:00

London Irish	48 - 12	Northampton Saints

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 5,191

Week 9

22 November 2001 19:45

Saracens	13 - 55	London Irish

Vicarage Road Attendance: 5,216

23 November 2001 19:30

Gloucester	43 - 13	London Wasps

Kingsholm Attendance: 10,171

23 November 2001 19:30

Leicester Tigers	23 - 18	NEC Harlequins

Welford Road Attendance: 16,017

25 November 2001 14:15

Bath Rugby	24 - 9	Newcastle Falcons

Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,903

25 November 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	20 - 47	Sale Sharks

Headingley Attendance: 3,489

25 November 2001 14:30

Northampton Saints	20 - 23	Bristol Shoguns

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 7,873

Week 10

1 December 2001 14:00

Gloucester	58 - 17	Leeds Tykes

Kingsholm Attendance: 7,516

1 December 2001 15:00

NEC Harlequins	16 - 23	Sale Sharks

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 5,841

2 December 2001 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	13 - 28	Northampton Saints

Kingston Park Attendance: 5,048

2 December 2001 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	22 - 25	Saracens

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,450

2 December 2001 15:00

London Irish	15 - 30	Leicester Tigers

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 11,124

2 December 2001 15:00

London Wasps	23 - 10	Bath Rugby

Loftus Road Attendance: 6,240

Week 11

8 December 2001 14:05

Sale Sharks	19 - 19	London Irish

Heywood Road Attendance: 4,775

8 December 2001 14:15

Bath Rugby	12 - 9	Gloucester

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

8 December 2001 14:15

Leicester Tigers	26 - 19	Bristol Shoguns

Welford Road Attendance: 15,519

8 December 2001 15:00

Northampton Saints	23 - 10	London Wasps

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 8,833

9 December 2001 14:00

Saracens	19 - 24	Newcastle Falcons

Vicarage Road Attendance: 7,294

9 December 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	23 - 18	NEC Harlequins

Headingley Attendance: 3,401

Week 12

22 December 2001 14:00

NEC Harlequins	21 - 38	Leicester Tigers

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 9,000

23 December 2001 15:00

London Irish	30 - 23	Saracens

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 8,246

Week 13

27 December 2001 15:00

Leicester Tigers	33 - 10	Sale Sharks

Welford Road Attendance: 16,250

29 December 2001 14:00

Bath Rugby	15 - 9	Bristol Shoguns

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

29 December 2001 14:00

Gloucester	29 - 25	Newcastle Falcons

Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

29 December 2001 15:00

Northampton Saints	24 - 15	London Irish

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 10,322

30 December 2001 14:30

Leeds Tykes	18 - 28	London Wasps

Headingley Attendance: 5,166

30 December 2001 15:00

Saracens	39 - 25	NEC Harlequins

Vicarage Road Attendance: 13,257

Week 14

26 January 2002 15:00

NEC Harlequins	16 - 24	Northampton Saints

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 5,882

27 January 2002 13:00

Newcastle Falcons	22 - 23	London Wasps

Kingston Park Attendance: 4,658

Week 15

9 February 2002 14:15

Bath Rugby	18 - 9	NEC Harlequins

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

9 February 2002 15:00

Gloucester	29 - 22	London Irish

Kingsholm Attendance: 10,112

9 February 2002 15:00

Northampton Saints	10 - 20	Sale Sharks

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 9,389

9 February 2002 18:30

Saracens	7 - 48	Leicester Tigers

Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,347

10 February 2002 14:30

Leeds Tykes	9 - 19	Newcastle Falcons

Headingley Attendance: 4,195

10 February 2002 15:00

London Wasps	34 - 16	Bristol Shoguns

Loftus Road Attendance: 5,429

Week 16

23 February 2002 13:30

Sale Sharks	20 - 14	Bath Rugby

Heywood Road Attendance: 5,392

23 February 2002 14:15

Leicester Tigers	17 - 6	Northampton Saints

Welford Road Attendance: 16,251

23 February 2002 15:00

NEC Harlequins	6 - 18	Gloucester

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 8,000

24 February 2002 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	33 - 17	Newcastle Falcons

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 5,021

24 February 2002 15:00

London Irish	31 - 17	London Wasps

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 7,848

24 February 2002 15:00

Saracens	15 - 37	Leeds Tykes

Vicarage Road Attendance: 4,325

Week 17

9 March 2002 14:15

Bath Rugby	9 - 27	Leicester Tigers

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

9 March 2002 15:00

Gloucester	42 - 14	Sale Sharks

Kingsholm Attendance: 9,461

10 March 2002 14:30

Leeds Tykes	24 - 6	Bristol Shoguns

Headingley Attendance: 2,034

Week 18

16 March 2002 15:00

Leicester Tigers	27 - 10	Gloucester

Welford Road Attendance: 16,250

16 March 2002 15:00

London Irish	24 - 13	Bristol Shoguns

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 12,873

16 March 2002 15:00

NEC Harlequins	33 - 19	Newcastle Falcons

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 6,525

16 March 2002 15:00

Northampton Saints	34 - 14	Leeds Tykes

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 8,366

16 March 2002 15:00

Sale Sharks	27 - 22	London Wasps

Heywood Road Attendance: 5,118

17 March 2002 15:00

Saracens	33 - 11	Bath Rugby

Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,828

Week 19

30 March 2002 14:00

Gloucester	36 - 13	Saracens

Kingsholm Attendance: 9,262

30 March 2002 14:15

Bath Rugby	11 - 29	Northampton Saints

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,200

31 March 2002 14:30

Leeds Tykes	24 - 29	London Irish

Headingley Attendance: 3,392

31 March 2002 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	30 - 10	Sale Sharks

Kingston Park Attendance: 6,512

31 March 2002 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	43 - 27	NEC Harlequins

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 5,618

31 March 2002 15:00

London Wasps	36 - 24	Leicester Tigers

Loftus Road Attendance: 9,621

Week 20

10 April 2002 19:30

London Wasps	44 - 9	Gloucester

Loftus Road Attendance: 5,769

10 April 2002 20:00

London Irish	31 - 15	Bath Rugby

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 6,055

13 April 2002 14:15

Bath Rugby	23 - 12	Leeds Tykes

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,129

13 April 2002 14:30

Northampton Saints	58 - 21	Gloucester

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 9,138

13 April 2002 15:00

Leicester Tigers	20 - 12	Newcastle Falcons

Welford Road Attendance: 16,250

13 April 2002 15:00

Sale Sharks	53 - 47	Bristol Shoguns

Heywood Road Attendance: 3,609

14 April 2002 15:00

London Irish	18 - 18	NEC Harlequins

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 6,803

14 April 2002 15:00

Saracens	14 - 20	London Wasps

Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,431

Week 21

19 April 2002 19:45

Leicester Tigers	31 - 10	Leeds Tykes

Welford Road Attendance: 14,145

19 April 2002 19:45

Sale Sharks	23 - 3	Saracens

Heywood Road Attendance: 3,497

21 April 2002 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	40 - 41	Gloucester

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,066

Week 22

26 April 2002 19:35

London Wasps	16 - 6	NEC Harlequins

Loftus Road Attendance: 8,388

27 April 2002 15:00

Northampton Saints	52 - 27	Saracens

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 8,479

28 April 2002 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	36 - 9	Bath Rugby

Kingston Park Attendance: 5,430

Week 23

3 May 2002 19:45

NEC Harlequins	40 - 16	Leeds Tykes

Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 7,255

4 May 2002 15:00

Gloucester	68 - 12	Bath Rugby

Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000

4 May 2002 15:00

London Wasps	17 - 6	Northampton Saints

Loftus Road Attendance: 6,133

5 May 2002 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	47 - 18	Saracens

Kingston Park Attendance: 6,083

5 May 2002 15:00

Bristol Shoguns	38 - 21	Leicester Tigers

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 6,500

5 May 2002 15:00

London Irish	32 - 36	Sale Sharks

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 6,076

Week 24

8 May 2002 19:30

Newcastle Falcons	33 - 28	London Irish

Kingston Park Attendance: 5,218

8 May 2002 19:45

Sale Sharks	35 - 20	Leeds Tykes

Heywood Road Attendance: 3,871

8 May 2002 20:00

Bristol Shoguns	27 - 37	Northampton Saints

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,002

12 May 2002 15:00

Bath Rugby	22 - 24	London Wasps

Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,000

12 May 2002 15:00

Leeds Tykes	17 - 50	Gloucester

Headingley Attendance: 4,144

12 May 2002 15:00

Leicester Tigers	34 - 16	London Irish

Welford Road Attendance: 15,800

12 May 2002 15:00

Northampton Saints	24 - 19	Newcastle Falcons

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 9,292

12 May 2002 15:00

Sale Sharks	40 - 11	NEC Harlequins

Heywood Road Attendance: 5,678

12 May 2002 15:00

Saracens	26 - 28	Bristol Shoguns

Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,726

Playoff

Seeding

Seed	Team	Table points	Wins	Points diff
1	Leicester Tigers	83	18	+309
2	Sale Sharks	69	14	+72
3	Gloucester	68	14	+207
4	London Irish	57	11	+109
5	Northampton Saints	56	12	+80
6	Newcastle Falcons	56	12	+32
7	London Wasps	54	12	+12
8	Bristol Shoguns	50	9	−32

Quarter-finals

18 May 2002

Leicester Tigers	13 – 27	Bristol Shoguns
	Report

Welford Road Attendance: 4,771 Referee: Chris White

18 May 2002

Gloucester	60 – 9	Newcastle Falcons
	Report

Kingsholm Attendance: 5,776 Referee: Steve Lander

19 May 2002

London Irish	14 – 38	Northampton Saints
	Report

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 3,336 Referee: Dave Pearson

19 May 2002

Sale Sharks	43 – 27	London Wasps
	Report

Heywood Road Attendance: 3,283 Referee: Tony Spreadbury

Semi-finals

1 June 2002

Bristol Shoguns	32 – 24	Northampton Saints
	report

Memorial Ground Attendance: 5,292 Referee: Chris White

2 June 2002

Sale Sharks	11 – 33	Gloucester
	Report

Heywood Road Attendance: 4,298 Referee: Steve Lander

Final

8 June 2002

Bristol Shoguns	23 – 28	Gloucester
	Report

Twickenham Attendance: 28,500 Referee: Roy Maybank

Total Season Attendances

Club	Home Games	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Bath	11	88,531	8,048	8,200	7,656	98%
Bristol Shoguns	12	63,796	5,316	10,021	3,632	44%
Gloucester	12	109,145	9,095	11,000	5,776	83%
Harlequins	11	73,586	6,690	9,000	5,220	78%
Leeds Tykes	11	45,572	4,143	7,162	2,034	19%
Leicester Tigers	12	173,997	14,500	16,251	4,771	89%
London Irish	12	83,127	6,927	12,873	3,336	29%
London Wasps	11	64,475	5,861	9,621	3,507	32%
Newcastle Falcons	11	60,215	5,474	7,490	4,248	55%
Northampton Saints	11	102,300	9,300	11,700	7,873	79%
Sale Sharks	13	58,109	4,470	5,678	3,283	82%
Saracens	11	92,272	8,388	13,257	4,325	38%