2005–06 Premiership Rugby

The 2005–06 Guinness Premiership was the 19th season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between September 2005 and May 2006. The final was contested by the Sale Sharks and the Leicester Tigers at Twickenham. Sale Sharks won 45–20 to win the Premiership. Leeds Tykes were relegated, whilst Harlequins were promoted for the 2006-07 Guinness Premiership.

2005–06 Guinness Premiership
Countries	England
Champions	Sale Sharks (1st title)
Runners-up	Leicester Tigers
Relegated	Leeds Tykes
Matches played	135
Attendance	1,483,920 (average 10,992 per match)
Top point scorer	Charlie Hodgson (248 points)
Top try scorer	Tom Varndell (14 tries)

As per a tradition started in the previous year, two of the opening games of the season (round 1) were played at Twickenham, in the 2005 London Double Header.

Participating teams

Bath

Bristol

Gloucester

Leeds

Leicester

L Irish

Newcastle

Northampton

Sale

Saracens

L Wasps

Worcester

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Locations of the 2005-06 Guinness Premiership teams

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
Bath	Recreation Ground	10,600	Bath, Somerset
Bristol	Memorial Stadium	12,100	Bristol
Gloucester	Kingsholm	12,500	Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Leeds Tykes	Headingley Stadium	22,250	Leeds, West Yorkshire
Leicester Tigers	Welford Road	16,815	Leicester, Leicestershire
London Irish	Madejski Stadium	24,161	Reading, Berkshire
London Wasps	The Causeway Stadium	10,000	High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Newcastle Falcons	Kingston Park	10,200	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Northampton Saints	Franklin's Gardens	13,600	Northampton, Northamptonshire
Sale	Edgeley Park	10,852	Stockport, Greater Manchester
Saracens	Vicarage Road	22,000	Watford, Hertfordshire
Worcester	Sixways	9,728	Worcester, Worcestershire

Notes

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Sale Sharks (C)	22	16	1	5	573	444	+129	52	42	6	2	74	Playoff place
2	Leicester Tigers (F)	22	14	3	5	518	415	+103	51	24	5	1	68
3	London Irish (SF)	22	14	0	8	493	454	+39	54	44	6	4	66
4	London Wasps (SF)	22	12	3	7	527	447	+80	53	42	7	3	64
5	Gloucester	22	11	1	10	483	385	+98	46	33	4	9	59	2006–07 Heineken Cup
6	Northampton Saints	22	10	1	11	464	488	−24	53	50	4	7	53
7	Newcastle Falcons	22	9	1	12	416	433	−17	42	44	3	6	47
8	Worcester Warriors	22	9	1	12	451	494	−43	40	56	3	6	47
9	Bath	22	9	1	12	441	494	−53	38	49	3	5	46
10	Saracens	22	8	1	13	433	483	−50	42	48	5	7	46
11	Bristol	22	8	1	13	393	445	−52	28	41	0	7	41
12	Leeds Tykes (R)	22	5	0	17	363	573	−210	36	62	1	7	28	Relegation place

Source: Guinness Premiership

Results

Round 1

2 September 2005 20:00

Sale Sharks	26–25	Newcastle Falcons

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,546

3 September 2005 14:00

London Wasps	23–11	Saracens

Twickenham Attendance: 35,000

3 September 2005 15:00

Leicester Tigers	32–0	Northampton Saints

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

3 September 2005 16:20

Leeds Tykes	11–27	London Irish

Twickenham Attendance: 35,000

4 September 2005 13:00

Bristol	19–16	Bath

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 11,760

4 September 2005 15:00

Worcester Warriors	15–15	Gloucester

Sixways Attendance: 9,728

Round 2

10 September 2005 14:15

Bath	9–17	Northampton Saints

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,060

10 September 2005 14:45

London Wasps	29–29	Leicester Tigers

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 8,459

10 September 2005 15:00

Gloucester	21–18	Sale Sharks

Kingsholm Attendance: 9,374

11 September 2005 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	14–16	Bristol

Kingston Park Attendance: 6,661

11 September 2005 15:00

London Irish	15–20	Worcester Warriors

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 7,118

11 September 2005 15:00

Saracens	34–16	Leeds Tykes

Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,190

Round 3

16 September 2005 20:00

Sale Sharks	29–3	London Irish

Edgeley Park Attendance: 7,246

17 September 2005 14:00

Worcester Warriors	25–24	Saracens

Sixways Attendance: 9,140

17 September 2005 14:45

Northampton Saints	9–16	Newcastle Falcons

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 12,018

17 September 2005 15:00

Leicester Tigers	40–26	Bath

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

18 September 2005 14:30

Leeds Tykes	23–47	London Wasps

Headingley Attendance: 4,544

18 September 2005 15:00

Bristol	9–41	Gloucester

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 11,558

Round 4

24 September 2005 14:45

Gloucester	28–24	Northampton Saints

Kingsholm Attendance: 11,156

24 September 2005 15:00

London Irish	24–22	Bristol

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 6,957

25 September 2005 14:30

Leeds Tykes	20–28	Leicester Tigers

Headingley Attendance: 7,143

25 September 2005 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	16–27	Bath

Kingston Park Attendance: 6,869

25 September 2005 15:00

London Wasps	34–20	Worcester Warriors

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 8,720

25 September 2005 15:00

Saracens	32–40	Sale Sharks

Vicarage Road Attendance: 7,132

Round 5

14 October 2005 19:45

Leicester Tigers	16–16	Newcastle Falcons

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

14 October 2005 20:00

Sale Sharks	18–10	London Wasps

Edgeley Park Attendance: 9,916

14 October 2005 20:00

Worcester Warriors	22–15	Leeds Tykes

Sixways Attendance: 9,626

15 October 2005 14:45

Bath	18–16	Gloucester

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

15 October 2005 15:00

Northampton Saints	25–23	London Irish

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,262

16 October 2005 15:00

Bristol	11–23	Saracens

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,068

Round 6

4 November 2005 20:00

London Wasps	21–16	Bristol

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 7,901

4 November 2005 20:00

Worcester Warriors	15–11	Leicester Tigers

Sixways Attendance: 9,776

5 November 2005 14:45

Leeds Tykes	11–17	Sale Sharks

Headingley Attendance: 4,206

5 November 2005 15:00

Gloucester	27–20	Newcastle Falcons

Kingsholm Attendance: 12,500

5 November 2005 15:00

London Irish	36–13	Bath

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,458

5 November 2005 15:00

Saracens	28–22	Northampton Saints

Vicarage Road Attendance: 8,524

Round 7

11 November 2005 19:45

Newcastle Falcons	20–23	London Irish

Kingston Park Attendance: 10,200

11 November 2005 20:00

Sale Sharks	24–13	Worcester Warriors

Edgeley Park Attendance: 7,056

12 November 2005 12:30

Northampton Saints	13–21	London Wasps

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,585

12 November 2005 15:00

Leicester Tigers	25–20	Gloucester

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

13 November 2005 14:15

Bath	12–12	Saracens

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,348

13 November 2005 15:00

Bristol	32–6	Leeds Tykes

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,648

Round 8

18 November 2005 20:00

Sale Sharks	24–16	Leicester Tigers

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,641

18 November 2005 20:00

Worcester Warriors	24–15	Bristol

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

20 November 2005 14:30

Leeds Tykes	28–25	Northampton Saints

Headingley Attendance: 4,564

20 November 2005 15:00

London Irish	25–10	Gloucester

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,027

20 November 2005 15:00

London Wasps	28–20	Bath

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 8,656

20 November 2005 15:00

Saracens	27–18	Newcastle Falcons

Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,413

Round 9

25 November 2005 19:45

Bath	12–16	Leeds Tykes

Recreation Ground Attendance: 9,957

25 November 2005 19:45

Leicester Tigers	35–3	London Irish

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

26 November 2005 12:30

Gloucester	19–8	Saracens

Kingsholm Attendance: 10,516

26 November 2005 12:30

Northampton Saints	21–22	Worcester Warriors

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 12,481

27 November 2005 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	17–15	London Wasps

Kingston Park Attendance: 7,379

27 November 2005 15:00

Bristol	22–14	Sale Sharks

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,518

Round 10

26 December 2005 14:00

Worcester Warriors	18–36	Bath

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

26 December 2005 15:00

London Wasps	32–25	Gloucester

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 10,000

26 December 2005 15:00

Sale Sharks	34–14	Northampton Saints

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,641

27 December 2005 14:30

Leeds Tykes	10–13	Newcastle Falcons

Headingley Attendance: 11,601

27 December 2005 15:00

Bristol	15–3	Leicester Tigers

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 11,916

27 December 2005 15:00

Saracens	19–20	London Irish

Vicarage Road Attendance: 12,923

Round 11

31 December 2005 14:45

London Irish	19–35	London Wasps

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 18,122

31 December 2005 15:00

Gloucester	31–7	Leeds Tykes

Kingsholm Attendance: 11,529

1 January 2006 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	21–15	Worcester Warriors

Kingston Park Attendance: 8,864

1 January 2006 15:00

Northampton Saints	29–22	Bristol

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,485

2 January 2006 14:15

Bath	9–21	Sale Sharks

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

2 January 2006 15:00

Leicester Tigers	34–27	Saracens

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

Round 12

7 January 2006 14:45

Worcester Warriors	11–15	Northampton Saints

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

8 January 2006 13:30

Saracens	9–19	Gloucester

Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,493

8 January 2006 14:30

Leeds Tykes	25–14	Bath

Headingley Attendance: 5,446

8 January 2006 15:00

London Irish	25–28	Leicester Tigers

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 11,096

8 January 2006 15:00

London Wasps	21–6	Newcastle Falcons

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 10,000

8 January 2006 15:00

Sale Sharks	31–29	Bristol

Edgeley Park Attendance: 9,686

Round 13

27 January 2006 19:45

Bristol	23–26	Worcester Warriors

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 9,058

28 January 2006 14:00

Bath	28–16	London Wasps

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

28 January 2006 15:00

Gloucester	9–13	London Irish

Kingsholm Attendance: 10,710

28 January 2006 15:00

Leicester Tigers	27–27	Sale Sharks

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

28 January 2006 15:00

Newcastle Falcons	21–16	Saracens

Kingston Park Attendance: 6,405

28 January 2006 15:00

Northampton Saints	21–18	Leeds Tykes

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,448

Round 14

10 February 2006 19:45

Gloucester	34–16	Leicester Tigers

Kingsholm Attendance: 12,500

10 February 2006 20:00

Leeds Tykes	26–16	Bristol

Headingley Attendance: 5,573

11 February 2006 14:00

Worcester Warriors	33–48	Sale Sharks

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

12 February 2006 15:00

London Irish	6–9	Newcastle Falcons

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,822

12 February 2006 15:00

London Wasps	19–19	Northampton Saints

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 8,143

12 February 2006 15:00

Saracens	29–34	Bath

Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,731

Round 15

17 February 2006 19:45

Leicester Tigers	28–22	Worcester Warriors

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

17 February 2006 20:00

Sale Sharks	35–24	Leeds Tykes

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,224

18 February 2006 14:15

Bath	28–33	London Irish

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

18 February 2006 14:45

Northampton Saints	58–17	Saracens

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,523

19 February 2006 13:30

Bristol	9–9	London Wasps

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 9,028

19 February 2006 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	9–13	Gloucester

Kingston Park Attendance: 7,284

Round 16

24 February 2006 19:45

Newcastle Falcons	24–16	Leicester Tigers

Kingston Park Attendance: 10,200

24 February 2006 20:00

Leeds Tykes	21–15	Worcester Warriors

Headingley Attendance: 3,718

25 February 2006 12:00

Gloucester	15–18	Bath

Kingsholm Attendance: 12,500

26 February 2006 13:00

London Irish	30–3	Northampton Saints

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,355

26 February 2006 15:00

London Wasps	26–16	Sale Sharks

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 10,000

26 February 2006 15:00

Saracens	13–19	Bristol

Vicarage Road Attendance: 5,216

Round 17

10 March 2006 19:45

Leicester Tigers	26–23	Leeds Tykes

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

10 March 2006 20:00

Sale Sharks	9–15	Saracens

Edgeley Park Attendance: 9,307

10 March 2006 20:00

Worcester Warriors	37–8	London Wasps

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

11 March 2006 14:15

Bath	20–18	Newcastle Falcons

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

11 March 2006 15:00

Northampton Saints	21–20	Gloucester

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,443

12 March 2006 13:00

Bristol	20–21	London Irish

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,258

Round 18

25 March 2006 14:15

Bath	12–19	Leicester Tigers

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

25 March 2006 14:45

London Irish	21–29	Sale Sharks

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 19,884

25 March 2006 15:00

Gloucester	15–20	Bristol

Kingsholm Attendance: 11,517

26 March 2006 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	13–32	Northampton Saints

Kingston Park Attendance: 7,364

26 March 2006 15:00

London Wasps	28–0	Leeds Tykes

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 8,186

26 March 2006 15:00

Saracens	29–15	Worcester Warriors

Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,011

Round 19

7 April 2006 20:00

Leeds Tykes	13–17	Saracens

Headingley Attendance: 4,899

8 April 2006 13:45

Sale Sharks	18–15	Gloucester

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,140

8 April 2006 14:00

Worcester Warriors	10–12	London Irish

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

8 April 2006 15:00

Northampton Saints	24–21	Bath

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,454

9 April 2006 15:00

Bristol	23–7	Newcastle Falcons

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 9,237

Round 20

14 April 2006 19:45

Northampton Saints	19–24	Leicester Tigers

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,493

15 April 2006 15:00

Gloucester	27–16	Worcester Warriors

Kingsholm Attendance: 12,500

15 April 2006 15:00

London Irish	28–24	Leeds Tykes

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 8,320

15 April 2006 17:15

Bath	31–16	Bristol

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,600

16 April 2006 14:30

Newcastle Falcons	32–21	Sale Sharks

Kingston Park Attendance: 9,018

16 April 2006 15:00

Saracens	13–12	London Wasps

Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,391

Rearranged fixture

22 April 2006 14:30

Leicester Tigers	20–19	London Wasps

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

Round 21

28 April 2006 19:45

Saracens	12–13	Leicester Tigers

Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,828

28 April 2006 20:00

Sale Sharks	38–12	Bath

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,641

29 April 2006 14:00

Worcester Warriors	35–27	Newcastle Falcons

Sixways Attendance: 9,726

30 April 2006 14:30

Leeds Tykes	7–31	Gloucester

Headingley Attendance: 4,452

30 April 2006 15:00

Bristol	16–19	Northampton Saints

Memorial Stadium Attendance: 9,862

30 April 2006 18:00

London Wasps	37–56	London Irish

The Causeway Stadium Attendance: 10,000

Round 22

6 May 2006 15:00

Bath	25–22	Worcester Warriors

Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,400

6 May 2006 15:00

Gloucester	32–37	London Wasps

Kingsholm Attendance: 12,500

6 May 2006 15:00

Leicester Tigers	32–3	Bristol

Welford Road Attendance: 16,815

6 May 2006 15:00

London Irish	30–18	Saracens

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 11,352

6 May 2006 15:00

Newcastle Falcons	54–19	Leeds Tykes

Kingston Park Attendance: 8,084

6 May 2006 15:00

Northampton Saints	34–36	Sale Sharks

Franklin’s Gardens Attendance: 13,577

Play-offs

Semi-finals

14 May 2006 13:30

Sale Sharks	22–12	London Wasps

Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,641

14 May 2006 16:00

Leicester Tigers	40–8	London Irish

Welford Road Attendance: 14,069

Final

27 May 2006 16:00

Sale Sharks	45–20	Leicester Tigers
Tries: Cueto 8' m Lund 17' m Oriol Ripol 40' c Mayor 80' c Con: Hodgson (1/3) Courrent (1/1) Pen: Hodgson (6) 3', 31', 45', 49', 64', 78' DG: Hodgson 71'	Report 1 Report 2	Tries: Moody 10' c Hamilton 70' c Con: Goode (2/2) Pen: Goode (2) 35', 43'

Twickenham Stadium Attendance: 58,000 Referee: Dave Pearson

Team details

Sale Sharks Leicester Tigers FB 15 Jason Robinson (c) RW 14 Mark Cueto OC 13 Mark Taylor  67' IC 12 Elvis Seveali'i LW 11 Oriol Ripol  78' FH 10 Charlie Hodgson SH 9 Richard Wigglesworth  74' N8 8 Sébastien Chabal OF 7 Magnus Lund BF 6 Jason White RL 5 Chris Jones  75' LL 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe  40' TP 3 Stuart Turner HK 2 Andy Titterell  52' LP 1 Lionel Faure  54' Replacements: HK 16 Sébastien Bruno  52' PR 17 Barry Stewart  54' LK 18 Dean Schofield  40' LK 19 Christian Day  75' SH 20 Ben Foden  74' FH 21 Valentin Courrent  78' CE 22 Chris Mayor  67' Coach: Philippe Saint-André FB 15 Geordan Murphy RW 14 Alesana Tuilagi  46' OC 13 Ollie Smith IC 12 Daryl Gibson LW 11 Tom Varndell FH 10 Andy Goode SH 9 Harry Ellis  52' N8 8 Martin Corry (c) OF 7 Shane Jennings  51' BF 6 Lewis Moody RL 5 Ben Kay LL 4 Leo Cullen  55' TP 3 Julian White HK 2 George Chuter  63' LP 1 Graham Rowntree  60' Replacements: HK 16 James Buckland  63' PR 17 Michael Holford  60' LK 18 Jim Hamilton  55' FL 19 Louis Deacon  51' SH 20 Austin Healey  52' WG 21 Leon Lloyd FB 22 Sam Vesty  46' Coach: Pat Howard

Sky Sports Dream Team 2005/06

15 Matt Burke (Newcastle Falcons) 14 Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers) 13 Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons) 12 Mike Catt (London Irish) 11 Tom Voyce (London Wasps) 10 Carlos Spencer (Northampton Saints) 9 Justin Marshall (Leeds Tykes) 1 Tony Windo (Worcester Warriors) 2 Mark Regan (Bristol) 3 Cobus Visagie (Saracens) 4 Danny Grewcock (Bath Rugby) 5 Ben Kay (Leicester Tigers) 6 Matt Salter (captain, Bristol) 7 Magnus Lund (Sale Sharks) 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón (London Irish)

Top scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who did not earn international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Most points

Source:

Rank	Name	Club	Points
1	Charlie Hodgson	Sale Sharks	248
2	Jason Strange	Bristol	244
3	Glen Jackson	Saracens	238
4	Shane Drahm	Worcester Warriors	233
5	Andy Goode	Leicester Tigers	225
6	Ludovic Mercier	Gloucester	213
7	Mark van Gisbergen	London Wasps	211
8	Bruce Reihana	Northampton Saints	206
9	Matt Burke	Newcastle Falcons	142
10	Chris Malone	Bath	130

Most tries

Source:

Rank	Player	Team	Tries
1	Tom Varndell	Leicester Tigers	14
2	Tom Voyce	London Wasps	10
3	Delon Armitage	London Irish	8
	Tom Biggs	Leeds Tykes
	Matt Burke	Newcastle Falcons
	Anthony Elliott	Newcastle Falcons
	David Lemi	Bristol
	Paul Sackey	London Wasps
9	Ben Cohen	Northampton Saints	7
	Riki Flutey	London Irish
	Topsy Ojo	London Irish
	Dan Scarbrough	Saracens

External links

• Official site