The London Double Header ran between 2004 and 2017 and typically opened the season of

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

(currently known as the Gallagher Premiership due to sponsorship), the top

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

league in England. Two games were played consecutively at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

, originally involving the 'big four' London origin teams of the Premiership, Harlequins,

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, Saracens and Wasps (London Wasps until the 2014–15 season). Harlequins were relegated from the premiership at the end of the 2004–05 season and thus for the 2005–06 season Leeds Tykes were included instead. The same applied to

in 2016 who were replaced. The matches form part of the regular season fixtures, with one team nominated as the home side for each match. Since 2008 (2016 being an exception) and the inception of The Big Game, Harlequins only compete in the double header as an away side in order to reduce the number of home games they play away from

the Stoop Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a sports stadium located in south-west London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Gallagher Premiership. The stadium has a capacity ...

. From 2015 and following Wasps' relocation to Coventry, the direction of the series changed. Two London teams (normally London Irish and Saracens) acted as the hosts, with the away teams being any of the other 10 Premiership Rugby teams. In 2016, Harlequins hosted due to London Irish's relegation from the premiership. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 the series featured a newly promoted team. The Double Header did not take place in 2018 due to redevelopment works at Twickenham Stadium and has not returned. At other times of year Twickenham is also used for regular season Premiership fixtures, such as The Big Game hosted by Harlequins at Christmas time,

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

hosted by Bath and the Premiership Final in June, as well as international fixtures including those by the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

, plus inter-armed forces and varsity matches.

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

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2009

Scorers: *Tries: Jackson, Saull *Conversions: Jackson *Pens: Jackson 2 Scorers: *Try: Stowers *Pens: Lamb 2, D Armitage *Man of the Match: Glen Jackson London Wasps 26 – 15 Harlequins **Half Time: 16 – 15 Teams: *Wasps: Mark Van Gisbergen, Tom Varndell, Ben Jacobs, Steve Kefu, David Lemi, Danny Cipriani, Joe Simpson, Tim Payne, Rob Webber, Gabriel Bocca, George Skivington, Richard Birkett, John Hart, Serge Betsen (capt), Dan Ward-Smith Replacements: Joe Ward, Ben Broster, Tom French, Dan Leo, Hugo Ellis, Warren Fury, Dave Walder, Lachlan Mitchell. Scorers: *Tries: Varndell 2 *Conversions: Van Gisbergen *Penalties: Van Gisbergen 3 *Harlequins: Ugo Monye, David Strettle, Gonzalo Tiesi, Jordan Turner-Hall (YC), Gonzalo Camacho, Nick Evans, Danny Care, Ceri Jones, Gary Botha, Mark Lambert, James Percival, George Robson (RC), Chris Robshaw, Will Skinner (capt), Nick Easter Replacements: Tani Fuga, Aston Croall, John Andress, Jim Evans, Tom Guest, Steve So'oialo, Rory Clegg, George Lowe. Scorers: *Tries: Monye, Camacho *Conversions: Evans *Penalties: Evans Key: *YC = Yellow Card *RC = Red Card *Man of the Match: Serge Betsen

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The 2015 London Double Header was moved from its traditional Round 1 position, to Round 5, in order to accommodate the 2015 Rugby World Cup knock-out stage matches being played at

. It was also the first time since 2005 that Saracens, Harlequins,

and Wasps have not all taken part in the event. Harlequins chose not to take part due to the proximity of The Big Game 8 and were therefore replaced by

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

. There had been suggestions that Wasps would not take part, following their move to the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...

, however they were announced as one of the away teams for the event at the fixture launch on 3 July 2015.

2016

The 2016 London Double Header returned to its traditional Round 1 position.

had been relegated from the Premiership and therefore did not take part. Home teams were confirmed on 28 June, with away teams confirmed at fixture launch on 7 July.

2017

The 2017 London Double Header took place in its traditional Round 1 position.

return after being promoted back into the Premiership. Home teams were confirmed on 22 June, with the away teams confirmed at the Premiership fixture launch on 7 July.
Premiership fixtures confirmed for 2017-18 season.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby Rugby union in London