On the eve of the 2000th Aviva Premiership match, Paul Rees, of the Guardian, looks back at the colourful history of England's top flight.
"When the Premiership was launched in August 1997, the weekend before the death of Princess Diana, senior figures in the Rugby Football Union scoffed at the notion that professional club rugby would ever be self-sustaining. Today, 1,995 matches and almost as many political battles with the governing body later, the international and club games live, almost, in a state of symbiosis. No one dared predict that 15 years ago, when the talk was about breakaways and expulsion.
The landscape has changed considerably since 1997: grounds have been redeveloped, facilities for spectators have improved considerably, the academy system is flourishing, coaching is the responsibility of a team rather than an individual and players' welfare is a priority rather than an afterthought.
But the biggest shift is in the status of club rugby. In the late 90s, the Commons select committee on media, culture and sport described it as a stepping stone to the international game, "a means to an end and not an end in itself". It is now a business with an annual turnover of some £120m – not far short of what the RFU brings in."
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