On Saturday, September 2, Gloucester start the season with a west country derby against Bath. The season also begins with the traditional curtain raiser of the London Double Header at Twickenham. This year London Irish will play newly promoted NEC Harlequins and Saracens will take on London Wasps.
On Sunday, September 3rd, Northampton Saints play Newcastle Falcons at Franklins Gardens, a match that could see Carlos Spencer and Jonny Wilkinson going head to head, while across at Welford Road, Leicester Tigers will take on last season's Guinness Premiership Champions Sale Sharks.
The line up of round one matches, including the London Double Header at Twickenham, means a first round crowd of 100,000 could be achieved for the first time ever.
Premier Rugby Chief Executive Mark McCafferty said, "Announcing the fixtures really gets the sense of anticipation building amongst our fans. All our clubs really want to build on the second season with Guinness and continue with the exciting rugby that characterised the end of last season. An opening round crowd of over 100,000 would be a great start to a season in which we hope to break attendance records yet again."
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