"Saints & Gloucester Eye Glory" - The Last 5 Premiership Teams to Win A Double

Starting off with Gloucester, the Cherry and Whites claimed the first trophy up for grabs in the season, as they lifted the Premiership Rugby Cup back in March. Formerly known as the RFU Knockout Cup and the Anglo-Welsh Cup, Gloucester won the revamped competition which this year included the expansion to the RFU Championship sides. Gloucester defeated Leicester Tigers 23-13 in the final, and lifted the silverware in the home ground of Kingsholm.

Gloucester have since rolled this winning momentum into their EPCR Challenge Cup campaign, and sit poised for a second title amongst the four semi-finalists. Gloucester are set to take on Benetton Treviso next month, and a win would see the West Country side face either the Sharks or Clermont with the Challenge Cup title on the line. Also, Northampton Saints have set themselves up for an unforgettable season, with the East Midlanders sat at the very top of the Premiership ahead of the final few weeks of the regular season.

The Premiership has three weekend's left ahead of the play-offs, and Phil Dowson's side look like strong contenders for a home semi-final. The Saints also march on to the Investec Champions Cup semi-final, after a triumphant quarter-final outing last weekend against the Vodacom Bulls. Should the Saints bring home both titles, they will secure their first silverware in a decade. Here are the past five Premiership teams that have won two titles in the same season.

The most recent Premiership and Champions Cup double saw Exeter Chiefs reach the mountain top of Northern Hemisphere club rugby. The Chiefs won their second league title in the 2020 season, and ended a period of Saracens dominance across both the Premiership and in Europe. Unfortunately for the Devon club, the title celebrations had to take place behind closed doors, as the Covid Lockdown stopped Chiefs fans from witnessing their meteoric rise in person.

The pandemic threw the entire 2019/20 season out of order, with the Champions Cup's last few rounds taking place in September and October of 2020. The Chiefs achieved a stunning home win over Toulouse to take them through to a Champions Cup showdown with Racing 92. The Devonians continued their impressive form against the French opponents, and 31-27 triumph against a Finn Russell orchestrated Parisian attack. This marked Exeter's first and only Champions Cup title win to date, as Luke Cowan-Dickie, Sam Simmonds, Harry Williams and Henry Slade all contributed key tries for the win.

The 2019/20 Premiership Final saw Exeter go toe-to-toe with Wasps, in a match that broke down into a place-kicking clinic at Twickenham. After tries from Henry Slade and Jacob Umaga broke the deadlock in front of a sea of green seats, the match was decided by the accurate kicking of Joe Simmonds against Jimmy Gopperth. It was Simmonds who prevailed, as the now Pau place kicker slotted four penalties and a conversion, whilst Gopperth only sent three efforts through the uprights, for a 19-13 Chiefs win.

2. Saracens - 2018/19 Premiership & Champions Cup Double

We now enter a period of time that was dominated by Saracens, as the trophy cabinet in North London required constant expansion throughout the 2010s. During this era of StoneX success, Saracens lifted five Premiership titles, three Champions Cups and the 2014/15 Anglo-Welsh Cup. We may be on the cusp of a new era of Saracens silverware, after the North Londoners yo-yoed back up from the Championship and claimed last season's Premiership title over Sale Sharks.

The 2018/19 Champions Cup saw Saracens take on the top Celtic clubs, as they felled Cardiff Blues, Glasgow Warriors, Munster and Leinster on the road to the trophy. The bane of the British and Irish Isles, Saracens pulled no punches on their journey, with the final seeing England and Ireland talismen Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton go tee-to-tee for their clubs. Saracens handed Leinster a 20-10 defeat in Newcastle's St James' Park, and pressed on for the Premiership title just three weeks later.

Saracens then met Exeter Chiefs in the 2018/19 Premiership Final, as the beating Twickenham sunshine set the stage for a fast-flowing finale to the season's league campaign. The nine-try thriller was split 34-37 in favour of Saracens, with the try-scoring commencing from the get-go. Nic White crossed over for Exeter after just one minute, with a try that ignited the high octane try scoring at the home of English rugby. Saracens prevailed through tries from Ben Spencer, Liam Williams, Sean Maitland and a Jamie George brace, before Owen Farrell added 12 points over from the tee.

3. Saracens - 2015/16 Premiership & Champions Cup Double

Saracen's first Premiership and Champions Cup double triumph came a year earlier in the 2015/16 season, in what stands as a historic accomplishment in the halls of the North London club. Sarries took the Premiership by storm that season, to retain the domestic league title from the previous campaign of capital success. Just four defeats all season saw Saracens top the table, as they then cruised past Leicester Tigers 44-17, in the home semi-final.

A run in with the Chiefs followed at Twickenham, who would return to become first time Premiership champions the following season. Saracens and Exeter battled it out in front of a packed house, with the Londoners prevailing 28-20. Sarries crossed the whitewash through tries from Duncan Taylor, Chris Wyles and Alex Goode, with the metronomic kicking of Owen Farrell adding the essential extras over Exeter's efforts. In Europe, Saracens claimed their first Champions Cup title, after a ruthless run against the best of the Northern Hemisphere's clubs.

Pulling no punches in the pool stage, Saracens were the first team to progress to the knockout rounds with home and away wins against Ulster, Oyonnax and European rugby heavyweights Toulouse. The five-time European champions were sent packing from the pool stages, following a humbling outing against the Premiership heavy-hitters. Two Premiership powerhouses followed in the quarter and semi-finals, and Saracens battled past Northampton Saints (29-20) and Wasps (29-17) for a finale with Parisian giants Racing 92. Ever the bridesmaids of the Champions Cup, Racing lost their first of three finals that year in the 21-9 final.

4. Northampton Saints - 2013/14 Premiership & Challenge Cup Double

Northampton Saints are eyeing up to go one better than the history books, a decade after their impressive Premiership and EPCR Challenge Cup double from the 2013/14 season. The most recent double to feature a Premiership side to win the league and also the secondary European competition, Northampton took home silverware from the Challenge Cup, after dropping down into the competition from the Champions Cup pool stage exit.

The Saints marched on through knock-out stage victories over Premiership opponents, as they sent Sale Sharks and Harlequins packing from their own European glory hopes. Northampton then took on a third Premiership opponent in the Challenge Cup Final, as a litany of sides from England's top division populated the Challenge Cup knockout stages. Northampton and Bath met in the final, with Cardiff Arms Park hosting over 12,000 fans of the two English sides.

Northampton took the spoils from the Welsh capital following a 30-16 triumph, with tries from Ben Foden, and the now Saints Director of Rugby Phil Dowson. Stephen Myler played an integral role in the fixture, with the majority of the point scoring coming from the tee. Myler hammered six penalties through the uprights, as Saints stretched their lead over Bath.

In the Premiership, Northampton finished second behind Saracens, whom they would go on to meet in the Grand Final at Twickenham. A fierce East Midlands derby was witnessed in the semi-final, with Franklin's Gardens witnessing a barnstorming battle between the physical Premiership rivals. Saints edged out the Tigers 21-20, and clinched the title in 'HQ', following a dramatic 24-20 win. After 14-14 stalemate at 80 minutes, the Premiership Final witnessed extra time for the first time in it's history, for an unforgettable Saints win.

The 2022/23 Premiership season was truly one that will never be forgotten, as Wasps (along with Worcester Warriors and London Irish), entered financial administration and left the Premiership. A side of such iconic status and identified in glory, Wasps are the fifth most recent team to 'do the double', dating back to the 2003/04 season.

With the Premiership under the 'Zurich' banner, and the Wasps nestled up in London, the famous black and yellows finished the 2003/04 Premiership season in second place, with Bath Rugby taking poll position. The old format of the Premiership automatically qualified the Blue, Black and Whites for the final, whilst Wasps thumped Northampton 57-20 to secure a place at Twickenham. The season finale lacked the same sting as the semi-final, as the 10-6 Wasps victory was one for the purists, as England legend Lawrence Dallaglio lifted his second of three consecutive league title with the club.

The European campaign saw Wasps embark on the Heineken Cup, as they cruised to the top of Pool 6. Victories over the short lived Celtic Warriors, Pepignan and Calvisano established the Wasps as the apex predator of the pool, for a progressive slot into the next round. Then came more established names of the early Heineken Cup days, as Wasps battled past Gloucester and Munster to set-up a final against Toulouse. The 27-20 triumph in Twickenham cemented Wasps' European legacy as a powerhouse of the domestic game.