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The Leicester Tigers play in the 'Zurich Premiership' - the first division Rugby Union Championship of England. The Premiership consists of 12 teams with each team playing the other teams in the League on a home and away basis for a total of 22 games in the league season. The top team at the end of the 'home and away' League season are the Premiers. The top 8 teams at the end of the season also play in another competition called the Championship. The Championship is a knockout competition with the Final played at the legendary Twickenham Stadium in London. A further competition, the Heineken Cup, is a knockout competition which doubles as the European Club Championship. In the 2000/2001 season, Leicester Tigers completed an unprecedented clean sweep of all three competitions, winning the English Premiership and Championship as well as being declared European Champions after defeating the French Champions Stade Francais in the final of the Heineken Cup at the Parc de Princess in Paris. The club took 15,000 fans to Paris to help cheer the team to victory. The Premiership (league) victory in England, was the club's third in succession. The club boasts a number of international players, and is widely accepted as the benchmark in English Club Rugby. Leicester has a strong supporter base - easily the largest in Britain, and one of the biggest of all Rugby Union clubs in the World.
The city of Leicester is the largest city in the East Midlands, and tenth largest in England. It is located on the River Soar and the Grand Union Canal. The area was first settled by the Romans, and later the Danes who recognised the importance of it's strategic location. The Danes used Leicester as a stronghold to control the Midlands. A few ruins remain from the Medieval Castle which was dismantled in 1645. The Abbey was founded in 1143. Rapid industrial development followed the construction of a railway built in 1832 to connect the town to the small coalfield to the northwest. The town is centred around 'the Clock Tower' (pictured on this page). For many centuries the town has been a major meeting place for people of different races and cultures. Today, the city retains a rich diversity of cultures. From the industrial growth of the 1800's, the city has developed into a major commercial and diverse manufacturing centre. The population of the city is 300,000.
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