23 September 2019

After Richmond's humbling defeat to Harlequins, here's the five worst defeats in Premier 15s history

The Premier 15s kicked off this weekend, but poor Richmond must be wishing they hadn't after being on the receiving end against Harlequins to the tune of 101-0.

But is it the worst defeat in the tournament to date? Actually not.  

Although the Premier 15s are only in their third season, there have been some massive scorelines. Here are the top five worst defeats in the competition's history.

Fifth - Harlequins 80, Worcester Warriors 7

In the inaugural season of the Premier 15s, Worcester were taking a battering. They feature on this list a few times. They were trounced by 73 points in this game against Harlequins. Quins were at home which must have made Worcester's 136-mile journey that much more painful.

Fourth - Gloucester-Hartpury 80, Worcester Warriors 0

Just two weeks after their thrashing by Harlequins, Worcester travelled to local rivals Gloucester-Hartpury to lick their wounds. Unfortunately, the scars were ripped open once again with a worse defeat. A deficit of 80 points began to seal their dreadful bottom-of-the-table season.

Third - Bristol Bears 89, Worcester Warriors 0

A few months before the other two devastating defeats, Worcester were against another local rival - Bristol. The Bears were at home and they made a statement of intent in December 2017 with this incredible win. In the inaugural season, Worcester finished the tournament with just two points. They only drew one game against Firwood Waterloo and won no games.

Second - Harlequins 101, Richmond 0

Now we jump forward two years to this past weekend's action in the tournament. Harlequins were still feeling their defeat from last year's final to Saracens and were focused on getting their season off to a good start. It wasn't even a case of Harlequins expertly outsmarting the opposition - Richmond were just embarrassingly bad. At half-time, Quins were up by 61 points and they carried on scoring for fun. 

Worst - Saracens 105 Worcester Warriors 0

You guessed it, Worcester Warriors take the crown for the worst defeat in Premier 15s history. The defeat was also in the first season of the competition - a season Worcester will want to forget. However, Saracens did go  on to win the Premiership that year.

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