The 2017–18 Aviva Premiership was the 31st season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the eighth and final one to be sponsored by Aviva. The reigning champions entering the season were Exeter Chiefs, who had claimed their first title after defeating Wasps in the 2017 final. London Irish had been promoted as champions from the 2016–17 RFU Championship at the first attempt.
The competition was broadcast by BT Sport for the fifth successive season and with five games also simulcast free-to-air on Channel 5 for the first time. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown on Channel 5 with extended highlights on BT Sport.
Summary
Saracens won their fourth title after defeating Exeter Chiefs in the final at Twickenham after having finished second in the regular season table. London Irish were relegated after being unable to win their penultimate game of the season. It was the third time that London Irish have been relegated from the top flight since the leagues began and the first time since the 2015–16 Premiership Rugby season.
Twelve teams compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and London Irish who were promoted from the 2016–17 RFU Championship after a top flight absence of one year. They replaced Bristol Bears who were relegated after one year in the top flight.
The 2017 edition of the Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens was held on 28 and 29 July at Franklin's Gardens. For the first time all twelve Premiership teams featured together in one venue over two days. Teams were split into four pools of three which played each other in a round-robin basis with the tournament splitting into Cup, Plate and Bowl finals on the second day.
Source: Premiership Rugby Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled (C) Champions; (RU) Runners-up; (SF) Losing semi-finalists; (R) Relegated Notes:
Allianz Park Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Play-offs
As in previous seasons, the top four teams in the Premiership table, following the conclusion of the regular season, contest the play-off semi-finals in a 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd format, with the higher ranking team having home advantage. The two winners of the semi-finals then meet in the Premiership Final at Twickenham on 26 May 2018.
The following received Player of the Month awards during the 2017–18 season, as selected by a panel of media commentators, in addition to monthly public polls.