The Showdown

The Showdown (previously known as Derby Day) is the annual showpiece rugby union match hosted by Saracens in Premiership Rugby, the top-flight professional rugby competition in England. Starting in 2009, the event has served as the club's marquee home fixture during each domestic season, usually against their closest rivals, fellow London club Harlequins. To date, the fixture has taken place at three large-capacity stadiums around the team's home city of London – Wembley Stadium, London Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – and it has regularly achieved among the biggest crowds in the league since the 2009–10 season. The event is notable for holding the current record for the highest ever attendance for a Premiership Rugby match, under its previous branding of 'Derby Day'. This record was set during the match between Saracens and Harlequins at Wembley on 28 March 2015, which had a live gate of 84,068 people – then a world record for a domestic club rugby union match, until this was broken by the 2016 Top 14 final. In addition, under its current branding of 'The Showdown', the fixture also holds the record as the most-watched Premership game in the competition's 26-year history. This record was set during the match between Saracens and Harlequins on 25 March 2023, which attracted a combined television audience of 1.516 million people, accounting for 7.1 per cent share of all British TV viewers at that time. The figure surpassed the previous record, which had been set during the 2022 Premiership final, by 200,000 viewers. The rivalry between Saracens and Harlequins also extends into women's rugby. Beginning in 2021, Premiership Women's Rugby clubs Saracens Women and Harlequins Women have met at Barnet Copthall each season for their own version of the annual showpiece match, under the banner of The Duel. History Prior to launching their own showpiece event, Saracens had frequently been involved in the London Double Header at Twickenham Stadium, which took place between 2004 and 2017. Subsequently, for the 2009–10 season, the club announced it would stage three of its Premiership home games – as well as a special exhibition match against South Africa – at Wembley Stadium, in a bid to boost supporter numbers.