The 2015–16 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the seventh season of the professionalised format of the
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...
, the second tier of the
English rugby union league system run by the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
. It is contested by eleven English clubs and one from
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
. This is the third year of the competition's sponsorship with
Greene King Brewery, which runs until 2017.
The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also compete in the
British and Irish Cup
The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009†...
, along with clubs from
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. Some matches in the RFU Championship are broadcast on
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
.
Moseley
Moseley ( ') is an affluent suburb in south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre.
It is located within the eponymous Moseley ward of the constituency of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (UK Parliament constituency), Hall Green and ...
are relegated into the
2016–17 National League 1 after finishing bottom of the table.
After seven years of trying for promotion (five of which they actually topped the league stage including during this season),
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
finally did it. In front of a divisional and club record crowd of 16,084, Bristol managed to gain promotion to the
Aviva Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...
despite losing 32–34 to away side (and league stage runners up),
Doncaster Knights
Doncaster Knights Rugby Football Club ''(formerly, Doncaster RFC)'' are a professional rugby union club representing the city of Doncaster, England. The club play in the 2nd division of English rugby, the RFU Championship. Being the most prom ...
, due to an emphatic first leg victory, to go up 60 - 47 on aggregate.
Structure
The Championship's structure has all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis. The play-off structure will remain the same as the previous year.
The top four teams at the end of the home-and-way season qualify for the promotion play-offs which follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system. The winners have to meet the RFU's Minimum Standards Criteria in order to be promoted to the Premiership. There is no promotion if grounds fail to meet the criteria. There are no relegation play-offs; the bottom team is automatically relegated.
This the last year of a 2012 funding agreement with the RFU, where each club would have been given a grant of £380,000. Following claims, by Championship teams, including Plymouth Albion, that the current arrangement was not enough to sustain professional clubs, the RFU increased the annual funding to over £500,000 per club in a new agreement which will last until 2020.
Teams
Ten of the teams, listed below, played in the championship last season.
Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...
were promoted to the
English Premiership defeating
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
in the
2014–15 RFU Championship play-off final and are replaced by
London Welsh
London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...
, following their relegation from the
2014–15 English Premiership, after finishing bottom of the table and earning only one point.
Plymouth Albion were relegated from the Championship after finishing bottom in the
2014–15 RFU Championship, ending a thirteen-year spell in the second tier of English rugby. They are replaced by
Ealing Trailfinders who were promoted as champions of
2014–15 National League 1, returning to the RFU Championship after relegation the previous year.
Table
Fixtures
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
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Round 8
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Round 9
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Round 10
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 13
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Round 14
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Round 15
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Round 16
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Round 17
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Round 18
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Round 19
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Round 20
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Round 21
*Moseley are relegated after Ealing beat Jersey during the Saturday fixture.
[
]
Round 22
Play-offs
Semi-finals
The semifinals follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system – with the games being played over two legs and the higher placed team choosing which leg they play at home. Both Bristol and Doncaster elected to play the second leg at home and therefore visited Bedford Blues and Yorkshire Carnegie respectively in the first legs on 1 May. The grounds of three of the teams met the minimum standards required to play in the Premiership next season. If Doncaster Knights were promoted they would initially play their matches at the Keepmoat Stadium
The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that it ...
, the home of Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
while Bristol and Yorkshire Carnegie would continue to their current stadia. Bedford Blues did not apply to have their ground audited and, therefore, could not win promotion; if they had won the play-off final, the last-placed team in the Premiership (London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...
) would not have been relegated.
First leg
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Second leg
* Doncaster Knights won 44–34 on aggregate
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* Bristol Rugby won 90–35 on aggregate
Final
The final is played over two legs – with the higher placed team deciding who plays at home in the first leg.
First leg
Second leg
* Bristol won 60–47 on aggregate
Attendances
*Includes playoff games.
Individual statistics
* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included). Stats also cover playoff games.
Top points scorers
[
]
Top try scorers
[
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Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 53 pts
63 - 10 Bristol Rugby at home to Ealing Trailfinders on 12 February 2016
;Largest away win — 43 pts
75 - 24 London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most points scored — 75
75 - 24 London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most tries in a match — 11
75 - 24 London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most conversions in a match — 10
London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 6 (x3)
Moseley away to London Scottish on 4 September 2015
Doncaster Knights away to Bedford Blues on 5 December 2015
Bristol Rugby away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 28 February 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple teams
Player
;Most points in a match — 25
Josh Bainbridge for Yorkshire Carnegie away to Bristol Rugby on 18 October 2015
;Most tries in a match — 5
Josh Bainbridge for Yorkshire Carnegie away to Bristol Rugby on 18 October 2015
;Most conversions in a match — 9
Peter Lydon for London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 6 (x3)
Glyn Hughes for Moseley away to London Scottish on 4 September 2015
Dougie Flockhart for Doncaster Knights away to Bedford Blues on 5 December 2015
Gavin Henson for Bristol Rugby away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 28 February 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple players
Attendances
;Highest — 16,084
Bristol Rugby at home to Doncaster Knights on 25 May 2016
;Lowest — 310
Ealing Trailfinders at home to Nottingham Rugby on 28 November 2015
;Highest Average Attendance — 7,702
Bristol Rugby
;Lowest Average Attendance — 667
Ealing Trailfinders
[
]
See also
* 2015–16 British and Irish Cup
References
External links
RFU Championship news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Championship
2015–16 in English rugby union leagues
2014-15