RFU Championship

The RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship between 2013–14 and 2019–20,[1] is the second tier of the English rugby union league system and was founded in September 1987. The twelve-side league was known as National Division One and in 2009 changed from semi-professional clubs to fully professional. The 2019 champions were London Irish, winning automatic promotion to Premiership Rugby.

RFU Championship

Current season, competition or edition: 2020–21 RFU Championship
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1987 (1987)
Administrator	RFU
No. of teams	12
Countries	England  Jersey
Most recent champion(s)	Newcastle Falcons (3rd title) (2019-20)
Most titles	Bristol Bears (4 titles)
TV partner(s)	Sky Sports
Level on pyramid	2
Promotion to	Premiership
Relegation to	National League 1
Domestic cup(s)	Championship Cup
Official website	championshiprugby.co.uk

Originally the league required an end-of-season round of two-legged play-offs in which the top eight, from 2012-13 until 2016-17 revised to top four, clubs at the end of the main phase of the season played each other.

History

Further information: History of the English rugby union system

On 10 November 2008 it was proposed by the Rugby Football Union that the second tier of the English rugby union system should be a fully professional twelve club Championship. The proposal was criticised by the then National League One chairman Geoff Irvine, representing the clubs, who described it as "financial suicide", although six League One clubs subsequently supported the proposal. The proposals required five clubs to be relegated to National Division Two, with only one club being promoted from that division and one club joining the league from the Premiership.[2] On 15 November 2008 the RFU Council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new proposal, which began in September 2009.[3] Under the proposal the RFU paid £2.3 million a year to help fund the change, with future rises due through television rights.[2]

Since 2009–10 season the team that wins the Championship league is not automatically promoted to the Premiership, instead a play-off competition takes place to determine which team is promoted. For the first three seasons the top eight clubs had to enter the play-offs. Since 2012–13 they have been between the top four clubs. If the play-offs winner and/or runner-up fall short of minimum standards criteria (in grounds etc.) for entry to the Premiership no promotion or relegation takes place between the two divisions as to such a club. The RFU have clarified that they will not consider promoting lower-placed sides in the play-offs even if they finished top of the league phase (league table). The play-offs format has been criticised by the media, players and fans alike, resulting in its shortening to the top four clubs after the main part of the season and its abolition for the 2017-2018 season onwards.[4][5]

Until 2013 a relegation play-off round took place between the four lowest placed clubs in the Championship.

2009–10 season

The 2009–10 RFU Championship season was the first in which the league was fully professional. Silversmiths Thomas Lyte created a new trophy for the launch.[6]

Beginning with the 2009-10 season, the winner of the Championship league isn't automatically promoted to the Premiership. Instead, a play-off competition between the top eight clubs was held to determine the promoted club. The first, fourth, fifth and eighth placed clubs entered Group A; the second, third, sixth and seventh placed clubs entered Group B. Each side played the other sides in their division home-and-away. The two highest-placed sides in each division went through to a single-leg semi-final, and the semi-final winners played a two-legged final. The two legs of the final were played at the two competing clubs' home grounds, rather than at Twickenham.

In the event that the winner of the play-off competition did not meet the minimum standards criteria for entry to the Premiership, there was to be no promotion or relegation between the Championship and Premiership for that season. That did not apply in 2009–10, as the RFU announced before the second leg of the Championship final that both participants, Bristol and Exeter, met the criteria for promotion.

There was also a play-off between the four lowest placed clubs in the Championship to determine who was relegated to National League 1.

Criticism and changes for 2010–11

The formats of both the promotion and relegation play-offs were criticised after that first season. In both phases, all teams began equal, regardless of their performance during the home-and-away season. Moseley, who had been in serious relegation danger after a poor start to the play-offs, were particularly angry about the format because they started the relegation phase equal to the other three teams involved; despite having won ten matches during the season to Birmingham's none. It was also felt that starting all teams equal in the promotion phase gave teams little incentive to win the regular season because there was no reward for a high finish within the top eight.[7] As a result, the following changes were made to the promotion and relegation phases:[7]

• In the promotion phase:
  • The top two clubs at the end of the regular season started the play-off on 3 points.
  • The third- and fourth-placed clubs started on 2 points.
  • The fifth- and sixth-place clubs started on 1 point.
  • The remaining two clubs started on 0 points.
  • The semi-finals changed from one-off to two-legged matches.
• In the relegation phase, clubs carried over 1 point for each win in the regular season.

Further changes for 2012–13

The play-off format had been developed to increase club revenues, as each club had been assured of at least two home fixtures after the home-and-away season. However, criticism remained, especially from the best performing clubs, as they had to navigate ten additional fixtures in order to earn promotion. Bristol had particular reason to feel aggrieved; in two seasons under the revamped format, they finished first in the table, but lost in the 2010 play-off final to Exeter and in the 2012 semi-finals to Cornish Pirates (in 2011, the final was contested between Worcester Warriors, who had won the league, and Cornish Pirates).[8]

As a result, the RFU eliminated pool play for both promotion and relegation. Starting with the 2012–13 season and continuing through to 2016–17, the top four clubs at the end of the regular season enter promotion play-offs. The format is the same as the 2011 and 2012 knockout stages, with two-legged semi-finals followed by a two-legged final. This system is identical to that of the Premiership, except that it uses two-legged matches instead of the Premiership's one-off matches. Relegation play-offs were eliminated; the bottom side is now automatically relegated (also mirroring the Premiership). Bristol's chairman Chris Booy welcomed the changes, telling the BBC,[8]

"We had a mad 10 minutes in Penzance and our whole (2011–12) season fell apart. We've got the system changed and I was one of the main lobbyists for that. I think it will prepare us better because we can manage our squad to be in peak condition for the semis' and the final. A number of teams will be fighting to get into the top four, whereas before they were resting (sic) to get into the top eight."

From 2017–18 forward, the RFU will eliminate the promotion play-offs for a minimum of three seasons. The club finishing atop the regular-season table will be automatically promoted to the Premiership, provided said club meets minimum entry criteria.[9]

Competition funding

The RFU Championship clubs were in dispute with the RFU over funding for the competition and claimed that each club was owed £77,000 for the past three seasons, and will be owed a further £120,000 over the next four seasons. The clubs believed they should have receive £295,000 in 2009–10, rising to £400,000 by 2015–16 and further believe there was a breach of contract on the part of the RFU. The RFU stated that the original funding was an estimate and by 2015–16 the figure will be £359,400.[10] When the RFU announced the end of promotion play-offs, it also announced funding increases from both itself and the Premiership, including a new system which ties some of the new funding to each Championship side's performance in the league season.[9]

On 26 June 2013, the RFU and Greene King Brewery announced the Championship's first-ever name sponsorship deal. The competition will officially be known as the Greene King IPA Championship until the end of the 2019–20 season.[1]

2020–21 season

Main article: 2020–21 RFU Championship

Club Stadium Capacity Area Previous season Ampthill Dillingham Park 3,000 Ampthill, Bedfordshire 5th Bedford Blues Goldington Road 5,000 (1,700 seats)[lower-alpha 1] Bedford, Bedfordshire 8th Cornish Pirates Mennaye Field 4,000 (2,200 Seats) Penzance, Cornwall 3rd Coventry Butts Park Arena 4,000 (3,000 seats) Coventry, West Midlands 4th Doncaster Knights Castle Park 5,000 (1,650 seats) Doncaster, South Yorkshire 9th Ealing Trailfinders Trailfinders Sports Ground 4,000 (2,200 Seats) West Ealing, London 2nd Hartpury University Gillman's Ground 2,000 Hartpury, Gloucestershire 10th Jersey Reds Stade Santander International 4,000 Saint Peter, Jersey 6th London Scottish Athletic Ground, Richmond 4,500 (1,000 seats) Richmond, London 11th Nottingham Lady Bay Sports Ground 3,500 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 7th Richmond Athletic Ground 4,500 (1,000 seats) Richmond, London promoted from National League 1 Saracens Copthall Stadium[lower-alpha 2] 10,500 Hendon, Greater London relegated from Premiership Rugby

Ampthill Bedford Cornish Pirates Coventry Doncaster Ealing Hartpury Jersey Reds London Scottish Nottingham Richmond Saracens Locations of the 2019–20 RFU Championship teams

1. Goldington Road's capacity down from 6,000 to 5,000.
2. Saracens will also play a home game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.

Current standings

2020–21 RFU Championship Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Tries for	Tries against	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Points
1	Ampthill	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Bedford Blues	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Cornish Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Coventry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Doncaster Knights	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Ealing Trailfinders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Hartpury University	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Jersey Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	London Scottish	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Nottingham	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Richmond	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Saracens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background is the relegation place. Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". England Rugby.

League results

National One

List of National One Winners
Season	Matches	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated teams
1987–88	11	Rosslyn Park	Liverpool St Helens	No relegation
1988–89	11	Saracens	Bedford	London Scottish and London Welsh
1989–90	11	Northampton	Liverpool St Helens	No relegation[a 1]
1990–91	12	Rugby	London Irish	Richmond and Headingley
1991–92	12	London Scottish	West Hartlepool	Plymouth Albion, Liverpool St Helens
1992–93	12	Newcastle Gosforth	Waterloo	Bedford, Rosslyn Park, Richmond, Blackheath, Coventry, Fylde, Morley
1993–94	18	Sale	West Hartlepool	Rugby, Otley
1994–95	18	Saracens	Wakefield	Fylde, Coventry
1995–96	18	Northampton	London Irish	No relegation[a 2]
1996–97	22	Richmond	Newcastle	Rugby, Nottingham
1997–98	22	Bedford	West Hartlepool[a 3]	No relegation[a 4]
1998–99	26	Bristol	Rotherham	Blackheath and Fylde
1999–00	26	Rotherham	Leeds Tykes	Rugby and West Hartlepool
2000–01	26	Leeds Tykes	Worcester	Orrell and Waterloo
2001–02	26	Rotherham	Worcester	Henley and Bracknell
2002–03	26	Rotherham	Worcester	Moseley, Rugby Lions
2003–04	26	Worcester	Orrell	Wakefield, Manchester
2004–05	26	Bristol	Exeter	Orrell, Henley
2005–06	26	Harlequins	Bedford Blues	No relegation[a 5]
2006–07	30	Leeds Tykes	Earth Titans	Otley, Waterloo
2007–08	30	Northampton Saints	Exeter Chiefs	Pertemp Bees, Launceston
2008–09	30	Leeds Tykes	Exeter Chiefs	Esher, Sedgley Park, Newbury, Otley, Manchester
Green background are promotion places.

RFU Championship

List of RFU Championship Winners (Champions decided by a play-off)
Season	Champions	Finalists	No of matches	First stage winners	Runners-up	Relegated team
2009–10	Exeter Chiefs	Bristol	22	Bristol	Exeter Chiefs	Coventry
2010–11	Worcester Warriors	Cornish Pirates	22	Worcester Warriors	Bedford Blues	Birmingham & Solihull
2011–12	London Welsh	Cornish Pirates	22	Bristol	Bedford Blues	Esher
2012–13	Newcastle Falcons	Bedford Blues	22	Newcastle Falcons	Nottingham	Doncaster Knights
2013–14	London Welsh	Bristol	23	Bristol	London Welsh	Ealing Trailfinders
2014–15	Worcester Warriors	Bristol	22	Bristol	Worcester Warriors	Plymouth Albion
2015–16	Bristol	Doncaster Knights	22	Bristol	Doncaster Knights	Moseley
2016–17	London Irish	Yorkshire Carnegie	22	London Irish	Yorkshire Carnegie	No relegation[a 6]
Green background are promotion places. Teams in bold are the winners of the 22 match first stage.

List of RFU Championship Winners (Champions decided by league)
Season	Matches	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated team
2017–18	22	Bristol	Ealing Trailfinders	Rotherham Titans
2018–19	22	London Irish	Ealing Trailfinders	Richmond
2019–20	15*	Newcastle Falcons	Ealing Trailfinders	Yorkshire Carnegie
2020–21	22
Green background are promotion places. * 2019-2020 Season ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary of winners and runners-up

Teams	Champions	Years titles won	Runners-up	Years runners-up	Top of league standings	Number of promotions
Bristol	4	1999, 2005, 2016, 2018	3	2010, 2014, 2015	7	4
Newcastle Falcons	3	1993, 2013, 2020	1	1997	3	4
Northampton Saints	3	1990, 1996, 2008			3	3
Rotherham Titans	3	2000, 2002, 2003	2	1999, 2007	3	2
Yorkshire Carnegie	3	2001, 2007, 2009	2	2000, 2017	3	3
Worcester Warriors	3	2004, 2011, 2015	3	2001, 2002, 2003	2	3
London Irish	2	2017, 2019	2	1991, 1996	2	4
Saracens	2	1989, 1995			2	2
London Welsh	2	2012, 2014			0	2
Bedford Blues	1	1998	3	1989, 2006, 2013	1	2
Harlequins	1	2006			1	1
London Scottish	1	1992			1	2
Richmond	1	1997			1	1
Rosslyn Park	1	1988			1	1
Rugby Lions	1	1991			1	1
Sale Sharks	1	1994			1	1
Exeter Chiefs	1	2010	3	2005, 2008, 2009	0	1
Ealing Trailfinders			3	2018, 2019, 2020
West Hartlepool			3	1992, 1994, 1998		3
Cornish Pirates			2	2011, 2012
Liverpool St Helens			2	1988, 1990		2
Orrell			1	2004
Wakefield			1	1994		1
Waterloo			1	1993

Original teams

These are the twelve teams which made up the original league when league rugby began in 1987:

• Bedford Blues (still playing in the Greene King IPA Championship) (2nd tier)
• Blackheath (now playing in National League 1) (3rd tier)
• Gosforth (now the Newcastle Falcons, playing in Premiership Rugby) (1st tier)
• Headingley (now Yorkshire Carnegie, playing in the National League 1) (3rd tier)
• Liverpool-St Helens (now playing in South Lancs/Cheshire 1) (7th tier)
• London Irish (now playing in the Premiership) (1st tier)
• London Scottish (still playing in the Greene King IPA Championship) (2nd tier)
• London Welsh (no longer extant, due to financial liquidation in the 2016–17 season, spiritually succeeded by London Welsh Amateur)
• Northampton (now playing in Premiership Rugby) (1st tier)
• Richmond (still playing in the RFU Championship) (2nd tier)
• Rosslyn Park (now playing in National League 1) (3rd tier)
• Saracens (still playing in the RFU Championship) (2nd tier)

Records

Note that most records are from 1996-97 season onwards (aside from league champions, promotion and relegation data) as this is widely held as the dawn of professionalism across the English club game except in a few areas. It also offers a better comparison between seasons as the division team numbers are roughly equal (for example when league rugby union first started in 1987-88 the Courage League National Division Two had 12 teams playing 11 games each, compared to 12 teams in 1996-97 playing 24 games (home & away), going up to 16 teams in 2009-10 playing 30 games, back to 12 teams playing 24 games with additional playoff games). Attendance records are from 2000 onwards unless otherwise specified. All records are up to date up till the end of the 2017-18 season.

League records

• Most titles: 4

Bristol (1998–99, 2004–05, 2015–16, 2017–18)

• Most times promoted from division: 4

Bristol (1998–99, 2004–05, 2015–16, 2017–18)

London Irish (1990–91, 1995–96, 2016–17, 2018–19)

Newcastle Falcons (1992–93, 1996–97, 2012–13, 2019–20)

• Most times relegated from division: 4

Rugby Lions (1993–94, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2002–03)

• Most league points in a season: 143

Northampton Saints (2007–08)

• Least league points in a season: -9

Pertemps Bees (2009–10)[a 7]

• Most points scored in a season: 1,321

Northampton Saints (2007–08)

• Least points scored in a season: 216

West Hartlepool (1999–00)

• Most points conceded in a season: 1,298

Otley (2008–09)

• Least points conceded in a season: 252

Newcastle Falcons (2012–13)[a 8]

• Best points difference (For/Against): 978

Northampton Saints (2007–08)

• Worst points difference (For/Against): -898

West Hartlepool (1999–00)

• Most games won in a season: 30

Northampton Saints (2007–08)

• Most games lost in a season: 28

Manchester (2008–09)

• Most games drawn in a season: 5

Birmingham & Solihull (2000–01)

• Most bonus points in a season: 24

Rotherham Titans (2001–02, 2006–07), Northampton Saints (2007–08)

Match records

• Largest home win: 156 - 5

Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996 (1996–97)

• Largest away win: 104 - 0

Leeds Carnegie away to Manchester on 8 April 2009 (2008–09)

• Most points scored in a match: 156

Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996 (1996–97)

• Most tries scored in a match: 24

Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996 (1996–97)

• Most conversions scored in a match: 18

Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996 (1996–97)

• Most penalties scored in a match: 9

Manchester at home to Wakefield on 15 December 2001 (2001–02)

Coventry at home to Otley on 13 November 2004 (2004–05)

• Most drop kicks scored in a match: 3

Exeter Chiefs away to Rotherham on 10 November 2001 (2001–02)

Exeter Chiefs away to Plymouth Albion on 8 September 2007 (2007–08)

Cornish Pirates at home to Plymouth Albion on 12 April 2009 (2008–09)

Worcester Warriors away to Bedford Blues on 16 October 2010 (2010–11)

Leeds Carnegie at home to Rotherham Titans on 25 November 2011 (2011–12)

Attendance records

• Highest attendance: 16,048

Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 25 May 2016 (2015–16)

• Lowest attendance: 150[a 9]

Bracknell at home to Exeter Chiefs on 2 March 2002 (2001–02)

Moseley at home to Rugby Lions on 23 March 2002 (2001–02)

• Highest average attendance (club): 11,494

Northampton Saints (2007–08)

• Lowest average attendance (club): 322

Birmingham & Solihull (2000–01)[a 10]

• Highest average attendance (season): 2,738 (2014–15)
• Lowest average attendance (season): 908, (2000–01)[a 11]

Player records

Championship top point scorers

As of the end of the games of May 25, 2016. Stats taken from 1996-97 season onwards and includes both regular league/playoff games the RFU Championship only (no cup games). Points scored includes tries, drop kicks, penalties and conversions.[17]

Rank	Nat	Name	Years	Club(s)	Points	Apps	Ratio
1		James Pritchard	2001-03, 2006-16 2004-05	Bedford Blues Plymouth Albion	2,673	251	10.6
2		Tony Yapp	1997-98 1999-02 2002-09	Bedford Blues Worcester Warriors Exeter Chiefs	1,913	207	9.2
3		Simon Binns	1996-98, 1999-01 2001-07	Rotherham Otley	1,792	188	9.5
4		Leigh Hinton	1998-99 2000-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2006-07, 2008-09	Worcester Moseley Birmingham & Solihull Orrell Bedford Blues Leeds Carnegie	1,397	160	8.7
5		Phil Jones	2001-03 2005-11	Orrell Sedgley Park	1,194	197	6.1
6		Oliver Thomas	2002-03, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010-15 2007-08	Moseley Cornish Pirates	1,070	175	6.1
7		Tristan Roberts	2008-10 2010-11 2011-14 2015-16	Moseley Doncaster Knights Bristol Ealing Trailfinders	1,063	127	8.4
8		Gareth Steenson	2006-07 2007-08 2008-10	Earth Titans Cornish Pirates Exeter Chiefs	1,059	116	9.1
9		Kieran Hallett	2004-07 2008-11 2011-12 2012-	Bedford Blues Plymouth Albion Nottingham Cornish Pirates	1,033	170	6.0
10		Tom Barlow	1998-99 2002-04 2004-06 2006-08 2008-09	Fylde Plymouth Albion Cornish Pirates Nottingham Rotherham Titans	922	142	6.5

(Bold denotes players still playing in the RFU Championship.)

Championship top try scorers

As of the end of the games of May 25, 2016. Stats taken from 1996-97 season onwards and includes both regular league/playoff games the RFU Championship only (no cup games).[18]

Rank	Nat	Name	Years	Club(s)	Tries	Apps	Ratio
1		Kurt Johnson	1998-99 1999-10	Orrell Coventry	108	239	0.5
2		Richard Baxter	1997-10	Exeter Chiefs	105	315	0.3
3		Jon Feeley	1998-00 2000-04 2004-06 2006-10	Leeds Tykes Wakefield Sedgley Park Rotherham Titans	101	222	0.5
4		Nick Baxter	1997-01 2001-06	Worcester Pertemps Bees	98	190	0.5
5		James Pritchard	2001-03, 2006-16 2004-05	Bedford Blues Plymouth Albion	94	251	0.4
6		Wes Davies	2001-03 2003-04 2004-06, 2009-13 2006-09	Orrell Worcester Warriors Cornish Pirates Doncaster Knights	89	234	0.4
7		Duncan Roke	1999-01 2001-04 2005-07	Henley Hawks Worcester Warriors Cornish Pirates	77	146	0.5
8		Richard Welding	1999-01, 2002-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07, 2008-09 2010-11	Orrell Sedgley Park Cornish Pirates Leeds Carnegie Rotherham Titans	72	186	0.4
9		Matt Jess	2003-06 2007-08 2008-10	Cornish Pirates Launceston Exeter Chiefs	71	152	0.5
10		Leigh Hinton	1998-99 2000-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2006-07, 2008-09	Worcester Moseley Birmingham & Solihull Orrell Bedford Blues Leeds Carnegie	71	160	0.4

(Bold denotes players still playing in the RFU Championship.)

Other player records

• Most times top points scorer: 2

Leigh Hinton for Orrell (2004-05, 2006-07)

Gareth Steenson for Cornish Pirates (2007-08) and Exeter Chiefs (2009-10)

• Most times top try scorer: 2

Dean Lax for Rotherham (1998-99, 1999-00)

• Most points in a season: 396

Sateki Tuipulotu for Worcester (2000-01)

• Most tries in a season: 39

Chris Ashton for Northampton Saints (2007-08)

• Most points in a match: 42

Jez Harris for Coventry at home to Nottingham on 5 October 1996 (1996-97)

• Most tries in a match: 6

Chris Ashton for Northampton Saints at home to Launceston on 26 April 2008 (2007-08)

• Most conversions in a match: 18

Rob Andrew for Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996 (1996-97)

• Most penalties in a match: 9

Marcus Barrow for Manchester at home to Wakefield on 15 December 2001 (2001-02)

Matthew Leek for Coventry at home to Otley on 13 November 2004 (2004-05)

• Most drop kicks in a match: 3

Chris Malone for Exeter Chiefs away to Rotherham on 10 November 2001 (2001-02)

Danny Gray for Exeter Chiefs away to Plymouth Albion on 8 September 2007 (2007-08)

Rhys Jones for Cornish Pirates at home to Plymouth Albion on 12 April 2009 (2008-09)

Andy Goode for Exeter Chiefs away to Bristol on 26 May 2010 (2010-11)

Joe Ford for Leeds Carnegie at home to Rotherham Titans on 25 November 2011 (2011-12)

See also

• List of English Rugby Union stadiums by capacity
• List of English rugby union teams
• Rugby union in England

Notes

1. Due to the expansion of the Courage National Leagues for the following season there was no relegation from the 1989–90 Courage League National Division Two.[11]
2. Due to the expansion of the division from 10 to 12 teams for the following season there was no relegation from the 1995-96 Courage League National Division Two.[12]
3. 3rd place London Scottish were also promoted.
4. Due to the expansion of the top two divisions for the following season there was no relegation from the 1997-98 Dunbar Premiership Two.[13]
5. Due to the RFU expanding the league from 14 to 16 teams for the following season there was no relegation from the 2005-06 National Division One.[14]
6. Due to London Welsh going into liquidation and being expelled from the league in January 2017 there was no relegation from the 2016-17 RFU Championship.[15]
7. This figure is taken from the regular 2009–10 RFU Championship season and does not include the relegation group games. The minus figure came about because Pertemps Bees were deducted 15 points by the RFU for going into voluntary liquidation but were allowed to continue playing as they were granted a temporary licence. Without the points deduction the Bees would have got 6 points during the first stage of the season.[16]
8. Figure is for regular season only and does not include playoffs.
9. Note that there is very little attendance data prior to the 2000-01 season so it is possible there could have been lower attendances than the ones listed.
10. Note that there is very little attendance data prior to the 2000-01 season so it is possible there could have been lower average club attendances than the one listed. Also, Birmingham & Solihull were missing 2 attendance figures from this season which means their average is not 100% accurate and could be slightly lower or higher with these games accounted for.
11. Note that there is very little attendance data prior to the 2000-01 season so it is possible that previous seasons had lower average attendances.

References

1. "Greene King IPA to sponsor RFU Championship" (Press release). Rugby Football Union. 26 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
2. "Championship plan gains support". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
3. Simon Mills (15 November 2008). "RFU Council approves major changes to shape of club game". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
4. Brian Dick (28 February 2010). "Moseley star Nathan Williams questions fairness of play–offs system". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
5. Brian Dick (25 February 2010). "Taxing times for clubs struggling in rugby's Championship". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
6. RFU Championship building to gripping finale
7. Taylor, John (18 August 2010). "What close season?". ESPNScrum. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
8. "Championship: RFU to abolish play–off pool stages". BBC Sport. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
9. "Play-off system removed from Greene King IPA Championship from next season" (Press release). Premiership Rugby Limited. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
10. Straughan, Dick (5 July 2012). "Falcons relegated as Welsh win RFU promotion appleal". The Cornishman. p. 80.
11. Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.
12. Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1996). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1996–97. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7472-7771-2.
13. "Leagues 1997/98". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
14. "RFU council approves expansion of National League One". ESPN. 17 March 2006.
15. "London Welsh: RFU refuses permission for Exiles to stay in Championship". BBC Sport. 24 January 2017.
16. "Birmingham & Solihull - Wednesday". rolling-maul.com. 28 October 2009.
17. "RFU Championship All time leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 26 February 2016.
18. "RFU Championship All time try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 26 February 2016.

External links

• RFU
• Unofficial National League 1 Messageboard
• Division 1 (2008/2009) on itsrugby.co.uk