Rugby Premier League
Professional Rugby Premier League (Russian: Профессиональная регбийная лига) is the premier rugby union competition in Russia which is active since 1992. The first Russian championship, which succeeded the Soviet Championship, was played in 1992 as Superleague and kept the name until 2004 when it was rebranded as the Professional League. Each club plays each opponent twice; four points are awarded for a win, two for a draw, and no points are given for a defeat. A similar points system is used by most of the club competitions. The top four clubs proceed to the play-offs (first introduced in 2006).
Current season, competition or edition: | |
 | |
| Formerly | Soviet Championship \ Russian Superleague |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 1936 1992 (re-formed) |
| Inaugural season | 1936 |
| Owner(s) | Russian Rugby Union |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Russia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Enisei-STM (10th title) |
| Most titles | VVA 17 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Live streams on rrpl.ru |
| Sponsor(s) | Gilbert Rugger.info |
| International cup(s) | European Rugby Challenge Cup European Rugby Continental Shield |
| Official website | rrpl.ru |
History
The founding of the league coincided with a period of rapid change for Russian rugby, and the format has differed nearly every season since 2005 a year after the Russian Superleague was re-formed.
In 2007, Yug-Krasnodar were admitted to the competition, increasing the league's size to eight teams. For 2008 several lower division clubs were admitted, with a total of 14 teams split into three conferences based on geography. Many of elevated clubs were semiprofessional or even amateur in nature, which lead a lack of competitive balance. The average attendance that season was 4285.
2010 saw another change of format. Gone was the East-West divide, culminating in the formation of a 'Super Group'. VVA, Krasny Yar, Enisey-STM, Slava Moscow, RC Novokuznetsk and Imperia-Dynamo are joined by Fili Moscow and Spartak GM in a straight home-and-away league format. The Rugby Union of Russia were reluctant to make any changes in 2011, a World Cup year.
Current Teams
Geographic Locations
Information
League Honour Board
| Year | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Soviet Championship | ||
| 1936 | Dynamo Moscow | VTsIK School Moscow |
| 1938 | Dynamo Moscow | Spartak Moscow |
| 1939 | Dynamo Moscow | Spartak Moscow |
| 1966 | MVTU | Dynamo Tbilisi |
| 1968 | MVTU | Dynamo Moscow |
| 1969 | VVA | Fili Moscow |
| 1970 | Fili Moscow | MAI Moscow |
| 1971 | VVA | MAI Moscow |
| 1972 | Fili Moscow | VVA |
| 1973 | Fili Moscow | Burevestnik Leningrad |
| 1974 | Fili Moscow | KIIGA Kiev |
| 1975 | Fili Moscow | KIIGA Kiev |
| 1976 | VVA | Slava Moscow |
| 1977 | VVA | Slava Moscow |
| 1978 | RC Aviator Kiev | Fili Moscow |
| 1979 | Slava Moscow | Fili Moscow |
| 1980 | VVA | RC Lokomotiv Moscow |
| 1981 | VVA | RC Aviator Kiev |
| 1982 | Slava Moscow | VVA |
| 1983 | RC Lokomotiv Moscow | Fili Moscow |
| 1984 | VVA | RC AIA Kutaisi |
| 1985 | VVA | Slava Moscow |
| 1986 | VVA | Slava Moscow |
| 1987 | RC AIA Kutaisi | VVA |
| 1988 | RC AIA Kutaisi | Krasny Yar |
| 1989 | RC AIA Kutaisi | VVA |
| 1990 | Krasny Yar | VVA |
| 1991 | Krasny Yar | SKA Alma Ata |
| Russian Superleague | ||
| 1992 | Krasny Yar | VVA |
| 1993 | VVA | Krasny Yar |
| 1994 | Krasny Yar | VVA |
| 1995 | Krasny Yar | West Star Kaliningrad |
| 1996 | Krasny Yar | RC Penza |
| 1997 | Krasny Yar | RC Penza |
| 1998 | Krasny Yar | VVA |
| 1999 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2000 | Krasny Yar | Enisei-STM |
| 2001 | Krasny Yar | Enisei-STM |
| 2002 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2003 | VVA | Enisei-STM |
| 2004 | VVA | Enisei-STM |
| Russian Professional League | ||
| 2005 | Enisei-STM | VVA |
| 2006 | VVA | Krasny Yar |
| 2007 | VVA | Enisei-STM |
| 2008 | VVA | Slava Moscow |
| 2009 | VVA | Enisei-STM |
| 2010 | VVA | Enisei-STM |
| 2011 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2012 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2013 | Krasny Yar | Enisei-STM |
| 2014 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2015 | Krasny Yar | Enisei-STM |
| 2016 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2017 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2018 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| 2019 | Enisei-STM | Krasny Yar |
| Team | Number of Titles |
|---|---|
| VVA | 17 |
| Krasny Yar | 12 |
| Enisei-STM | 10 |
| Fili Moscow | 5 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 3 |
| RC AIA Kutaisi | 3 |
| MVTU | 2 |
| Slava Moscow | 2 |
| RC Aviator Kiev | 1 |
| RC Lokomotiv Moscow | 1 |
Progress of the clubs
References
External links
- Official website (in Russian)
- Information rugby portal (in Russian)
- Russian rugby statistics (in Russian)