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2021–22 RFU Championship

The 2021–22 RFU Championship was the thirteenth season of the RFU Championship, the professional second tier of rugby union in England. It featured ten English teams and one from Jersey. Saracens are the reigning champions and were promoted to the Premiership.

Structure

In a return to the structure used prior to 2020–21, the eleven teams played each of the other teams twice. There was no end of season play-off and as no team met the minimum standards criteria, no team was promoted to Premiership Rugby.[2] For the second consecutive year no team was relegated from the league.

RFU funding

For the second year in a row each club will receive approximately £161,500 in funding from the RFU as part of the reduction of funding introduced ahead of the 2016–17 season.[3][4][5] Last season, following news of the funding change, several clubs announced a switch to a semi-professional business model.[6][7]

Teams

2021–22 RFU Championship is located in England
London
London
Ampthill
Bedford
Cornish Pirates
Coventry
Doncaster
Hartpury
Jersey Reds
Nottingham
London teams: Ealing London Scottish Richmond
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Locations of the 2021–22 RFU Championship teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs
L. Scottish
Richmond
Ealing
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Greater London RFU Championship teams

Ten of the eleven teams played in last season's competition. Saracens having beaten Ealing Trailfinders in the 2020–21 final were promoted into Premiership Rugby with no team relegated.[8] London Scottish returned to the league following a one-year hiatus due to the costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] They intended to leave the Athletic Ground ahead of this season, however it was later confirmed they would remain at the Athletic Ground.[10][11]

Table

Updated to match(es) played on 2 April 2022. Source: "The Championship". England Rugby.
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  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

Fixtures for the season were announced by the RFU on 22 July 2021. The season commenced on 17 September and the final round of matches are due to take place in mid-March.

Round 1

[13]

Round 2

[14]

Round 3

[15]

Round 4

[16]

Round 5

[17]

Round 6

[18]

Round 7

[19]

Round 8

[20]

Round 9

[21]

Round 10

[23]

Round 11

[24]

Round 12

[26]

Round 13

[29]

Round 14

[29]

Round 15

[31]

Round 16

[32]

Round 17

[33]

[34]

Round 18

[35]

Round 19

[36]

Round 20

[38]

[38]

Round 21

[39]

Rescheduled matches

[40]

Rescheduled matches

[41]

Rescheduled matches

[1]

Attendances

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Notes

  1. ^ Goldington Road's capacity down from 6,000 to 5,000.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 707. 3 April 2022. p. 38.
  2. ^ "Update on Minimum Standards Criteria for Promotion". www.championshiprugby.co.uk. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  3. ^ "Update on RFU Funding of Greene King IPA Championship". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  4. ^ "Update on RFU Funding of Greene King IPA Championship". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  5. ^ "RFU Council Vote in Favour of COVID Recovery Plan". www.englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  6. ^ "RFU funding cut update". London Scottish Rugby. 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  7. ^ "PLANNING FOR NEXT SEASON". Nottingham Rugby. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  8. ^ "RFU Council votes in favour of no Premiership relegation". England Rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  9. ^ "London Scottish decline DCMS loans to play 1st XV". London Scottish Rugby. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  10. ^ "London Scottish to leave Richmond Athletic Ground after 127 years". London Scottish Rugby. 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  11. ^ "London Scottish to remain at the RAG". London Scottish Rugby. 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  12. ^ "A right mess entirely of the RFU's making". The RugbyPaper. No. 703. 6 March 2022. p. 11.
  13. ^ "Results". The Rugby Paper. No. 679. 19 September 2021. p. 38.
  14. ^ "Results". The Rugby Paper. No. 680. 26 September 2021. p. 38.
  15. ^ "Results". The Rugby Paper. No. 681. 3 October 2021. p. 38.
  16. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 682. 10 October 2021. p. 38.
  17. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 684. 24 October 2021. p. 38.
  18. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 685. 31 October 2021. p. 38.
  19. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 686. 7 November 2021. p. 28, 29 &39.
  20. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 688. 21 November 2021. pp. 22–23, 38.
  21. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 689. 28 November 2021. p. 38.
  22. ^ "TONIGHT'S GAME POSTPONED". Nottingham Rugby. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 690. 5 December 2021. p. 38.
  24. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 691. 12 December 2021. p. 38.
  25. ^ Pilnick, Brent. "Cornish Pirates' Championship game at Richmond off due to Covid-19". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 692. 19 December 2021. p. 32.
  27. ^ "NOTTINGHAM V RICHMOND POSTPONED". Nottingham Rugby. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Cornish Pirates v Hartpury Postponed". Cornish Pirates. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 694. 2 January 2022. p. 32.
  30. ^ "Cornish Pirates match postponed after Covid cases". BBC News. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 696. 16 January 2022. p. 38.
  32. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 697. 23 January 2022. p. 38.
  33. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 698. 30 January 2022. p. 38.
  34. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 699. 6 February 2022. p. 39.
  35. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 700. 13 February 2022. p. 38.
  36. ^ "Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 701. 20 February 2022. p. 38.
  37. ^ Westren, Phil. "Championship Rugby Round 20". Cornish Pirates. An Voladron Gernewek. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  38. ^ a b "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 703. 6 March 2022. p. 34.
  39. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 704. 13 March 2022. p. 38.
  40. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 705. 20 March 2022. p. 37.
  41. ^ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 706. 26 March 2022. p. 38.