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2016–17 RFU Championship
Countries	England  Jersey
Date	3 September 2016 – 24 May 2017
Champions	London Irish (1st title)
Runners-up	Yorkshire Carnegie
Relegated	none
Matches played	129
Attendance	229,202 (average 1,777 per match)
Highest attendance	11,671 London Irish v Cornish Pirates (18 March 2017)
Lowest attendance	438 Ealing Trailfinders v Jersey Reds (17 September 2016)
Tries scored	742 (average 5.8 per match)
Top point scorer	Tommy Bell (London Irish) 253
Top try scorer	Jonah Holmes (Yorkshire Carnegie) 16
← 2015–162017–18 →

The 2016–17 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the eighth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by eleven English clubs and one from Jersey in the Channel Islands. This will be the fourth year of the competition's sponsorship with Greene King Brewery. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also compete in the British and Irish Cup, along with clubs from Ireland and Wales. Some matches in the RFU Championship are broadcast on Sky Sports.

On 24 January 2017 London Welsh were expelled from the championship after failing to meet the conditions required by the RFU to extend a temporary licence granted after their liquidation. The club's record for the season was expunged. The RFU announced that no team would be relegated from the Championship at the end of the season.

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-away 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 English Premiership. There is no promotion if a ground fails to meet the criteria. Unlike previous seasons there will be no relegation from the league this year.

In 2015 the RFU increased annual funding to over £500,000 per club, an agreement which will last until 2020. Despite this, Cornish Pirates stated more money was needed in RFU grants to support a fully professional second tier.

The 2016–17 season was also the last for play-offs in the Championship for three seasons. Starting with the 2017–18 season, the play-offs will be replaced by automatic promotion for the team that finishes first in the home-and-away season, provided said team meets the Minimum Standards Criteria.

Teams

• Ealing Trailfinders
• London Scottish
• London Welsh
• Richmond

After ten seasons in the Championship Birmingham Moseley were relegated following their last place finish in 2016. They are replaced by Richmond, who won the National League 1 and return to the second tier for the first time since 1997. Richmond subsequently entered administration and dropped eight tiers following two seasons in the premiership between 1997 and 1999. As a result, Richmond stated that they would remain semi-professional and not sign any professional players despite the RFU Championship being fully professional. London Irish, an original founder of the professional English Premiership, join the league after relegation from the 2015–16 Aviva Premiership, finishing bottom of the table.

On 7 December 2016 London Welsh RFC went into liquidation. They were deducted 20 points but allowed to continue in the Championship until January when the RFU would decide on their future. On 24 January 2017 London Welsh were expelled from the championship after failing to meet the conditions required by the RFU to extend the temporary licence. The club's record for the season was expunged and there would be no relegation from the Championship at the end of season.

Club	Stadium	Capacity	Area	Captain	DOR/Head Coach
Bedford Blues	Goldington Road	6,000	Bedford, Bedfordshire	Michael Le Bourgeois	Mike Rayer
Cornish Pirates	Mennaye Field	4,000 (2,200 Seats)	Penzance, Cornwall	Chris Morgan	Gavin Cattle Alan Paver
Doncaster Knights	Castle Park	5,000	Doncaster, South Yorkshire	Michael Hills	Clive Griffiths
Ealing Trailfinders	Trailfinders Sports Ground	3,020 (1,020 seats)	West Ealing, London	Danny Kenny	Ben Ward
Jersey Reds	St Peter	4,000	Saint Peter, Jersey	Pierce Philips	Harvey Biljon
London Irish	Madejski Stadium	24,161	Reading, Berkshire	Luke Narraway	Nick Kennedy
London Scottish	Athletic Ground, Richmond	4,500	Richmond, London	Rory Bartle	Sean Lineen
London Welsh	Old Deer Park	5,850 (1,000 seats)	Richmond, London	Matt Corker	James Buckland
Nottingham	Lady Bay Sports Ground	3,000	Nottingham, Nottinghamshire	Matt Everard	Ian Costello
Richmond	Athletic Ground, Richmond	4,500	Richmond, London	Will Warden	Steve Hill
Rotherham Titans	Clifton Lane	2,500	Rotherham, South Yorkshire	Tom Holmes	Justin Burnell
Yorkshire Carnegie	Headingley Carnegie Stadium	21,062	Leeds, West Yorkshire	Ryan Burrows	Ian McGeechan

Notes

1. The Director of Rugby/Head Coach list updated 2 September 2016
2. Although Madejski's full capacity is 24,161, for most matches only the West Stand will be open with capacity of 7,579.
3. London Welsh started the season but were expelled from the league on 24 January 2017

Table

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
   Notes:

1. ^ Had either Ealing or Doncaster won the play-offs, they would not have accepted promotion, causing no side to be promoted and the bottom Premiership club retaining their place. This did not happen, as London Irish and Yorkshire Carnegie (both of which met the Premiership's minimum standards) won the play-off semi-finals.

Fixtures

Fixtures for the season were announced by the RFU on 8 July 2016.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

1. London Irish's attendance of 11,671 was a RFU Championship regular season record. Note this does not include RFU Championship playoff games or games in the old National Division One prior to the Championship's inception in 2009-10.

Round 20

Round 21

Round 22

Play-offs

Semi-finals

The semi-finals 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. The matches are due to be played on 28/30 April 2017 and 5/6 May 2017. London Irish and Yorkshire finished 1st and 2nd respectively and both chose to play the second leg at home. It was announced on 27 April that both London Irish and Yorkshire Carnegie were eligible for promotion while Doncaster Knights and Ealing Trailfinders did not apply for audit for minimum standards criteria and therefore will not be promoted should they win the championship.

First leg

Second leg

• Yorkshire Carnegie won 52 – 36 on aggregate

• London Irish won 74 – 25 on aggregate

Final

The final is played over two legs – with the higher placed team deciding which leg they play at home.

First leg

Second leg

• London Irish won 84 – 66 on aggregate and are promoted to the Premiership

Attendances

• Includes playoff games.

Notes

1. * Due to London Welsh's expulsion Bedford only played 10 home games.
2. * Due to London Welsh's expulsion Doncaster only played 10 home games in the league stage. As they reached the promotion playoffs they played 11 homes games overall.
3. *Ealing Trailfinders played 12 home games as they reached the promotion playoff semi-finals.
4. * Due to London Welsh's expulsion Jersey only played 10 home games.
5. * London Irish played 13 home games as they reached the promotion playoff final.
6. * London Welsh only played 6 home games as they were expelled from the Championship in January 2017 after going into liquidation.
7. * Due to London Welsh's expulsion Nottingham only played 10 home games.
8. * Yorkshire Carnegie played 13 home games as they reached the promotion playoff final.

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 Rank Player Team Appearances Points 1 Tommy Bell London Irish 18 253 2 Joe Ford Yorkshire Carnegie 24 243 3 Peter Lydon London Scottish 21 176 4 Dougie Flockhart Doncaster Knights 18 167 5 Aaron Penberthy Ealing Trailfinders 18 161 6 Laurence May Cornish Pirates 16 148 7 Rob Kirby Richmond 20 109 8 Sam Katz Jersey Reds 12 103 9 Jake Sharp Bedford Blues 21 93 10 Will Robinson Rotherham Titans 9 83

Top try scorers Rank Player Team Appearances Tries 1 Jonah Holmes Yorkshire Carnegie 23 16 2 Tyson Lewis Doncaster Knights 23 14 3 Dean Adamson Bedford Blues 18 13 4 Jason Harries London Scottish 17 11 Tom Duncan Cornish Pirates 20 11 5 Kyle Moyle Cornish Pirates 20 10 David Paice London Irish 22 10 6 Miles Mantella London Welsh / Ealing Trailfinders 14 9 Patrick Tapley Bedford Blues 13 9 Asaeli Tikoirotuma London Irish 20 9

Season records

• Updated to 17 May 2017

See also

• 2016–17 British and Irish Cup
• List of English Rugby Union stadiums by capacity

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 29 May 2015.
2. ^ "London Welsh: RFU refuses permission for Exiles to stay in Championship". BBC Sport. 24 January 2017.
3. ^ "Greene King IPA Championship fixtures confirmed". England Rugby. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
4. "Bristol, Yorkshire Carnegie and Doncaster meet Premiership promotion criteria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
5. "Championship: 'Extra RFU funding is not enough', Plymouth chief". BBC Sport. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
6. Pilnick, Brent (21 April 2016). "Championship rugby: Cornish Pirates call for RFU to increase funding for second tier". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
7. "Play-off system removed from Greene King IPA Championship from next season" (Press release). Premiership Rugby Limited. 3 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
8. ^ "Richmond RFC accept promotion, but without help of professionals". Plymouth Herald. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
9. Williams, Adam (2 May 2016). "London Irish: What next for club following Premiership relegation?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
10. "London Welsh: Championship club to go into liquidation". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
11. Newcombe, Jon (28 August 2016). "Sorry, but it's curtains for Richmond". RugbyPaper. No. 415. pp. 24–25.
12. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 416. 4 September 2016. pp. 26–27 & 40.
13. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 417. 11 September 2016. pp. 26–27 & 38.
14. "Championship 16/17 Match overview Nottingham VS Cornish Pirates". Rugby Statbunker. 18 September 2016.
15. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 418. 18 September 2016. pp. 26–27 & 38.
16. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 419. 25 September 2016. pp. 26–27 & 38.
17. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 420. 2 October 2016. pp. 28–29 & 38.
18. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 421. 9 October 2016. pp. 26–27 & 38.
19. "Championship 16/17 Match overview Nottingham VS Richmond". Rugby Statbunker. 30 October 2016.
20. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 424. 30 October 2016. pp. 28–29 & 38.
21. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 425. 6 November 2016. pp. 26–27 & 38.
22. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 427. 20 November 2016. pp. 28–29 & 38.
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24. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 429. 4 December 2016. pp. 30–31 & 40.
25. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 432. 27 December 2016. pp. 24–25 & 28.
26. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 433. 1 January 2017. pp. 24–26.
27. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 437. 28 January 2017. pp. 14–15 & 40.
28. "FULL TIME: London Irish 60-14 Nottingham". The Reading Chronicle. 5 February 2017.
29. "REFEREES TO 6 FEBRUARY 2017". Rugby 365. 31 January 2017.
30. "Championship". RugbyPaper. No. 438. 5 February 2017. pp. 28–29 & 38.
31. "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 440. 19 February 2017. pp. 18–19 & 38.
32. "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 441. 26 February 2017. pp. 32–33 & 39.
33. "REFEREES TO 6 MARCH 2017". Rugby 365. 28 February 2017.
34. "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 442. 5 March 2017. pp. 26–37 & 38.
35. "MATCH REPORT: IRISH GUARANTEE TOP SPOT IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD". London Irish. 18 March 2017.
36. "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 444. 19 March 2017. pp. 30–31 & 41.
37. "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 445. 26 March 2017. pp. 26–27 & 38.
38. "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 447. 9 April 2017. pp. 28–29 & 38.
39. ^ "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 448. 16 April 2017. pp. 28–29 & 34.
40. "Irish Guarantee top spot in front of record crowd". London Irish. London Irish Scottish Richmond Limited. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
41. "Greene King IPA Championship 2016/17 play-offs confirmed". Doncaster Knights. Dncaster Rugby Football Club. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
42. "Championship play-offs: Doncaster Knights and Ealing Trailfinders do not want promotion". BBC Sport. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
43. ^ "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 450. 30 April 2017. pp. 26–27 & 36.
44. ^ "Greene King IPA Championship". The RugbyPaper. No. 450. 30 April 2017. pp. 26–27 & 34.
45. ^ "Championship 16/17 Home attendances". Rugby Statbunker. 25 May 2017.
46. "Championship 16/17 Leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 24 May 2017.
47. "Championship 16/17 Leading try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 24 May 2017.
48. "Championship 16/17 Most tries in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
49. "Championship 16/17 Most conversions in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
50. "Championship 16/17 Most penalties in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
51. "Championship 16/17 Most drop goals in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
52. "Championship 16/17 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
53. "Championship 16/17 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
54. "Championship 16/17 Most conversions in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
55. "Championship 16/17 Most penalties in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.
56. "Championship 16/17 Most drop goals in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 May 2017.

External links

• RFU Championship news

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• 2016–17 RFU Championship
• 2016–17 in English rugby union leagues
• RFU Championship seasons