Misplaced Pages

2019–20 Greene King IPA Championship
Countries	England  Jersey
Date	11 October 2019 - 14 March 2020
Champions	Newcastle Falcons (3rd title)
Runners-up	Ealing Trailfinders
Relegated	Yorkshire Carnegie
Matches played	87
Attendance	139,760 (average 1,606 per match)
Highest attendance	6,315 Newcastle Falcons v Cornish Pirates 16 February 2020
Lowest attendance	300 Yorkshire Carnegie v Ampthill 22 February 2020
Tries scored	523 (average 6 per match)
Top point scorer	Louis Grimoldby (Ampthill) Rory Jennings (Coventry) Sam Olver (Doncaster Knights) 112 points each
Top try scorer	George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons) Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons) 10 tries each
← 2018–192020–21 →

The 2019–20 RFU Championship, known as the 2019–20 Greene King IPA Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the eleventh season of the RFU Championship, the professional second tier of rugby union in England. It featured eleven English teams and one from Jersey. The competition was sponsored by Greene King for the seventh successive season.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the Rugby Football Union officially cancelled the season on 20 March 2020, after initially postponing all rugby in England including training from 17 March until 14 April 2020. As a result, Newcastle Falcons were declared champions for the season, and promoted to the Premiership on 2 April 2020 on the basis of a best playing record formula, having been undefeated and top of the table when the league was suspended, while Yorkshire Carnegie were relegated to National League 1 at the bottom.

Structure

The team that finished first was promoted to Premiership Rugby as their ground met the RFU Minimum Standards Criteria. The team that finished last was relegated to National League 1. Each club received £530,000 in funding from the RFU in the last year of a deal with the RFU.

Plans to expand Premiership Rugby from 12 to 13 teams for the 2019–20 season, which would have reprieved Newcastle Falcons from being relegated to the Championship, were blocked by the RFU. Plans to abolish promotion and relegation were under discussion prior to the season, and drew complaints and threats of legal action from the Cornish Pirates. There were also plans for the RFU Championship to have a delayed start until October due to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The season began on 20 September 2019 with the Championship Rugby Cup after which the first round of matches started on 11 October 2019 and the final round of matches were scheduled to be played on 9 May 2020.

Teams

Richmond were relegated to National League 1 after finishing bottom of the 2018-19 RFU Championship. They are replaced by Ampthill who were promoted from 2018-19 National League 1 in their fifth promotion in twelve years, playing in the Championship for the first time. London Irish were promoted back to Premiership Rugby at the first attempt. They are replaced in the RFU Championship by Newcastle Falcons who were relegated after finishing last in 2018-19 Premiership Rugby.

Tables

Fixtures & Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

• Game postponed due to bad weather (storm). Game to be rescheduled to 22 February 2020.

Round 13

Round 12 (rescheduled game)

• Game rescheduled from 9 February 2020.

Round 14

Round 15

• Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak.

• Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak.

• Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak.

Attendances

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).

Top points scorers Rank Player Team Points 1 Louis Grimoldby Ampthill 112 Rory Jennings Coventry 112 Sam Olver Doncaster Knights 112 2 Javier Rojas Alvarez Cornish Pirates 108 3 Craig Willis Ealing Trailfinders 82 4 Josh Bragman Hartpury College 77 5 Steven Shingler Ealing Trailfinders 70 6 Shane O'Leary Nottingham 65 7 Brendan Cope Jersey Reds 60

Top try scorers Rank Player Team Tries 1 George McGuigan Newcastle Falcons 10 Adam Radwan Newcastle Falcons 10 2 Callum Patterson Cornish Pirates 9 Jack Spittle Nottingham 9 3 Antonio Harris Jersey Reds 8 Ryan Hutler Bedford Blues 8 David Williams Nottingham 8 4 Sam Baker Ampthill 7 Matt Cornish Ealing Trailfinders 7 Luke Frost London Scottish 7 Reon Joseph Ealing Trailfinders 7

Season records

Notes

1. Yorkshire Carnegie's attendance v Nottingham on 31 January 2020 was incorrectly given as 826 in The Rugby Paper, with the official figure provided by Yorkshire Carnegie instead being 882.
2. Ealing Trailfinders attendance v Bedford Blues on 15 February 2020 was incorrectly given as 680 in The Rugby Paper, with the official figure provided by Ealing instead being 780.

References

1. "Greene King IPA extends RFU partnership". SportsPro Media. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
2. "Greene King IPA Championship games postponed". Green King Championship. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
3. "Greene King IPA Championship season Cancelled". www.championshiprugby.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
4. "RFU confirms league positions". England Rugby. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
5. Newcastle Falcons' promotion to Premiership confirmed by RFU, from BBC Sport.
6. ^ Kitson, Robert (17 May 2016). "'The RFU Championship has become the wild west of professional rugby'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
7. ^ "RFU warned of 'internal revolt' over plans to increase Premiership to 13 clubs and end relegation". Daily Telegraph. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
8. Daniel Schofield (2019-01-07). "Exclusive: Cornish Pirates vow to fight 'tooth and nail' against Premiership clubs' plans to scrap promotion and relegation". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
9. "Premiership 'P Shares' system is cartel, says Doncaster Knights chief Tony De Mulder". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
10. Rees, Paul (25 April 2019). "London Irish's top-flight return highlights gulf between rugby's rich and poor". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
11. Anthony Woolford (2019-04-29). "Welsh rugby's winners and losers amid high drama and one town's humiliation". Wales Online. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
12. "Ampthill hope to continue 'inspiring' rise up rugby pyramid". BBC Sport. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
13. Harrison, Paul (2019-05-04). "Premiership: Newcastle Falcons relegated from Premiership with 28-19 defeat at Gloucester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
14. FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS 2019/20
15. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 578. Rugby Paper Ltd. 13 October 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
16. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 579. Rugby Paper Ltd. 20 October 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
17. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 580. Rugby Paper Ltd. 27 October 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
18. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 581. Rugby Paper Ltd. 3 November 2019. pp. 34–35 & 42.
19. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 582. Rugby Paper Ltd. 10 November 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
20. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 583. Rugby Paper Ltd. 17 November 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
21. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 588. Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 December 2019. pp. 26–27 & 38.
22. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 591. Rugby Paper Ltd. 12 January 2020. pp. 26–27 & 38.
23. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 592. Rugby Paper Ltd. 19 January 2020. pp. 26–27 & 38.
24. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 593. Rugby Paper Ltd. 26 January 2020. pp. 16–17 & 39.
25. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 594. Rugby Paper Ltd. 2 February 2020. pp. 26–27 & 38.
26. "Yorkshire Carnegie v Ampthill game postponed". Yorkshire Carnegie. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
27. "Fixture Rescheduled – Yorkshire Carnegie v 1st XV". Ampthill RUFC. 11 February 2020.
28. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 595. Rugby Paper Ltd. 9 February 2020. pp. 22–23 & 32.
29. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 596. Rugby Paper Ltd. 16 February 2020. pp. 28–29 & 36.
30. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 597. Rugby Paper Ltd. 23 February 2020. pp. 31 & 39.
31. "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 598. Rugby Paper Ltd. 1 March 2020. pp. 28–29 & 38.
32. ^ "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper. No. 600. Rugby Paper Ltd. 15 March 2020. pp. 16–17 & 27.

v t e Rugby union in England
Governing body	Rugby Football Union Rugby Football Union for Women (merged into the RFU)
National teams	Men's England England A 7's U-21 U-20 U-18 British & Irish Lions England Counties XV Women's Women's 7's
International competitions	Men's World Cup Six Nations Rugby World Cup Sevens Sevens World Series Sevens Grand Prix Series Commonwealth Games Women's World Cup Six Nations World Series Sevens
Competition divisions	Men's Premiership Championship National Leagues London and SE Division Northern Division Midland Division South West Division United Hospitals Cup Women's Premiership Women's Rugby
European competitions	European Rugby Champions Cup European Rugby Challenge Cup
National competitions	Premiership Rugby Premiership Cup RFU Championship Championship Cup National League 1 National League 2 East National League 2 North National League 2 West RFU Intermediate Cup RFU Senior Vase RFU Junior Vase Premiership Rugby Sevens Series Women's Premiership Premier 15s
London and South East competitions	Regional 1 South East Regional 1 South Central Regional 2 Anglia Regional 2 South Central Regional 2 South East Regional 2 Thames London 1 North London 2 North East London 2 North West London 2 South East London 2 South West London 3 North West London 3 South East London 3 South West Counties 2 Eastern Counties London 3 Essex Eastern Counties 1 Eastern Counties 2 Eastern Counties 3 Counties 2 Essex Counties 2 Hampshire Counties 3 Hampshire Counties 4 Hampshire Hampshire Cups Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex Herts/Middlesex 2 Hertfordshire Cups Middlesex Cups Counties 3 Kent Counties 4 Kent Counties 5 Kent Kent Cups Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex Counties 2 Surrey Counties 3 Surrey Counties 4 Surrey Counties 5 Surrey Surrey Cups Counties 2 Sussex Sussex 1 Sussex Cups
Midland competitions	Regional 1 Midlands Regional 2 North Midlands Regional 2 West Midlands Regional 2 East Midlands Counties 1 Midlands West (North) Counties 1 Midlands West (South) Midlands 2 East (North) Midlands 2 East (South) Midlands 3 West (North) Midlands 3 West (South) Midlands 3 East (North) Midlands 3 East (South) Midlands 4 West (North) Midlands 4 West (South) Midlands 4 East (North) Midlands 4 East (South) Midlands 5 West (South) Leicestershire Cups North Midlands Cups Staffordshire Cups Warwickshire Cups
Northern competitions	Regional 1 North East Regional 1 North West Regional 2 North Regional 2 North East Regional 2 North West North 1 East North 1 West North 2 West Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire Lancs/Cheshire 1 Lancs/Cheshire 2 Cheshire Cups Lancashire Cups Counties 1 Cumbria Cumbria Cups Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland Durham Cups Northumberland Cups Counties 1 Yorkshire Counties 2 Yorkshire Counties 3 Yorkshire Counties 4 Yorkshire Yorkshire Cups
South West competitions	Regional 1 South West Regional 2 Severn Regional 2 South West Counties 1 Southern North Counties 1 Southern South Counties 1 Western North Counties 1 Western West Counties 2 Cornwall Counties 3 Cornwall Cornwall Cups Counties 2 Devon Counties 3 Devon East Counties 3 Devon West Devon Cups Gloucester Premier Gloucester 1 Gloucester 2 North Gloucester 2 South Gloucestershire Cups Counties 2 Somerset Somerset 1 Somerset 2 North Somerset 2 South Somerset 3 North Somerset 3 South Somerset Cups Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier Oxfordshire Cups Dorset & Wilts 1 North Dorset & Wilts 1 South Dorset & Wilts 2 North Dorset & Wilts 2 South Dorset & Wilts 3 North
County competitions	Division 1 Division 2 Division 3
Discontinued competitions	Anglo-Welsh Cup Cornwall/Devon League Divisional Championship National League 2 South North Premier RFU Knockout Cup South West 1 East
Related articles	International players Clubs Churchill Cup Calcutta Cup Millennium Trophy Ella-Mobbs Trophy Hillary Shield
Other	English rugby union system Timeline of rugby union on UK television

• 2019–20 RFU Championship
• RFU Championship seasons
• 2019–20 in English rugby union leagues
• Sports events curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic