The 2017–18 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, was the ninth season of the professionalised format of the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

. It was contested by eleven English clubs and one from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. The competition was sponsored by

Greene King Greene King is a large pub retailer and brewer. It is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The company owns pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019. H ...

for a fifth successive season. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also competed in the British and Irish Cup, along with clubs from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. On 24 March 2018 Rotherham Titans were relegated with 3 games to go, after losing away to Jersey Reds. Despite seeing some improvements in the second half of the season, the Yorkshire club were easily the weakest side in the division, dropping to

2018–19 National League 1 The 2018–19 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1, is the tenth season of the third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was intro ...

, the lowest level the club have played at for 14 seasons. On 7 April 2018

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

were crowned champions with 2 games to go following title rivals

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

defeat that day to

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

. They met the minimum criteria and therefore were promoted into

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

. In winning the championship Bristol also became the most decorated tier 2 side in English league history with 4 league titles to-date.

Structure

The Championship's structure has all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis. The play-offs for promotion have been abolished and replaced by the first ranked team being promoted; providing that club's ground fulfills the

's Minimum Standards Criteria. Under the play-off system some clubs qualified for the play-offs but did not meet the RFU's Minimum Standards Criteria which meant they could not be promoted. The change was made to allow the promoted team additional time to prepare for playing in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. As part of an agreement with the RFU, each club will receive £530,000 funding.

Teams

In January 2017,

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

was expelled from the RFU Championship and then

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

due to debt. As a result,

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

, who finished bottom of the league, were not relegated; a decision which former Championship club

Plymouth Albion Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC (founded 1876) and Devonport Albion RFC (founded 1876). Since 2003 they have pl ...

contested. Promoted in place of London Welsh were the winners of 2016–17 National League 1,

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

, who have moved from Gloucester 3 North, at the bottom of the English rugby pyramid, to the second tier within thirteen years of their founding.

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

was promoted as champions and play-off winners of the

2016–17 RFU Championship 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 R ...

and were replaced by

following their last place in the 2016–17 English Premiership.

Table

Fixtures

Fixtures for the season were announced by the RFU on 9 June 2017.

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Round 7

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Round 8

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Round 9

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Round 10

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Round 11

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Round 12

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Round 13

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Round 14

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Round 15

*Postponed due to waterlogged pitch caused by heavy rain. Game rescheduled to 25 February 2018. ----

Round 16

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Round 15 (rescheduled game)

*Game rescheduled from 11 February 2018. ----

Round 17

*Postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 10 March 2018. *Postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 10 March 2018. *Postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 30 March 2018. ----

Round 17 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 3 March 2018. *Game rescheduled from 3 March 2018. ----

Round 18

*Postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 24 April 2018. *Postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 17 April 2018. ----

Round 19

*Rotherham Titans are relegated. ----

Round 17 (rescheduled game)

*Game rescheduled from 3 March 2018. ----

Round 20

*Bristol are champions following Ealing's defeat to Doncaster on the following day. ----

Round 21

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Round 18 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 18 March 2018. *Game rescheduled from 18 March 2018. ----

Round 22

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

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

;Largest home win — 60 points 72 - 12 Ealing Trailfinders at home to London Scottish on 24 September 2017 ;Largest away win — 43 points 60 - 17 Bristol away to Nottingham on 6 April 2018 ;Most points scored — 72 points 72 - 12 Ealing Trailfinders at home to London Scottish on 24 September 2017 ;Most tries in a match — 10 (2) Ealing Trailfinders at home to London Scottish on 24 September 2017
Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 13 April 2018 ;Most conversions in a match — 9 Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 13 April 2018 ;Most penalties in a match — 6 Bristol at home to Yorkshire Carnegie on 23 March 2018 ;Most drop goals in a match — 2 Nottingham at home to Hartpury College on 29 September 2017

Attendances

;Highest — 13,100 Bristol at home to Cornish Pirates on 13 April 2018 ;Lowest — 426 Hartpury College at home to Nottingham on 10 February 2018 ;Highest average attendance — 8,487 Bristol ;Lowest average attendance — 814 Ealing Trailfinders

Player

;Most points in a match — 25 Laurence May for Cornish Pirates at home to London Scottish on 25 March 2018 ;Most tries in a match — 4 (2)

Max Crumpton Max Crumpton (born 25 October 1993) is an English former rugby union player for Harlequins in Premiership Rugby. He was a graduate of Saracens academy system where he progressed into the first-team squad. Crumpton spent time on loan with Plym ...

for Bristol at home to Richmond on 17 September 2017

Luke Morahan Luke Morahan (born 13 April 1990) is an Australian rugby player currently playing for the Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby, English Premiership since 2017. Morahan's main position is on the Wing (rugby union), wing, however, he does also p ...

for Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 13 April 2018 ;Most conversions in a match — 9

Ian Madigan Ian Madigan (born 21 March 1989) is an Irish professional rugby union player for Ulster. His primary position is at fly-half, although he can also play at centre and full-back. Club career Madigan made his senior debut for Leinster in a Celtic L ...

for Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 13 April 2018 ;Most penalties in a match — 6

for Bristol at home to Yorkshire Carnegie on 23 March 2018 ;Most drop goals in a match — 2 Tiff Eden for Nottingham at home to Hartpury College on 29 September 2017

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Championship 2 English 2 2017-18