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 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 ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. The competition was sponsored by

Greene King Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed o ...

for a fifth successive season. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also competed in the

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009� ...

, along with clubs from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

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

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

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

were crowned champions with 2 games to go following title rivals Ealing Trailfinders defeat that day to

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Knights Rugby Football Club ''(formerly, Doncaster RFC)'' are a professional rugby union club representing the city of Doncaster, England. The club play in the 2nd division of English rugby, the RFU Championship. Being the most prom ...

. 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, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

. 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. 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 () 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, after gaining promotion from ...

was expelled from the RFU Championship and then

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

due to debt. As a result, Rotherham Titans, who finished bottom of the league, were not relegated; a decision which former Championship club Plymouth Albion contested. Promoted in place of London Welsh were the winners of 2016–17 National League 1, Hartpury College, 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 that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

was promoted as champions and play-off winners of the 2016–17 RFU Championship 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 for Bristol at home to Richmond on 17 September 2017
Luke Morahan for Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 13 April 2018 ;Most conversions in a match — 9 Ian Madigan for Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 13 April 2018 ;Most penalties in a match — 6 Ian Madigan 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