2019–20 RFU Championship
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.[1]
| 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 |
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.[2][3] 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.[4][5]
Structure
The team that finishes first will be promoted to Premiership Rugby providing their ground meets the RFU Minimum Standards Criteria. The team that finishes last will be relegated to National League 1. Each club will receive £530,000 in funding from the RFU in the last year of a deal with the RFU.[6]
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.[7] Plans to abolish promotion and relegation were under discussion prior to the season,[7] and drew complaints and threats of legal action from the Cornish Pirates.[8] There are also plans for the RFU Championship to have a delayed start until October due to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11][12] London Irish were promoted back to Premiership Rugby at the first attempt.[6] They are replaced in the RFU Championship by Newcastle Falcons who were relegated after finishing last in 2018-19 Premiership Rugby.[13]
Tables
|
At the date the Championship was suspended, the Championship table read as follows:
|
On 4 April, the Rugby Football Union confirmed the final table for the season.[14]
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Fixtures & Results
Round 1
12 October 2019 14:30 |
| Hartpury | 8 – 20 | Doncaster Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 935 Referee: Greg MacDonald |
12 October 2019 15:00 |
| Ampthill | 20 – 44 | Nottingham (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 762 Referee: George Selwood |
Round 2
18 October 2019 19:45 |
| Nottingham | 17 – 14 | London Scottish (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 854 Referee: Greg MacDonald |
19 October 2019 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Ampthill | 53 – 22 | Yorkshire Carnegie |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 640 Referee: Michael Hudson |
Round 3
25 October 2019 19:45 |
| Hartpury | 12 – 6 | Nottingham (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 1,146 Referee: Simon Harding |
Round 4
1 November 2019 19:45 |
| Nottingham | 14 – 23 | Cornish Pirates |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 1,023 Referee: Greg Macdonald |
2 November 2019 14:15 |
| Ampthill | 19 – 13 | Hartpury (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 701 Referee: Matthew Turvey |
Round 5
8 November 2019 19:45 |
| (1 BP) Hartpury | 44 – 17 | London Scottish |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 785 Referee: Hamish Smales |
Round 6
16 November 2019 14:15 |
| (1 BP) Ampthill | 38 – 47 | Jersey Reds (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 790 Referee: Luke Pearce |
16 November 2019 14:30 |
| (1 BP) Hartpury | 45 – 12 | Yorkshire Carnegie |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 878 Referee: Luke Pearce |
17 November 2019 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Nottingham | 29 – 14 | Bedford Blues |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 1,055 Referee: Michael Hudson |
Round 7
Round 8
10 January 2020 19:45 |
| Nottingham | 10 – 18 | Ealing Trailfinders |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 850 Referee: Alex Thomas |
11 January 2020 13:30 |
| (1 BP) Hartpury | 9 – 10 | Jersey Reds |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 943 Referee: George Selwood |
11 January 2020 14:15 |
| Ampthill | 19 – 17 | Coventry (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 1,016 Referee: Dean Richards |
Round 9
Round 10
24 January 2020 19:45 |
| (1 BP) Nottingham | 12 – 19 | Newcastle Falcons |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 2,092 Referee: Tim Wigglesworth |
25 January 2020 14:15 |
| (1 BP) Ampthill | 30 – 26 | Doncaster Knights (2 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 980 Referee: Greg McDonald |
25 January 2020 14:30 |
| Hartpury | 23 – 20 | Coventry (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 920 Referee: Sara Cox |
Round 11
Round 12
8 February 2020 14:30 |
| Hartpury | 5 – 26 | Newcastle Falcons (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 1,473 Referee: Fergus Kirby |
Round 13
14 February 2020 19:45 |
| (1 BP) Nottingham | 33 – 26 | Hartpury (2 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 865 Referee: Tim Wigglesworth |
15 February 2020 14:15 |
| Ampthill | 13 – 5 | London Scottish |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 467 Referee: Jack Makepeace |
Round 12 (rescheduled game)
- Game rescheduled from 9 February 2020.
Round 14
28 February 2020 19:45 |
| Hartpury | 5 – 16 | Ampthill |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Gillman's Ground Attendance: 578 Referee: Dean Richards |
Round 15
14 March 2020 14:15 |
| Ampthill | 13 – 30 | Cornish Pirates (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dillingham Park Attendance: 1,208 Referee: Simon Harding |
- Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak.
- Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak.
- Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak.
Attendances
| Club | Home Games |
Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampthill | 8 | 6,564 | 821 | 1,208 | 467 | 27% |
| Bedford Blues | 7 | 19,476 | 2,782 | 5,000 | 2,132 | 56% |
| Cornish Pirates | 8 | 14,372 | 1,797 | 2,975 | 1,285 | 45% |
| Coventry | 7 | 17,125 | 2,446 | 3,117 | 1,932 | 61% |
| Doncaster Knights | 7 | 7,299 | 1,043 | 1,203 | 781 | 21% |
| Ealing Trailfinders | 6 | 5,415 | 903 | 1,950 | 625 | 23% |
| Hartpury | 8 | 7,658 | 957 | 1,473 | 578 | 48% |
| Jersey Reds | 8 | 9,929 | 1,241 | 1,892 | 848 | 31% |
| London Scottish | 7 | 6,024 | 861 | 1,136 | 622 | 19% |
| Newcastle Falcons | 7 | 32,950 | 4,707 | 6,315 | 3,795 | 46% |
| Nottingham | 6 | 6,739 | 1,123 | 2,092 | 850 | 32% |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 8 | 6,209 | 776 | 2,121 | 300 | 4% |
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
|
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Season records
Team
52 – 0 Cornish Pirates at home to Yorkshire Carnegie on 12 January 2020
66 – 13 Ealing Trailfinders away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 10 November 2019
77 – 26 Ealing Trailfinders at home to Ampthill on 18 January 2020
Ealing Trailfinders at home to Ampthill on 18 January 2020
Ealing Trailfinders at home to Ampthill on 18 January 2020
Coventry away to Jersey Reds on 12 October 2019
Attendances
Newcastle Falcons at home to Cornish Pirates on 16 February 2020
Yorkshire Carnegie at home to Ampthill on 22 February 2020
Newcastle Falcons
Yorkshire Carnegie
|
Player
|
Notes
- Goldington Road's capacity down from 6,000 to 5,000.
- 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.
- 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
- "Greene King IPA extends RFU partnership". SportsPro Media. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- "Greene King IPA Championship games postponed". Green King Championship. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- "RFU". www.championshiprugby.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- "RFU confirms league positions". England Rugby. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- Newcastle Falcons' promotion to Premiership confirmed by RFU, from BBC Sport.
- Kitson, Robert. "'The RFU Championship has become the wild west of professional rugby'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- "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.
- 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.
- "Premiership 'P Shares' system is cartel, says Doncaster Knights chief Tony De Mulder". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- "London Irish's top-flight return highlights gulf between rugby's rich and poor". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- 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.
- "Ampthill hope to continue 'inspiring' rise up rugby pyramid". BBC Sport. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- Harrison, Paul (2019-05-04). "Premiership: Newcastle Falcons relegated from Premiership with 28-19 defeat at Gloucester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS 2019/20
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (578). Rugby Paper Ltd. 13 October 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (579). Rugby Paper Ltd. 20 October 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (580). Rugby Paper Ltd. 27 October 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (581). Rugby Paper Ltd. 3 November 2019. pp. 34–35 & 42.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (582). Rugby Paper Ltd. 10 November 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (583). Rugby Paper Ltd. 17 November 2019. pp. 28–29 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (588). Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 December 2019. pp. 26–27 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (591). Rugby Paper Ltd. 12 January 2020. pp. 26–27 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (592). Rugby Paper Ltd. 19 January 2020. pp. 26–27 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (593). Rugby Paper Ltd. 26 January 2020. pp. 16–17 & 39.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (594). Rugby Paper Ltd. 2 February 2020. pp. 26–27 & 38.
- "Yorkshire Carnegie v Ampthill game postponed". Yorkshire Carnegie. 9 February 2020.
- "Fixture Rescheduled – Yorkshire Carnegie v 1st XV". Ampthill RUFC. 11 February 2020.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (595). Rugby Paper Ltd. 9 February 2020. pp. 22–23 & 32.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (596). Rugby Paper Ltd. 16 February 2020. pp. 28–29 & 36.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (597). Rugby Paper Ltd. 23 February 2020. pp. 31 & 39.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (598). Rugby Paper Ltd. 1 March 2020. pp. 28–29 & 38.
- "RFU Championship". The RUGBYPaper (600). Rugby Paper Ltd. 15 March 2020. pp. 16–17 & 27.