2009–10 RFU Championship
The 2009–10 RFU Championship was the 1st season of the second division of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between August 2009 and May 2010. The league had been restructured from the 16 teams of the previous season down to just 12. New teams included Bristol who had been relegated from the Guinness Premiership 2008-09 and Birmingham and Solihull who had been promoted from National Division Two 2008-09. As well as a decrease in teams, the league would now consist of three parts - a standard league section, promotion/relegation pools and then playoffs to determine who would go up as champions.
During this season, Exeter Chiefs won promotion to the Aviva Premiership 2010-11 by beating Bristol in the playoff final. This marked Exeter's first ever promotion to the Premiership, which they would later win in 2017.
Despite finishing 11th of 12 after the first stage Coventry were relegated to the 2010–11 National League 1 as they finished bottom of the relegation pool.
Participating teams
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Bedford Blues | Goldington Road | 6,000 | Bedford, Bedfordshire |
| Birmingham & Solihull | Sharmans Cross | 2,500 | Solihull, West Midlands |
| Bristol | Memorial Stadium | 12,100 | Bristol |
| Cornish Pirates | Recreation Ground | 9,000 | Camborne, Cornwall |
| Coventry | Butts Park Arena | 4,000 | Coventry, West Midlands |
| Doncaster Knights | Castle Park | 3,075 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| Exeter Chiefs | Sandy Park | 10,000 | Exeter, Devon |
| London Welsh | Old Deer Park | 5,850 | Richmond, London |
| Moseley | Billesley Common | 3,000+ | Birmingham, West Midlands |
| Nottingham | Meadow Lane | 19,588 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire |
| Plymouth Albion | The Brickfields | 6,500 | Plymouth, Devon |
| Rotherham Titans | Clifton Lane | 2,500 | Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
;Notes
Stage 1 League Table
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
----Round 13
----Round 14
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 February 2010.
Round 15
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 January 2010.
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 January 2010.
Round 16
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 10 February 2010.
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 11 February 2010.
Round 17
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 24 February 2010.
Round 15 (Rescheduled Games)
- Game rescheduled from 28 December 2009.
- Game rescheduled from 28 December 2009.
Round 18
----Round 19
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 17 February 2010.
Round 14 (Rescheduled Game)
- Game rescheduled to 19 December 2009.
Round 20
----Round 16 & 19 (Rescheduled Games)
- Game rescheduled from 2 January 2010.
- Game rescheduled from 2 January 2010.
- Game rescheduled from 30 January 2010.
Round 21
----Round 17 (Rescheduled Game)
- Game rescheduled from 15 January 2010.
Round 22
Stage 2: Playoffs
Promotion
Winner of Pool A to play Runner-Up of Pool B, and Winner of Pool B to play Runner-Up of Pool A.Group A:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | PTS |
| 1 | Bristol | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 189 | 86 | 4 | 24 |
| 2 | Bedford | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 154 | 125 | 4 | 20 |
| 3 | Cornish Pirates | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 98 | 158 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Plymouth Albion | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 57 | 129 | 1 | 5 |
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Round 4
----Round 5
----Round 6
Group B:| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | PTS |
| 1 | Exeter | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 181 | 86 | 4 | 20 |
| 2 | London Welsh | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 108 | 110 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | Nottingham | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 98 | 141 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Doncaster | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 108 | 158 | 1 | 9 |
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Round 4
----Round 5
----Round 6
Relegation
Bottom club in Group C relegated to National League 1Group C:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | PTS |
| 1 | Rotherham | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 188 | 116 | 7 | 27 |
| 2 | Moseley | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 153 | 132 | 7 | 15 |
| 3 | Birmingham & Solihull | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 158 | 169 | 3 | 13* |
| 4 | Coventry | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 82 | 164 | 2 | 10 |
- Birmingham & Solihull deducted 2 points for fielding an unregistered player
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Round 4
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 24 April 2010.
Round 5
----Round 4 (Rescheduled Game)
----Round 6
Stage 3
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were one-off single ties held between the winner of Group A and the runner-up of Group B, and the winner of Group B and the runner-up of Group A. The matches took place at the home ground of the group winners.----
Final
The two-legged final took place at the home grounds of the two clubs involved, rather than at Twickenham.Exeter Chiefs win the Championship and earn promotion to the 2010–11 Premiership.
Total Season Attendances
- Figures include playoff semi finals and final
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Bedford Blues | 14 | 39,364 | 2,812 | 4,067 | 1,642 | 47% |
| Birmingham & Solihull | 12 | 7,984 | 665 | 1,407 | 200 | 23% |
| Bristol | 16 | 94,752 | 5,922 | 11,550 | 4,305 | 49% |
| Cornish Pirates | 14 | 42,157 | 3,011 | 5,654 | 1,560 | 33% |
| Coventry | 14 | 17,473 | 1,248 | 2,003 | 618 | 29% |
| Doncaster Knights | 14 | 20,243 | 1,446 | 2,174 | 1,011 | 47% |
| Exeter Chiefs | 16 | 77,670 | 4,854 | 10,021 | 3,477 | 49% |
| London Welsh | 14 | 18,604 | 1,329 | 2,240 | 520 | 23% |
| Moseley | 14 | 13,652 | 975 | 1,564 | 749 | 33% |
| Nottingham | 14 | 16,978 | 1,213 | 1,796 | 790 | 6% |
| Plymouth Albion | 14 | 37,448 | 2,675 | 4,430 | 1,384 | 41% |
| Rotherham Titans | 14 | 15,884 | 1,135 | 1,610 | 521 | 45% |
Individual Statistics
- Player stats include playoff games as well as regular season games. Also note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 52 pts62 - 10 Cornish Pirates at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 25 October 2009
;Largest away win — 45 pts
60 - 15 Bristol away to Cornish Pirates on 1 May 2010
;Most points scored — 62 pts
62 - 10 Cornish Pirates at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 25 October 2009
62 - 12 Exeter Chiefs at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 13 March 2010
;Most tries in a match — 10
Bristol away to Cornish Pirates on 1 May 2010
;Most conversions in a match — 7
Cornish Pirates at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 25 October 2009
;Most penalties in a match — 6
Exeter Chiefs at home to Doncaster Knights on 12 September 2009
Rotherham Titans at home to Cornish Pirates on 31 October 2009
Moseley at home to Bristol on 13 March 2010
Exeter Chiefs away to Bristol on 26 May 2010
;Most drop goals in a match — 2
Doncaster Knights at home to Bristol on 24 October 2009
Rotherham Titans at home to Cornish Pirates on 31 October 2009
Exeter Chiefs away to Bristol on 26 May 2010
Player
;Most points in a match — 24James Pritchard for Bedford Blues at home to Nottingham on 16 January 2010
Gareth Steenson for Exeter Chiefs away to Bristol on 26 May 2010
;Most tries in a match — 4
Ian Davey for Bedford Blues at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 10 October 2009
Callum MacBurnie for Moseley at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 1 May 2010
;Most conversions in a match — 7
James Moore for Cornish Pirates at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 25 October 2009
;Most penalties in a match — 6
Gareth Steenson for Exeter Chiefs at home to Doncaster Knights on 12 September 2009
Jonathan West for Rotherham Titans at home to Cornish Pirates on 31 October 2009
Tristan Roberts for Moseley at home to Bristol on 13 March 2010
Gareth Steenson for Exeter Chiefs away to Bristol on 26 May 2010
;Most drop goals in a match — 2
Gareth Steenson for Exeter Chiefs away to Bristol on 26 May 2010
Attendances
;Highest — 11,550Bristol at home to Exeter Chiefs on 26 May 2010
;Lowest — 200
Birmingham & Solihull at home to Doncaster Knights on 17 February 2010
;Highest Average Attendance — 5,922
Bristol
;Lowest Average Attendance — 665
Birmingham & Solihull