2015–16 RFU Championship
The 2015–16 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the seventh 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. It is contested by eleven English clubs and one from Jersey in the Channel Islands. This is the third year of the competition's sponsorship with Greene King Brewery, which runs until 2017. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also compete in the British and Irish Cup, along with clubs from Ireland and Wales. Some matches in the RFU Championship are broadcast on Sky Sports.
Moseley are relegated into the 2016–17 National League 1 after finishing bottom of the table. After seven years of trying for promotion, Bristol finally did it. In front of a divisional and club record crowd of 16,084, Bristol managed to gain promotion to the Aviva Premiership despite losing 32-34 to away side, Doncaster Knights, due to an emphatic first leg victory, to go up 60 - 47 on aggregate.
Structure
The Championship's structure has all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis. The play-off structure will remain the same as the previous year. The top four teams at the end of the home-and-way season qualify for the promotion play-offs which follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system. The winners have to meet the RFU's Minimum Standards Criteria in order to be promoted to the Premiership. There is no promotion if grounds fail to meet the criteria. There are no relegation play-offs; the bottom team is automatically relegated. This the last year of a 2012 funding agreement with the RFU, where each club would have been given a grant of £380,000. Following claims, by Championship teams, including Plymouth Albion, that the current arrangement was not enough to sustain professional clubs, the RFU increased the annual funding to over £500,000 per club in a new agreement which will last until 2020.Teams
Ten of the teams, listed below, played in the championship last season. Worcester Warriors were promoted to the English Premiership defeating Bristol in the 2014–15 RFU Championship play-off final and are replaced by London Welsh, following their relegation from the 2014–15 English Premiership, after finishing bottom of the table and earning only one point. Plymouth Albion were relegated from the Championship after finishing bottom in the 2014–15 RFU Championship, ending a thirteen-year spell in the second tier of English rugby. They are replaced by Ealing Trailfinders who were promoted as champions of 2014–15 National League 1, returning to the RFU Championship after relegation the previous year.| Club | Stadium | Capacity | Area | Captain | DOR/Head Coach |
| Bedford Blues | Goldington Road | 6,000 | Bedford, Bedfordshire |  Nick Fenton-Wells |  Mike Rayer |
| Bristol | Ashton Gate Stadium | 16,600 | Bristol | Dwayne Peel |  Andy Robinson |
| Cornish Pirates | Mennaye Field | 4,000 | Penzance, Cornwall | Chris Morgan | Ian Davies |
| Doncaster Knights | Castle Park rugby stadium | 5,000 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire | Michael Hills | Clive Griffiths |
| Ealing Trailfinders | Trailfinders Sports Ground | 3,020 | West Ealing, London |  Danny Kenny | Ben Ward |
| Jersey | St Peter | 5,000 | Saint Peter, Jersey | Alex Rae | Harvey Biljon |
| London Scottish | Athletic Ground, Richmond | 4,500 | Richmond, London | Mark Bright | Mike Friday |
| London Welsh | Old Deer Park | 5,850 | Richmond, London | Matt Corker | Rowland Phillips |
| Moseley | Billesley Common | 3,000+ | Birmingham, West Midlands | Mike Powell | Kevin Maggs |
| Nottingham Rugby | Lady Bay Sports Ground | 2,000 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire |  Daniel Montagu | Martin Haag |
| Rotherham Titans | Clifton Lane Herringthorpe Playing Fields | 2,500 Unknown capacity | Rotherham, South Yorkshire | Tom Holmes | Lee Blackett |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | Headingley Carnegie Stadium | 21,062 | Leeds, West Yorkshire | Ryan Burrows |  Ian McGeechan |
Table
Fixtures
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
----Round 15
----Round 16
----Round 17
----Round 18
----Round 19
----Round 20
----Round 21
- Moseley are relegated after Ealing beat Jersey during the Saturday fixture.
Round 22
Play-offs
Semi-finals
The semi-finals follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system – with the games being played over two legs and the higher placed team choosing which leg they play at home. Both Bristol and Doncaster elected to play the second leg at home and therefore visited Bedford Blues and Yorkshire Carnegie respectively in the first legs on 1 May. The grounds of three of the teams met the minimum standards required to play in the Premiership next season. If Doncaster Knights are promoted they will initially play their matches at the Keepmoat Stadium, the home of Doncaster Rovers while Bristol will continue to play at Ashton Gate. Yorkshire Carnegie would have used their current home of Headingley Stadium if they had earned promotion. Bedford Blues did not apply to have their ground audited and, therefore, could not win promotion; if they had won the play-off final, the last-placed team in the Premiership would not have been relegated.First leg
----Second leg
- Doncaster Knights won 44–34 on aggregate
- Bristol Rugby won 90–35 on aggregate
Final
First leg
Second leg
- Bristol won 60–47 on aggregate
Attendances
- Includes playoff games.
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Bedford Blues | 12 | 31,333 | 2,611 | 4,341 | 2,077 | 44% |
| Bristol Rugby | 13 | 100,129 | 7,702 | 16,084 | 4,560 | 46% |
| Cornish Pirates | 11 | 15,705 | 1,428 | 2,340 | 1,025 | 36% |
| Doncaster Knights | 13 | 29,937 | 2,303 | 4,797 | 1,019 | 46% |
| Ealing Trailfinders | 11 | 7,338 | 667 | 874 | 310 | 22% |
| Jersey | 11 | 22,790 | 2,072 | 2,613 | 1,526 | 41% |
| London Scottish | 11 | 12,809 | 1,164 | 1,850 | 884 | 26% |
| London Welsh | 11 | 13,214 | 1,201 | 2,032 | 730 | 24% |
| Moseley | 11 | 11,509 | 1,046 | 1,431 | 726 | 35% |
| Nottingham Rugby | 11 | 11,202 | 1,018 | 1,864 | 623 | 51% |
| Rotherham Titans | 11 | 12,980 | 1,180 | 1,721 | 887 | 48% |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 12 | 28,520 | 2,377 | 3,672 | 1,329 | 11% |
Individual statistics
- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes. Stats also cover playoff games.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 53 pts63 - 10 Bristol Rugby at home to Ealing Trailfinders on 12 February 2016
;Largest away win — 43 pts
75 - 24 London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most points scored — 75
75 - 24 London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most tries in a match — 11
75 - 24 London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most conversions in a match — 10
London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 6
Moseley away to London Scottish on 4 September 2015
Doncaster Knights away to Bedford Blues on 5 December 2015
Bristol Rugby away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 28 February 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple teams
Player
;Most points in a match — 25Josh Bainbridge for Yorkshire Carnegie away to Bristol Rugby on 18 October 2015
;Most tries in a match — 5
Josh Bainbridge for Yorkshire Carnegie away to Bristol Rugby on 18 October 2015
;Most conversions in a match — 9
Peter Lydon for London Scottish away to Moseley on 23 April 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 6
Glyn Hughes for Moseley away to London Scottish on 4 September 2015
Dougie Flockhart for Doncaster Knights away to Bedford Blues on 5 December 2015
Gavin Henson for Bristol Rugby away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 28 February 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple players
Attendances
;Highest — 16,084Bristol Rugby at home to Doncaster Knights on 25 May 2016
;Lowest — 310
Ealing Trailfinders at home to Nottingham Rugby on 28 November 2015
;Highest Average Attendance — 7,702
Bristol Rugby
;Lowest Average Attendance — 667
Ealing Trailfinders