2025–26 Champ Rugby

2025–26 Champ Rugby
Countries	England
Date	3 October 2024 – May 2025
Matches played	140
Attendance	282,330 (average 2,017 per match)
Highest attendance	9,500 – Worcester v Chinnor, 27 December 2025
Lowest attendance	457 – Hartpury v Richmond, 27 February 2026
Tries scored	1140 (average 8.1 per match)
Top point scorer	179 – Harry Bazalgette (Hartpury)
Top try scorer	16 – Ollie Hearn (Caldy)

The 2025–26 Champ Rugby is the seventeenth season of the Champ Rugby, the professional second tier of rugby union in England. It is the first season under the rebranded banner of Champ Rugby, succeeding sixteen seasons under RFU Championship branding. The number of teams in the league will increase by two, as there was no relegation in the previous season. Ealing Trailfinders are the defending champions. Ealing were not promoted to the Premiership after failing to meet the minimum standards criteria.^[1] Richmond were promoted from National League 1 and newly-reestablished Worcester Warriors were added following the old club's period of administration.

On 15 May 2025, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) unveiled the new format and structure of English rugby's second division branded Champ Rugby. The competition will see a return of relegation to National League 1 and potential promotion to the Premiership, which Tier 2 board chair Simon Gillham said will create "aspiration and jeopardy".^[2][3]

The league has been expanded to 14 teams, with 2024–25 National League 1 winners Richmond joining the competition alongside newly reestablished Worcester Warriors, who will mark their return to professional rugby following a period in administration.^[4][5]

The fourteen teams will play each of the other teams twice, once at home and once away from home.

The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows:

• 4 points are awarded for a win
• 2 points are awarded for a draw
• 0 points are awarded for a loss, however
  • 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer
  • 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match

1st–6th place
The top six sides, after the regular season, will enter into a play-off phase to determine the league champions. The teams that finish in first and second place in the regular season standings will earn automatic home semi-final places. The 3rd–6th placed teams in the league standings will play quarter-finals to determine who makes it to the semi-finals.^[2] The eventual champions will then face the bottom placed team in the 2025–26 Premiership for a chance at promotion to the top tier.

12th & 13th
The teams placed 12th and 13th in the table will face each other in single-leg play-off, the loser playing the runner-up in 2025–26 National League 1. The eventual winner will be in Champ Rugby for the 2026–27 season.^[2]

14th
The bottom placed side will be automatically relegated to National League 1 for the 2026–27 season. They will be replaced by the National League 1 champions.^[2]

Fourteen teams will complete in the league – the twelve teams from last season, the champions of National League One and Worcester Warriors. No team was promoted to the Premiership. Last season the RFU's Tier 2 Board ran a tender process for any club, college or university to join this league, if they could meet a growth strategy and minimum operating standards. On 3 April 2025 the RFU announced that Worcester Warriors will return to professional rugby, two and half years after going into administration.^[6][7]

2025–26 Champ Rugby table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Ealing Trailfinders	20	20	0	0	899	322	+577	18	0	98	Play-off semi-finals
2	Worcester Warriors	20	13	0	7	737	458	+279	16	5	73
3	Bedford Blues	20	13	1	6	592	483	+109	15	3	72	Play-off quarter-finals
4	Coventry	20	12	0	8	739	578	+161	17	5	70
5	Cornish Pirates	20	11	1	8	618	490	+128	13	3	62
6	Chinnor	20	12	0	8	519	481	+38	7	5	60
7	Hartpury	20	11	2	7	536	516	+20	10	2	60
8	Nottingham	20	10	1	9	475	418	+57	11	7	60
9	Doncaster Knights	20	7	3	10	521	495	+26	10	4	48
10	Caldy	20	8	0	12	477	587	−110	11	3	46
11	Ampthill	20	7	0	13	494	765	−271	12	4	44
12	Richmond	20	6	1	13	401	591	−190	4	4	34	Relegation play-off
13	London Scottish	20	5	0	15	379	704	−325	7	2	29
14	Cambridge	20	0	1	19	346	845	−499	6	4	12	Relegated

The regular season fixtures were announced on 10 July 2025.^[16][17]

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• Postponed by match on referee grounds of player safety due to recent cold weather.^[t] Game to be rescheduled for 17 January 2026.

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• Game rescheduled from 3 January 2026.

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Club	Home Games	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Ampthill	9	8,615	957	1,975	545	32%
Bedford Blues	11	32,840	2,985	5,531	2,107	56%
Caldy	10	14,930	1,493	1,945	892	37%
Cambridge	10	11,885	1,189	1,438	773	54%
Chinnor	10	16,580	1,658	2,435	900	66%
Cornish Pirates	10	16,219	1,622	3,100	1,176	38%
Coventry	10	27,831	2,783	3,678	2,087	53%
Doncaster Knights	9	14,539	1,615	2,087	1,290	31%
Ealing Trailfinders	10	15,294	1,529	3,086	650	31%
Hartpury	10	9,229	923	2,000	457	46%
London Scottish	9	7,397	822	962	682	18%
Nottingham	10	14,813	1,481	2,121	1,154	40%
Richmond	11	11,259	1,024	1,950	700	23%
Worcester Warriors	11	80,899	7,354	9,500	5,600	58%

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