2009–10 RFU Championship
Encyclopedia
The 2009–10 RFU Championship was the 1st season (of the professionalised format) of the second division
of the English domestic rugby union
competitions, played between August 2009 and May 2010. During this season, Exeter Chiefs
won promotion to the Aviva Premiership, whilst Coventry
were relegated to National League 1.
Group A:
19/03/2010 – Bristol Rugby 19 – 12 Cornish Pirates
20/03/2010 – Plymouth Albion 9 – 10 Bedford Blues
27/03/2010 – Bedford Blues 17 – 16 Bristol Rugby
28/03/2010 – Cornish Pirates 17 – 0 Plymouth Albion
02/04/2010 – Bristol Rugby 15 – 3 Plymouth Albion
04/04/2010 – Cornish Pirates 22 – 18 Bedford Blues
10/04/2010 – Bedford Blues 42 – 18 Cornish Pirates
10/04/2010 – Plymouth Albion 7 – 38 Bristol Rugby
16/04/2010 – Plymouth Albion 19 – 14 Cornish Pirates
18/04/2010 – Bristol Rugby 41 – 32 Bedford Blues
01/05/2010 – Bedford Blues 35 – 19 Plymouth Albion
01/05/2010 – Cornish Pirates 15 – 60 Bristol Rugby
----
Group B:
----
Play-Off 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.
07/05/2010 – Bristol
28 – 15 London Welsh
08/05/2010 – Exeter
37 – 8 Bedford
----
Play-Off Final:
The two-legged final took place at the home grounds of the two clubs involved, rather than at Twickenham.
19/05/2010 – Exeter
9 – 6 Bristol
26/05/2010 – Bristol
10 – 29 Exeter
Exeter
win the Championship and earn promotion to the 2010–11 Premiership.
----
Group C:
Coventry
are relegated to National League 1
.
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship replaced National Division One as the second tier in the English rugby union system in September 2009. Unlike National Division One, which is semi-professional, the RFU Championship is a fully professional league.-History:...
of the English domestic rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
competitions, played between August 2009 and May 2010. During this season, Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....
won promotion to the Aviva Premiership, whilst Coventry
Coventry R.F.C.
Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....
were relegated to National League 1.
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 Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 189 | 86 | 4 | 24 |
| 2 | Bedford Bedford Blues Bedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The... |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 154 | 125 | 4 | 20 |
| 3 | Cornish Pirates Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 98 | 158 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Plymouth | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 57 | 129 | 1 | 5 |
19/03/2010 – Bristol Rugby 19 – 12 Cornish Pirates
20/03/2010 – Plymouth Albion 9 – 10 Bedford Blues
27/03/2010 – Bedford Blues 17 – 16 Bristol Rugby
28/03/2010 – Cornish Pirates 17 – 0 Plymouth Albion
02/04/2010 – Bristol Rugby 15 – 3 Plymouth Albion
04/04/2010 – Cornish Pirates 22 – 18 Bedford Blues
10/04/2010 – Bedford Blues 42 – 18 Cornish Pirates
10/04/2010 – Plymouth Albion 7 – 38 Bristol Rugby
16/04/2010 – Plymouth Albion 19 – 14 Cornish Pirates
18/04/2010 – Bristol Rugby 41 – 32 Bedford Blues
01/05/2010 – Bedford Blues 35 – 19 Plymouth Albion
01/05/2010 – Cornish Pirates 15 – 60 Bristol Rugby
----
Group B:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exeter Exeter Chiefs Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White .... |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 181 | 86 | 4 | 20 |
| 2 | London Welsh | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 108 | 110 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | Nottingham Nottingham R.F.C. Nottingham Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby.... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 98 | 141 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Doncaster | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 108 | 158 | 1 | 9 |
----
Play-Off 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.
07/05/2010 – Bristol
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
28 – 15 London Welsh
08/05/2010 – Exeter
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....
37 – 8 Bedford
Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The...
----
Play-Off Final:
The two-legged final took place at the home grounds of the two clubs involved, rather than at Twickenham.
19/05/2010 – Exeter
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....
9 – 6 Bristol
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
26/05/2010 – Bristol
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
10 – 29 Exeter
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....
Exeter
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....
win the Championship and earn promotion to the 2010–11 Premiership.
----
Relegation
Bottom club in Group C relegated to National League 1National League 1
National League 1, , is the third level of domestic rugby union competition in England.This is the lowest level of the English rugby union league system which is nationwide...
Group C:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rotherham | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 188 | 116 | 7 | 27 |
| 2 | Moseley Moseley Rugby Football Club Moseley Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club, based at Billesley Common in Birmingham, that competes in the RFU Championship. The club was historically the premier rugby club in Birmingham, reaching the final of the John Player Cup three times in the late 1970s and early 1980s... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 153 | 132 | 7 | 15 |
| 3 | Birmingham & Solihull Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C. Birmingham and Solihull Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing Birmingham and Solihull. It was formed in 1989 by a merger of the original Birmingham and Solihull rugby clubs, which were both established over 60 years ago.... |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 158 | 169 | 3 | 13* |
| 4 | Coventry Coventry R.F.C. Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries.... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 82 | 164 | 2 | 10 |
- Birmingham & SolihullBirmingham & Solihull R.F.C.Birmingham and Solihull Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing Birmingham and Solihull. It was formed in 1989 by a merger of the original Birmingham and Solihull rugby clubs, which were both established over 60 years ago....
deducted 2 points for fielding an unregistered player
Coventry
Coventry R.F.C.
Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....
are relegated to National League 1
National League 1
National League 1, , is the third level of domestic rugby union competition in England.This is the lowest level of the English rugby union league system which is nationwide...
.