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68-459: The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising eleven clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when English clubs were first organised into leagues. The Championship is governed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) . The current competition format is

136-563: A British Isles team visited Australia and New Zealand—although a private venture, it laid the foundations for future British and Irish Lions tours; and the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team brought the first overseas team to British spectators. During the early history of rugby union, a time before commercial air travel, teams from different continents rarely met. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by

204-488: A haka before each match, leading Welsh Rugby Union administrator Tom Williams to suggest that Wales player Teddy Morgan lead the crowd in singing the Welsh National Anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau , as a response. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in: the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event. In 1905 France played England in its first international match. Rugby union

272-712: A double round-robin tournament, where teams play each other home and away. The 2022–23 season had no playoff phase, and no team was promoted to the Premiership as Jersey Reds did not meet the minimum standards criteria. Eleven of the twelve teams played in last season's competition. Chinnor were promoted as the champions of the 2023–24 National League 1 with no side being relegated the opposite way due to Jersey Reds going into liquidation in September 2023 and there only being eleven sides. The governing body for rugby union in England,

340-580: A limited number of games, and Cambridge and Oxford continued their annual University Match . The first officially sanctioned international rugby sevens tournament took place in 1973 at Murrayfield, one of Scotland's biggest stadiums, as part of the Scottish Rugby Union centenary celebrations. In 1987, the first Rugby World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand, and the inaugural winners were New Zealand. The first World Cup Sevens tournament

408-415: A lineout throw is generally awarded to the opposition at the spot on the sideline where they left the field. Exceptions include a kick out "on the full" (i.e. the ball did not land in the field-of-play before going into touch) in which case the lineout would still take place on the sideline but back in line with where the ball was kicked, or when a team takes a free kick from a penalty where they would retain

476-530: A preferred or standard 68 metre width, this is often used unless a ground has been specifically designed to accommodate a 70-metre rugby field. 100 metres is the typical length, with a line (see below) often marked at halfway with "50" on it, representing 50 metres from each goal line. The variations have been allowed in the Laws, possibly to accommodate older grounds (perhaps even pre-metrification when yards and feet were specified) and developing nations. The field of play

544-647: A result of relegation, they remained at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford instead of returning to their home ground of Old Deer Park in London in order to strengthen their support base. London Welsh replaced Newcastle Falcons who were promoted into the English Premiership after winning the play-off final against Bedford Blues . Doncaster Knights were relegated to the 2013–14 National League 1 and were replaced by

612-466: A successful penalty kick or a drop goal each score 3 points. The values of each of these scoring methods have been changed over the years. According to World Rugby's Laws of the Game, a typical rugby ground, formally known as the "playing enclosure", is formed by two major zones: The referee (and their assistants) generally have full authority and responsibility for all players and other officials inside

680-534: Is Chatswood Oval in Sydney, Australia, an elliptically shaped cricket ground which is the home of Gordon rugby club, that has curved dead-ball lines to maximise the available in-goal space. Where multiple sports share a field (e.g. a rugby league and a rugby union club sharing one field), lines may be overlaid on top of each other, sometimes in different colours. However, particularly for television, rugby union line markings are generally painted white. Some exceptions include

748-497: Is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people regardless of gender, age or size. In 2023, there were more than 10 million people playing worldwide, of whom 8.4 million were registered players. World Rugby , previously called

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816-408: Is considered "out-of-bounds" for the ball and the players, normally resulting in the non-infringing team receiving possession of the ball at a restart. The perimeter area can be divided into two areas: For the purposes of determining if a ball is "out-of-bounds" (i.e. has left the playing area), the perimeter area extends indefinitely away from the playing area. When a ball or player goes into touch,

884-445: Is divided by a solid "halfway" line, drawn perpendicular to the sidelines at their midpoint. A 0.5m line is marked perpendicular to the halfway lines at its midpoint, designating the spot where the kickoffs shall be taken. The areas between each goal line and the halfway line are known as "halves" as in other football codes. A pair of solid lines are also drawn perpendicular to the sidelines, 22 metres (formerly 25 yards) from each end of

952-860: Is followed primarily in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Australia, Pacific Islands - Fiji , Tonga , Samoa , Georgia , Oceania , Southern Africa , Argentina , and in recent times also, Italy , Japan , South America , the United States , Canada and Eastern Europe , its growth occurring during the expansion of the British Empire and through French proponents ( Rugby Europe ) in Europe. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji , Georgia, Madagascar , New Zealand, Samoa , Tonga , and Wales . International matches have taken place since 1871 when

1020-440: Is the third and final row of the forward positions, who are often referred to as the loose forwards. The three positions in the back row are the two flankers and the number 8 . The two flanker positions, known as the blindside flanker and openside flanker, are the final row in the scrum. They are usually the most mobile forwards in the game. Their main role is to win possession through 'turn overs'. The number 8 packs down between

1088-506: The 1987–88 season , the second level was known as 'Courage League National Division Two'. The league has since had several different names before becoming the RFU Championship in the 2009–10 season . In November 2008, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) published a plan for a new professional tier below the Premiership. The 12-team Championship replaced the 16-team National Division One. To enable Level 2 to transition from 16 teams to 12,

1156-976: The Top 14 in France, the Bunnings NPC in New Zealand, the League One in Japan and the Currie Cup in South Africa. Other transnational club competitions include the United Rugby Championship of club teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales, European Rugby Champions Cup in Europe, and Super Rugby in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Primitive forms of football included harpastum , played by

1224-556: The split between rugby union and rugby league . Historically rugby union was an amateur sport, but in 1995 formal restrictions on payments to players were removed, making the game openly professional at the highest level for the first time. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of the United Kingdom and Ireland , with other early exponents of the sport including Australia , New Zealand , South Africa and France . The sport

1292-456: The 1830s, "running in" with the ball in hand was allowed but subject to hacking and "collaring". Former Rugby School student Albert Pell is credited with having formed the first "football" team while a student at Cambridge University . Major private schools each used different rules during this early period, with former pupils from Rugby and Eton attempting to carry their preferred rules through to their universities. A significant event in

1360-417: The 1st and 12th placed clubs respectively. The 2020–21 season was impacted by the aforementioned pandemic and as a consequence, a shorter season kicked off in spring 2021. The reduced season saw each team play each other once only with the top two teams entering a two-legged promotion playoff. There was no relegation due to cancellation of National League 1. In February 2021, a moratorium on relegation from

1428-586: The International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, and currently has 116 countries as full members and 18 associate members. In 1845, the first laws were written by pupils at Rugby School; other significant events in the early development of rugby include the decision by Blackheath F.C. to leave The Football Association in 1863 and, in 1895,

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1496-506: The Laws: Generally, points where the dashed lines intersect other lines will be marked with a "T" or cross shape, although the extensions of dashed lines are generally not drawn within 5 metres of the goal lines or sidelines, to allow a clear demarcation of the field of play's boundaries. The Laws require the playing area to be rectangular in shape, however variations may be permitted with the approval of relevant unions. A notable example

1564-801: The New Zealand team touring Europe. Traditionally the most prestigious tours were the Southern Hemisphere countries of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa making a tour of a Northern Hemisphere, and the return tours made by a joint British and Irish team. Tours would last for months, due to long traveling times and the number of games undertaken; the 1888 New Zealand team began their tour in Hawkes Bay in June and did not complete their schedule until August 1889, having played 107 rugby matches. Touring international sides would play Test matches against international opponents, including national, club and county sides in

1632-505: The Premiership into the Championship was approved and it was confirmed that the RFU were working on a review of the minimum standards criteria for promotion and the league structure from 2021–22 . The moratorium was extended for a further two years in June 2021 and also could include promotion from the Championship at the end of the 2022–23 season if there was promotion in the previous season. There

1700-499: The RFU announced that all four play-off participants had met the Minimum Standards Criteria, assuring that the champion would indeed be promoted to the 2014–15 Premiership. There was no relegation play–off; the bottom team was automatically relegated. Following an agreement with the RFU in 2012, each RFU Championship club received £355,000 in funding from the RFU for the season. The 2013–14 RFU Championship kicked off on

1768-526: The RFU proposal called for five teams to be relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season. The relegated teams would play in the third level of rugby, known as 'National Division 2' in 2008–09 and to be known as 'National League 1' in 2009–10. Additionally, one team would be relegated from the Premiership (Level 1 to Level 2), one team would be promoted to the Premiership (Level 2 to Level 1), and one team would be promoted from National Division 2 (Level 3 to Level 2). The RFU Council voted overwhelmingly in favour of

1836-461: The RFU, first allowed league hierarchies in 1987. This came nearly a century after leagues were first established in football and cricket, England's other two principal team sports. The RFU's reluctance to allow leagues was based on a perceived threat to the sport's amateurism regulations: competitive leagues were seen as making clubs more likely to use incentives to attract and retain the best players. When formalised leagues were finally permitted in

1904-472: The Romans, where two opposing teams competed to throw a large ball into an opposition net, fighting for possession of the ball. Medieval Irishmen played caid , carrying an inflated bladder and using arched trees as goals. The Welsh played an inter-parish game using a wooden ball called cnapan . Frenchmen played soule and Georgians played lelo. "Football" as a game was well established by 1803 at Rugby School and by

1972-475: The Wallabies (Australia's national team) who often have yellow markings. Local clubs may use black, yellow, or other colours on grass, with other surfaces possibly requiring different marking techniques. Unlike association football, where on-field advertising is strictly forbidden in the laws, World Rugby allows sponsors logos to be painted on the playing surface. This is another way in which clubs can make money in

2040-431: The backs and the forwards is that the backs are expected to have superior kicking and ball-handling skills, especially the fly-half, scrum-half, and full-back. The half-backs consist of two positions, the scrum-half and the fly-half , also known in the Southern Hemisphere as half-back and first five-eighth respectively. The fly-half is crucial to a team's game plan, orchestrating the team's performance. They are usually

2108-422: The ball is kicked into touch by a player who had at least one foot on or behind their own 22-metre line, the line-out formed at the spot where the ball crossed the touch-line instead of being taken in line with the spot from where it was kicked. Additional broken or dashed lines (of 5 metre dash lengths, according to the Laws ) are drawn in each half or on each side of, the field, each with specific purposes under

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2176-417: The ball. Forwards play a vital role in tackling and rucking opposing players. Players in these positions are generally bigger and stronger and take part in the scrum and line-out. The forwards are often collectively referred to as the 'pack', especially when in the scrum formation. The front row consists of three players: two props (the loosehead prop and the tighthead prop) and the hooker . The role of

2244-578: The case of Northern Hemisphere rugby, or provincial/state sides in the case of Southern Hemisphere rugby. Between 1905 and 1908, all three major Southern Hemisphere rugby countries sent their first touring teams to the Northern Hemisphere: New Zealand in 1905, followed by South Africa in 1906 and Australia in 1908. All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. The New Zealand 1905 touring team performed

2312-449: The champions of National League 1, Ealing Trailfinders who played in the RFU Championship for the first time. The twelve clubs in the 2013–14 RFU Championship also participated in the 2013–14 edition of the British and Irish Cup along with clubs from Wales , Scotland and Ireland . Matches in the RFU Championship were broadcast on Sky Sports . The Championship's structure had all

2380-462: The clubs that had favoured the Rugby Rules formed the Rugby Football Union in 1871, and their code became known as " rugby football ". In 1895, there was a major schism within rugby football in England in which numerous clubs from Northern England resigned from the RFU over the issue of reimbursing players for time lost from their workplaces. The split highlighted the social and class divisions in

2448-489: The early development of rugby football was the production of a written set of rules at Rugby School in 1845, followed by the Cambridge Rules that were drawn up in 1848. Formed in 1863, the national governing body The Football Association (FA) began codifying a set of universal football rules. These new rules specifically banned players from running with the ball in hand and also disallowed hacking (kicking players in

2516-480: The field are divided into eight forwards (two more than in rugby league ) and seven backs . There are typically significantly more forwards on the bench than backs with, for example, South Africa having a 7-1 split in favour of forwards in their August 2023 match against New Zealand in Twickenham. A 6-2 or 5-3 split is more common. The main responsibilities of the forward players are to gain and retain possession of

2584-401: The field of play and called the 22-metre lines, or "22"s. An area at each end, also known as the "22", is bounded by, but does not include, the sidelines, goal line and 22-metre line. In this area, a defensive player who cleanly catches a ball kicked by the other team, without the ball having already touched the ground after the kick, is entitled to claim a free kick, or " mark ". Additionally, if

2652-418: The field to accommodate fitter and faster (or heavier) players. Fixed cameras on tripods and advertising hoardings are often the main culprits for injuring players in the perimeter area. 2013%E2%80%9314 RFU Championship After being promoted after an appeal in the previous season , London Welsh were relegated back into the RFU Championship after finishing last in the 2012-13 English Premiership . As

2720-511: The first game was played between Scotland and England at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh. The Rugby World Cup , first held in 1987, is held every four years. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are other important international competitions that are held annually. National club and provincial competitions include the Premiership in England,

2788-425: The first to receive the ball from the scrum-half following a breakdown, lineout, or scrum, and need to be decisive with what actions to take and be effective at communicating with the outside backs. Many fly-halves are also their team's goal kickers. The scrum-half is the link between the forwards and the backs. They receive the ball from the lineout and remove the ball from the back of the scrum, usually passing it to

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2856-537: The fly-half. They also feed the scrum and sometimes have to act as a fourth loose forward. There are four three quarter positions: two centres (inside and outside) and two wings (left and right). In the Southern Hemisphere, the inside centre is commonly referred to as the second five-eighth, while the outside centre is simply known as the centre. The centres will attempt to tackle attacking players; whilst in attack, they should employ speed and strength to breach opposition defences. The wings are generally positioned on

2924-414: The goal lines, equivalent to American football's "end zones". The in-goal areas must be between 6 and 22 metres (6.6 and 24.1 yards) deep and cover the full width of the field. A ball grounded in this area by an attacking player will generally result in a try being awarded, unless there has been a previous infringement, or the player has gone out-of-bounds whilst in possession of the ball. The perimeter area

2992-414: The most important attributes of a good full-back are dependable catching skills and a good kicking game. Rugby union is played between two teams – the one that scores more points wins the game. Points can be scored in several ways: a try , scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area (between the goal line and the dead-ball line), is worth 5 points and a subsequent conversion kick scores 2 points;

3060-407: The new proposal, and the first Championship season started the following year, in 2009. Automatic promotion to the Premiership has not been a consistent feature of the RFU Championship. A playoff tournament was used to decide promotion between the 2009–10 and 2016–17 seasons, as well as in the 2020–21 season. In seasons without a promotion playoff ( 2017–18 , 2018–19 , 2019–20 ), the team at

3128-414: The outside of the backline. Their primary function is to finish off moves and score tries. Wings are usually the fastest players in the team and are elusive runners who use their speed to avoid tackles. The full-back is normally positioned several metres behind the back line. They often field opposition kicks and are usually the last line of defence should an opponent break through the back line. Two of

3196-440: The playing area and perimeter area, although depending on how large the perimeter is, other surfaces such as dirt, artificial turf, etc. may be used outside of a "sliding" perimeter from the bounds of the playing area. For the most part, the "playing area" is where the majority of play occurs. The ball is generally considered live whilst in this area, so long as players do not infringe, with special rules applied to specific zones of

3264-442: The playing area. The playing area consists of: A typical "field of play" is generally 100 metres long by 68–70 metres wide for senior rugby, depending on the specific requirements of each ground. The Laws require the field of play to be between 94 and 100 metres (103 and 109 yards) long, with a width of between 68 and 70 metres (74 and 77 yards). As other football codes, such as association football and rugby league, have specified

3332-432: The playing enclosure. Fences or ropes (particularly at amateur clubs) are generally used to mark the extent of this area, although in modern stadia this may include the entire arena floor or other designated space. The Laws, above all, require that the playing enclosure's surface be safe, whilst also permitting grass, sand, clay, snow or conforming artificial turf to be used; the surface would generally be uniform across both

3400-699: The pre-1995 period of rugby union was marked by frequent accusations of " shamateurism ", including an investigation in Britain by a House of Commons Select committee in early 1995. Following the introduction of professionalism trans-national club competitions were started, with the Heineken Cup in the Northern Hemisphere and Super Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere. The Tri Nations , an annual international tournament involving Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, kicked off in 1996. In 2012 , this competition

3468-415: The professional era and is also often used by host nations, professional leagues and tournaments as additional revenue streams, particularly when games are broadcast. In recent years, augmented reality technology has been used to replace painting to protect the surface or save costs on painting fields, producing a similar effect for broadcast albeit sometimes with poorer results. The in-goal areas sit behind

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3536-425: The right to throw-in. The perimeter area should be clear and free of obstructions and heavy, solid objects which could pose a danger to players for at least 5 metres from the playing area, according to the Laws. Players often leave the playing area whether accidentally or due to being forced off of the field, sometimes sliding or needing to slow down from a sprint. Many venues at elite levels leave larger spaces around

3604-451: The same as the previous year. The top four teams at the end of the home–and–away season qualified for the promotion play–offs, which followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system. The winners had to meet the RFU's Minimum Standards Criteria in order to be promoted to the Premiership. If they had failed to meet the criteria, then there would have been no promotion from the RFU Championship. However, on 9 May 2014,

3672-574: The shins), both of which were legal and common tactics under the Rugby School's rules of the sport. In protest at the imposition of the new rules, the Blackheath Club left the FA followed by several other clubs that also favoured the "Rugby Rules". Although these clubs decided to ban hacking soon afterwards, the split was permanent, and the FA's codified rules became known as " association football " whilst

3740-427: The sport in England. Although the rules of the game were not a factor in the split, the breakaway teams subsequently adopted some rule changes and this became the separate code of " rugby league ". The RFU's code thereafter took on the name "rugby union" to differentiate it from rugby league, but both versions of the sport are known simply as "rugby" throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international

3808-432: The tallest players in the team and specialise as line-out jumpers. The main role of the lock in line-outs is to make a standing jump, often supported by the other forwards, to either collect the thrown ball or ensure the ball comes down on their side. Locks also have an important role in the scrum, binding directly behind the three front row players and providing forward drive. The back row, not to be confused with 'Backs',

3876-405: The teams playing each other on a home and away basis. In a change to previous years, this season commenced with an extra round of games in the "Greene King IPA Big Rugby Weekend". Matches were played on the weekend of 14 and 15 September with three double headers at neutral grounds: Saracens' Allianz Park , Doncaster's Castle Park and Exeter's Sandy Park . The play–off structure remained

3944-453: The top of the league was automatically promoted to the Premiership. The RFU plans to reintroduce possible promotion at the end of the 2023–24 season, by means of a play-off between the top placed team in the Championship and the bottom placed side in the Premiership. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2019–20 season to be prematurely ended. Final standings were based on a "best playing record formula" and promotion and relegation remained for

4012-424: The two locks at the back of the scrum. The role of the number 8 in the scrum is to control the ball after it has been heeled back from the front of the pack, and the position provides a link between the forwards and backs during attacking phases. The role of the backs is to create and convert point-scoring opportunities. They are generally smaller, faster and more agile than the forwards. Another distinction between

4080-453: The two props is to support the hooker during scrums, to provide support for the jumpers during line-outs and to provide strength and power in rucks and mauls. The third position in the front row is the hooker. The hooker is a key position in attacking and defensive play and is responsible for winning the ball in the scrum. Hookers normally throw the ball in at line-outs. The second row consists of two locks or lock forwards. Locks are usually

4148-452: The weekend of 14 and 15 September with the "Greene King IPA Big Rugby Weekend", an extra round of matches played as three double headers at neutral grounds. Thereafter, each team played the other twice on a home and away basis with the top four qualifying for the promotion phase. The semi–finals followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system - with the games being played over two legs and the higher placed team deciding who played at home in

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4216-445: Was a breach of contract on the part of the RFU. The RFU stated that the original funding was an estimate and by 2015–16 the figure will be £359,400. When the RFU announced the hiatus of promotion play-offs, it also announced funding increases from both itself and the Premiership, including a new system which ties some of the new funding to each Championship side's performance in the league season. The extra funding provided prior to 2016–17

4284-405: Was also no relegation from the Championship in 2021–22. The RFU Championship clubs were in dispute with the RFU over funding for the competition and claimed that each club was owed £77,000 for the past three seasons, and will be owed a further £120,000 over the next four seasons. The clubs believed they should have received £295,000 in 2009–10, rising to £400,000 by 2015–16 and further believe there

4352-463: Was extended to include Argentina , a country whose impressive performances in international games (especially finishing in third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup) was deemed to merit inclusion in the competition. As a result of the expansion to four teams, the tournament was renamed The Rugby Championship. Each team starts the match with 15 players on the field and typically seven or eight substitutes but this varies at amateur level. The 15 players on

4420-678: Was held at Murrayfield in 1993. Rugby Sevens was introduced into the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and was added to the Olympic Games of 2016. Both men and women's Sevens took place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Rugby union was an amateur sport until the IRB declared the game "open" in August 1995 (shortly after the completion of the 1995 World Cup), removing restrictions on payments to players. However,

4488-576: Was included as an event in the Olympic Games four times during the early 20th century. No international rugby games and union-sponsored club matches were played during the First World War, but competitions continued through service teams such as the New Zealand Army team . During the Second World War no international matches were played by most countries, though Italy, Germany and Romania played

4556-629: Was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England in Edinburgh . Scotland won the game by one goal and one try to one goal. By 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby sevens tournament, the Melrose Sevens , which is still held annually. Two important overseas tours took place in 1888:

4624-490: Was removed prior to the 2020–21 season. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was officially known as the Greene King IPA Championship between the 2013–14 and 2020–21 seasons. Rugby union Rugby union football , commonly known simply as rugby union or often just rugby , is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby

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