2016–17 RFU Championship
Club Stadium Capacity Area Captain DOR/Head Coach
Bedford Blues Goldington Road 6,000 Bedford , Bedfordshire Michael Le Bourgeois Mike Rayer
Cornish Pirates Mennaye Field 4,000 ( 2,200 Seats ) Penzance , Cornwall Chris Morgan Gavin Cattle Alan Paver
Doncaster Knights Castle Park 5,000 Doncaster , South Yorkshire Michael Hills Clive Griffiths
Ealing Trailfinders Trailfinders Sports Ground 3,020 ( 1,020 seats ) West Ealing , London Danny Kenny Ben Ward
Jersey Reds St Peter 4,000 Saint Peter , Jersey Pierce Philips Harvey Biljon
London Irish Madejski Stadium 24,161 Reading , Berkshire Luke Narraway Nick Kennedy
London Scottish Athletic Ground , Richmond 4,500 Richmond , London Rory Bartle Sean Lineen
London Welsh Old Deer Park 5,850 ( 1,000 seats ) Richmond , London Matt Corker James Buckland
Nottingham Lady Bay Sports Ground 3,000 Nottingham , Nottinghamshire Matt Everard Ian Costello
Richmond Athletic Ground , Richmond 4,500 Richmond , London Will Warden Steve Hill
Rotherham Titans Clifton Lane 2,500 Rotherham , South Yorkshire Tom Holmes Justin Burnell
Yorkshire Carnegie Headingley Carnegie Stadium 21,062 Leeds , West Yorkshire Ryan Burrows Ian McGeechan
Teams
After ten seasons in the Championship Birmingham Moseley were relegated following their last place finish in 2016 . They are replaced by Richmond , who won the National League 1 and return to the second tier for the first time since 1997 . [ 8 ] Richmond subsequently entered administration and dropped eight tiers following two seasons in the premiership between 1997 and 1999 . [ 8 ] As a result , Richmond stated that they would remain semi-professional and not sign any professional players despite the RFU Championship being fully professional . [ 8 ] London Irish , an original founder of the professional English Premiership , join the league after relegation from the 2015–16 Aviva Premiership , finishing bottom of the table . [ 9 ] On 7 December 2016 London Welsh RFC went into liquidation . They were deducted 20 points but allowed to continue in the Championship until January when the RFU would decide on their future . [ 10 ] On 24 January 2017 London Welsh were expelled from the championship after failing to meet the conditions required by the RFU to extend the temporary licence . The club 's record for the season was expunged and there would be no relegation from the Championship at the end of season . [ 2 ] BedfordCornish PiratesDoncasterJersey RedsLondonLondon IrishNottinghamRotherhamYorkshire CarnegieLondon teamsEaling TrailfindersLondon ScottishLondon WelshRichmond Locations of the 2016–17 RFU Championship teams EalingLondon ScottishRichmondLondon Welsh Greater London RFU Championship teams clubs
The 2016-17 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the eighth 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 will be the fourth year of the competition's sponsorship with Greene King Brewery. 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. On 24 January 2017 London Welsh were expelled from the championship after failing to meet the conditions required by the RFU to extend a temporary licence granted after their liquidation. The club's record for the season was expunged. The RFU announced that no team would be relegated from the Championship at the end of the season.