Championship Rugby
Doncaster Knights enter a new era of professional rugby within England for the 2009 – 10 Season taking part in the inaugural Championship, the new brand for the second tier of English Rugby. The league system at this level has been reduced down from last years 16 to a more manageable 12, and the introduction of a new cross British and Irish Cup will see Doncaster take on teams from Scotland and Wales this season at Castle Park.
With five teams having to be relegated from this level to enable the new structure this level of rugby lost Esher, Sedgley Park, Newbury, Otley and Manchester. The most cruel of the relegations to the third tier was Esher, who having stepped up their game in the second half of the 2008-09 season finished a clear 25 points above the next placed team in the league ( Sedgley Park).
Doncaster themselves finished a creditable fifth place, after a season of changes that had begun with Director of Rugby Lynn Howells almost start afresh with a new team as he aimed to lower the average age of the squad and begin building a legacy for Doncaster. Finishing only a single point above the Knights were Nottingham Rugby, a position only consolidated on the last day of the regular season.
The promotion of Leeds Carnegie to the Guinness Premiership is counterbalanced by the arrival of Bristol Rugby, who’s season last year had very few champagne moments. Making up the 12 teams are Birmingham and Solihull , who won promotion from National league 2 after a dogged campaign and will surely have the hardest task at this level.
The Rugby Championship Teams.
Birmingham and Solihull.
FOUNDED - 1989 (Birmingham RFC and Solihull RUFC merged)
NICKNAME - Pertemps Bees
COLOURS - Black, yellow and red
CHANGE COLOURS - Yellow, Black and red
GROUND DETAILS - Sharmans Cross Road, Solihull, B91 1RQ
CAPACITY - 3,500 (1,000 seated)
LAST SEASON - 1st in National Division Two
Bristol Rugby
FOUNDED - 1888
NICKNAME - Bris
COLOURS - Blue and white
CHANGE COLOURS - White
GROUND DETAILS - The Memorial Stadium, Filton Avenue, Horfield, Bristol, BS7 0AQ
CAPACITY - 12,000 (3,500 seated 7500 covered)
LAST SEASON - 12th in Guinness Premiership
Coventry
FOUNDED - 1874
NICKNAME - Cov
COLOURS - Navy blue with white trim
CHANGE COLOURS - Red
GROUND DETAILS - Butts Park Arena, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GE
CAPACITY - 7,000 (3,000 covered seating)
LAST SEASON - 9th
Doncaster Knights
FOUNDED - 1875
NICKNAME - The Knights
COLOURS - Navy blue with red and white trim
CHANGE COLOURS - Red
GROUND DETAILS - Castle Park, Armthorpe Road, Doncaster, DN2 5QB
CAPACITY - 5,000 (1,850 covered seating, 250 uncovered seating, 150 balcony standing)
LAST SEASON - 5th
Exeter Chiefs
FOUNDED - 1872
NICKNAME - The Chiefs
COLOURS - Black, white and Cambridge Blue
CHANGE COLOURS - White, black and Cambridge Blue
GROUND DETAILS - Sandy Park, Sandy Park Way, Exeter, EX2 7NN
CAPACITY - 7,500 (2,500 covered seated 3,300 standing)
LAST SEASON - 2nd
London Welsh
FOUNDED - 1885
NICKNAME - The Dragons
COLOURS - Scarlet
CHANGE COLOURS - Black or steel grey
GROUND DETAILS – TBC - Old Deer Park, Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 2AZ
CAPACITY - 4,500 (854 covered seating)
LAST SEASON - 6th
Moseley
FOUNDED - 1873
NICKNAME - Mose
COLOURS - Red and black hoops
CHANGE COLOURS - White with red and black flashes
GROUND DETAILS - Billesley Common, Yardley Wood Road, Billesley, Birmingham, B13 0PT
CAPACITY - 3,000 (400 covered seating, 230 covered standing)
LAST SEASON - 8th
Nottingham
FOUNDED - 1877
NICKNAME - The green and whites
COLOURS - Green and white shirts, blue shorts
CHANGE COLOURS - White shirts, blue shorts
GROUND DETAILS – TBC –
Cornish Pirates
FOUNDED - 1945
NICKNAME - Cornish Pirates
COLOURS - Red, black and white hoops
CHANGE COLOURS - Black with gold collars
GROUND DETAILS - Camborne Recreation Ground, Cranbury Road, Camborne, TR14 7PY
CAPACITY - 6,000 (1,800 covered seating)
LAST SEASON - 7th
Plymouth Albion
FOUNDED - 1875
NICKNAME - Albion
COLOURS - White, red and green
CHANGE COLOURS - Black and white
GROUND DETAILS - Brickfields, Madden Road, Plymouth, PL1 4NE
CAPACITY - 8,400 (3,500 seated, 2,200 covered)
LAST SEASON - 11th
Rotherham Titans.
FOUNDED - 1923
NICKNAME - Titans
COLOURS - Maroon and blue
CHANGE COLOURS - Blue and maroon
GROUND DETAILS - Clifton Lane, Rotherham, S60 2SN Capacity - 5,000 (200 seated, 800 covered)
LAST SEASON - 10th
