2013–14 RFU Championship
| 2013–14 Greene King IPA Championship | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Rotherham) 300 points[1] |
| Top try scorer | Miles Mantella (London Scottish) 19 tries[2] |
→ | |
The 2013–14 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, was the fifth season of the professionalised format of the
After being promoted after an appeal in
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.[9] Matches in the RFU Championship were broadcast on Sky Sports.[10]
Structure
The Championship's structure had all 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:
The play–off structure remained the same as the previous year.[12] 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.[13] However, on 9 May 2014, 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.[14] There was no relegation play–off; the bottom team was automatically relegated.[12] Following an agreement with the RFU in 2012, each RFU Championship club received £355,000 in funding from the RFU for the season.[15]
