Champ Rugby

Champ Rugby
Current season, competition or edition:
2025–26 Champ Rugby
SportRugby union
Founded1987 (1987)
AdministratorRFU
No. of teams14
Countries England
Most recent
champion
Ealing Trailfinders (3rd title)
(2024–25)
Most titlesBristol Bears (4 titles)
Level on pyramidLevel 2
Promotion toPREM Rugby (via expansion process from 2026–27
Relegation toNational League 1
Official websitechamprugby.com

Champ Rugby (formerly the RFU Championship) is an English rugby union competition among fourteen 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. Historically the competition provided automatic promotion to the top-flight PREM Rugby, but following a vote by the RFU Council on 27 February 2026, automatic promotion and relegation between the two tiers was abolished from the 2026–27 season. Champ Rugby remains a required pathway to the PREM under the new criteria-based expansion model, under which any club seeking admission to the PREM must first have played at least one season in the Champ.