As announced in June, play-offs were introduced for both National One and National Two for this season. This is largely as a result of the rebranding of the Championship which has been renamed Champ Rugby. That new arrangement means Champ Rugby will have it’s own play-offs, including a Champ relegation play-off.
So with that in mind, here’s how promotion, relegation and the play-off structures will work for National One and National Two at the end of this season:
Championship Relegation and National 1 Promotion
* The bottom club in the Champ will be relegated to National 1 – that’s currently Cambridge who are 17 points adrift although the Champ season runs into May with 7 rounds to go
* The winner of National 1 will be promoted to Champ Rugby, provided that they meet the Champ Rugby Minimum Operating Standards (worth a read)
If the winner does not meet the standards, the highest place club who do will be promoted. Rotherham Titans are in the National 1 box seat after second placed Plymouth Albion lost at home to Blackheath last time out. Titans are 5 points clear and the two meet in a couple of weeks.
* The clubs second and third best in National 1, who meet the Champ Rugby Minimum Operating Standards, will enter a National 1 Promotion play-off. Odds are that will be Plymouth and Blackheath although Sale remain in the mix 6 points behind Blackheath but only 5 rounds to go
* The winner of that play-off will then enter the ‘Champ Accession Final’ where they will play the loser of the Champ Relegation play-off game between the teams placed 12th and 13th in Champ Rugby. Between London Scottish, Richmond, Ampthill and Caldy at present
* The winner of the ‘Champ Accession Final’ will join the champions of National 1 in Champ Rugby. The loser will play in National 1.

Schedule
9th May – National 1 Promotion play-off
16th May – Champ Relegation play-off
23rd May – Champ Accession Final

National 1 Relegation and National 2 Promotion
– The bottom three clubs in National 1 will be relegated to National 2. Although Leicester Lions are all but confirmed with an 19 points deficit at the bottom the other relegation spots will go to the wire with just 8 points covering 10th to 13th and 5 rounds to play. Tjs top pundits reckon another victory should be enough to confirm N1 rugby at The Slade next season
– The top teams in each of the three National 2 leagues will be promoted to National 1. Sheffield are top of N2 North and have 3 games in hand over Tynedale and 2 over Macclesfield.
In N2 East Old Albanians are 3 points clear of a charging Bury St Edmunds and Oundle remain in the mix another 2 points back – it could go all the way to the last game when the current top two meet
And in N2 West Camborne are almost there as they have a 13 point lead over second placed Luctonians with just 5 rounds to go and whilst they face off against one another in mid-April you’d expect Cambourne to have been crowned champions before then
There are also play-offs that impact the bottom of National One:
– The club finishing in 11th position in National 1 and the clubs finishing in second place in the three National 2 leagues will enter the ‘National 2 Promotion play-offs’.
– The National 1 club will play the National 2 club with the poorest league record and the other two National 2 clubs will play each other.
-The winners of those matches will meet in the ‘National 1 Accession Final’.
-The winner of that game will play in National 1 and the rest in National 2.

Schedule
9th May – National 2 Promotion play-offs
16th May – National 1 Accession Final.

National Two Relegation and Regional 1 Promotion
– The bottom two clubs in each of the three National 2 leagues will be relegated to the regional leagues
– The winners of each of the six regional leagues will be promoted to National 2
There are also play-offs that impact the bottom of National Two:
From an National League Rugby perspective, the 12th-placed sides in National Two North, East and West will host the winners of the Regional play-offs in the three ‘NLR 2 Accession Finals’.

Schedule
9th May – National 2 North, East and West Accession Finals

PLEASE NOTE: In all play-off games, the game will be played on the ground of the club at the highest league level.
If both clubs are at the same league level, the game will be played on the ground of the club with the best playing record in the season just completed.