2014–15 RFU Championship
The 2014–15 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the sixth 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 is the second year of the competition's sponsorship with Greene King Brewery, which runs until 2017. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also competed in the British and Irish Cup, along with clubs from Ireland and Wales. Matches in the RFU Championship were broadcast on Sky Sports.
Worcester Warriors finished second during the regular season and became champions after beating Bristol 59 – 58 in the two-legged final. The Warriors overcame third-place London Scottish in the semi-final play-off, while Bristol beat fourth-place Rotherham Titans in the other semi-final. After thirteen seasons in the second tier of English rugby union, Plymouth Albion are relegated to the 2015–16 National League 1 for next season, after finishing in last place.
Structure
The Championship's structure has all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis. The play–off structure will remain the same as the previous year. The top four teams at the end of the home–and–away season qualify for the promotion play–offs which follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system. The winners have to meet the RFU's Minimum Standards Criteria in order to be promoted to the Premiership. If they fail to meet the criteria then there is no promotion. There are no relegation play–offs; the bottom team is automatically relegated. Following an agreement with the RFU in 2012, each RFU Championship club will receive £365,000 in funding from the RFU for the season.Participating teams and locations
Ten of the teams that competed in the 2013–14 RFU Championship remain in the competition for the 2014–15 RFU Championship. London Welsh were promoted back into the English Premiership after defeating Bristol in the play-off final after being relegated into the RFU Championship the previous year. They are replaced by Worcester Warriors after they were relegated to the RFU Championship after finishing last in the 2013–14 English Premiership. Ealing Trailfinders were relegated into National League 1 after finishing bottom of the 2013–14 RFU Championship by one point. They are replaced by Doncaster Knights, who returned to the RFU Championship at the first opportunity by finishing top of the 2013–14 National League 1 after being relegated in 2013. This was the first time that a relegated team returned to the RFU Championship after being relegated the previous season since the RFU Championship was formed.Below is a list of the teams participating in the 2014–15 RFU Championship.
| Club | Stadium | Capacity | Area | Captain | DOR/Head Coach |
| Bedford Blues | Goldington Road | 6,000 | Bedford, Bedfordshire |  Nick Fenton-Wells |  Mike Rayner |
| Bristol | Ashton Gate Stadium | 21,497 | Bristol |  Dwayne Peel | Andy Robinson |
| Cornish Pirates | Mennaye Field | 4,000 | Penzance, Cornwall | Chris Morgan | Ian Davies |
| Doncaster Knights | Castle Park rugby stadium | 5,000 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire | Michael Hills | Clive Griffiths |
| Jersey | St. Peter | 5,000 | Saint Peter, Jersey | Alex Rae | Harvey Biljon |
| London Scottish | Athletic Ground, Richmond | 4,500 | Richmond, London | Mark Bright | Mike Friday |
| Moseley | Billesley Common | 3,000+ | Birmingham, West Midlands | Mike Powell |  Kevin Maggs |
| Nottingham Rugby | Meadow Lane Lady Bay Sports Ground | 19,588 2,000 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire |  Brent Wilson | Martin Haag |
| Plymouth Albion | The Brickfields | 8,500 | Plymouth, Devon | Iain Grieve | Graham Dawe |
| Rotherham Titans | Clifton Lane Abbeydale Park | 2,500 3,200 | Rotherham, South Yorkshire Sheffield, South Yorkshire | Tom Holmes | Lee Blackett |
| Worcester Warriors | Sixways Stadium | 12,024 | Worcester, Worcestershire | GJ van Velze | Dean Ryan |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | Headingley Carnegie Stadium | 21,062 | Leeds, West Yorkshire | Ryan Burrows |  Ian McGeechan |
League table
Fixtures
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Round 4
----Round 5
----Round 6
----Round 7
----Round 8
----Round 9
----Round 10
----Round 11
----Round 12
----Round 13
----Round 14
----Round 15
----Round 16
----Round 17
----Round 18
----Round 19
----Round 20
----Round 21
----Round 22
Play-offs
Semi-finals
The semi-finals followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system – with the games being played over two-legs with the higher placed team deciding who played at home in the first leg.First leg
----Second leg
- Worcester Warriors won 65 – 37 on aggregate
- Bristol Rugby won 56 – 36 on aggregate
Final
First leg
Second leg
Worcester win 59 – 58 on aggregateAttendances
- Includes play-off games where applicable
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Bedford Blues | 11 | 27,454 | 2,496 | 4,401 | 1,833 | 42% |
| Bristol Rugby | 13 | 104,710 | 8,055 | 12,010 | 6,428 | 37% |
| Cornish Pirates | 11 | 16,270 | 1,479 | 2,390 | 1,010 | 37% |
| Doncaster Knights | 11 | 18,024 | 1,639 | 3,676 | 1,252 | 33% |
| Jersey | 11 | 22,997 | 2,091 | 2,909 | 1,630 | 42% |
| London Scottish | 12 | 19,935 | 1,661 | 2,108 | 1,087 | 37% |
| Moseley | 11 | 12,077 | 1,098 | 2,306 | 631 | 37% |
| Nottingham Rugby | 11 | 14,053 | 1,278 | 1,650 | 1,046 | 34% |
| Plymouth Albion | 11 | 18,727 | 1,702 | 3,982 | 1,175 | 20% |
| Rotherham Titans | 12 | 18,885 | 1,574 | 3,227 | 1,018 | 64% |
| Worcester Warriors | 13 | 84,376 | 6,490 | 12,024 | 3,826 | 54% |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 11 | 20,286 | 1,844 | 2,705 | 1,145 | 9% |
Individual statistics
- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Stats also include promotion play-offs.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
RFU Dream Team XV
The RFU Dream Team is picked by the coaches of the twelve championship teams. Bristol playmaker Morgan attracted the highest number of votes for an individual player with eight, one more than Cornish Pirates pair Tom Kessell and Darren Barry and Nottingham's Shaun Malton. Meanwhile, London Scottish number 8 Bright makes the Dream Team for the third year in a row and is the only player to retain his place from last season.- 15 Paul Jarvis
- 14 Sam Smith
- 13 Max Stelling
- 12 Andy Symons
- 11 David Lemi
- 10 Matthew Morgan
- 9 Tom Kessell
- 1 Sam Lockwood
- 2 Shaun Malton
- 3 Harry Williams
- 4 Mike Williams
- 5 Darren Barry
- 6 Alex Rieder
- 7 Jack Preece
- 8 Mark Bright
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 51 pts65 - 14 Cornish Pirates at home to Bedford Blues on 23 November 2014
;Largest away win — 61 pts
69 - 8 Worcester Warriors away to Cornish Pirates on 18 April 2015
;Most points scored — 69 pts
69 - 8 Worcester Warriors away to Cornish Pirates on 18 April 2015
;Most tries in a match — 10
London Scottish at home to Plymouth Albion on 4 October 2014
Worcester Warriors away to Cornish Pirates on 18 April 2015
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Worcester Warriors away to Cornish Pirates on 18 April 2015
;Most penalties in a match — 7
Moseley away to Doncaster Knights on 15 November 2014
London Scottish away to Nottingham Rugby on 4 January 2015
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple teams
Player
;Most points in a match — 25Lawrence Rayner for Plymouth Albion away to Rotherham Titans on 20 September 2014
;Most tries in a match — 4
Sam Smith for Worcester Warriors away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 27 December 2014
Olly Robinson for Bristol Rugby away to Plymouth Albion on 11 April 2015
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Andy Symons for Worcester Warriors away to Cornish Pirates on 18 April 2015
;Most penalties in a match — 7
Sam Olver for Moseley away to Doncaster Knights on 15 November 2014
Peter Lydon for London Scottish away to Nottingham Rugby on 4 January 2015
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple players
Attendances
;Highest — 12,024Worcester Warriors at home to Bristol on 27 May 2015
;Lowest — 631
Moseley at home to London Scottish on 8 November 2014
;Highest Average Attendance — 8,055
Bristol Rugby
;Lowest Average Attendance — 1,098
Moseley