2016 National Rugby Championship
The 2016 National Rugby Championship was the third season of Australia's National Rugby Championship. It involved eight professional rugby union teams, one team fewer than in the previous two seasons. The competition kicked off on 27 August 2016.
Teams
A major change was made for the 2016 season with the scrapping of the Sydney Stars team. The Australian Rugby Union did not renew their licence for the competition to consolidate playing strength of the teams in New South Wales. The North Harbour Rays subsequently changed their name to become the Sydney Rays. Prior to the season it was also reported that the Canberra Vikings would be renamed the Canberra Kookaburras in a return to the traditional name of the ACT team, but this change was postponed until at least the 2017 season.The eight teams for the 2016 NRC season include three from New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one each from Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Western Australia:
| Region | Team | Coach | Captain | Refs |
| ACT |  Wayne Southwell | Jarrad Butler | ||
| NSW | Darren Coleman | Paddy Ryan | ||
| NSW | Simon Cron | Matt Lucas | ||
| NSW | John Muggleton | Paul Asquith | ||
| QLD | Rod Seib | Sam Talakai | ||
| QLD | Toutai Kefu | James Tuttle | ||
| VIC | Zane Hilton | Nic Stirzaker | ||
| WA | Dwayne Nestor | Heath Tessmann |
Home match venues scheduled for the 2016 NRC season:
| Region | Team | Match Venue | Capacity | City |
| ACT | Viking Park | 8,000 | Canberra | |
| NSW | Endeavour Oval | 3,000 | Orange | |
| NSW | Magpies Rugby Park | 3,000 | Tamworth | |
| NSW | Scully Park | 11,000 | Tamworth | |
| NSW | Sports Ground No. 2 | 5,000 | Newcastle | |
| NSW | Sydney University | 5,000 | Sydney | |
| NSW | North Sydney Oval | 20,000 | Sydney | |
| NSW | Pittwater Park | 10,000 | Sydney | |
| NSW | Concord Oval | 20,000 | Sydney | |
| QLD | Ballymore | 18,000 | Brisbane | |
| QLD | 5,000 | |||
| QLD | Sports Ground | 9,000 | ||
| VIC | Holmesglen Reserve | 3,000 | Melbourne | |
| VIC | Frankston Park | 8,000 | Melbourne | |
| WA | UWA Rugby Club | 4,000 | Perth |
Television coverage and streaming
Two of the NRC matches each weekend were broadcast live via Fox Sports, with the other matches shown on the Fox Sports streaming platform. Discussion of the NRC competition was included on Fox Sports' review show NRC Extra Time on Monday nights, and the Rugby 360 program on Wednesday evenings.Experimental Law Variations
The most significant new law variation adopted for the 2016 season was the further change in point scoring values, with tries made worth six points and any form of goal worth two points.Two of the scrum law variations trialed since the since the inaugural season of the National Rugby Championship in 2014 were adopted into World Rugby's laws in 2016 and were thus no longer law variations. These changes to Law 20.1 and Law 20.12 sanctioned against delay in forming a scrum, and against a scrum half whose team has not won the ball stepping onto the space between the position flanker and No. 8 while the ball is in the scrum.
The other law variations used in 2014 and 2015, were retained for the 2016 season.
| Existing Law of the Game | Variation |
| Law 5.7 If time expires and the ball is not dead, or an awarded scrum or lineout has not been completed, the referee allows play to continue until the next time that the ball becomes dead. The ball becomes dead when the referee would have awarded a scrum, lineout, an option to the non-infringing team, drop out or after a conversion or successful penalty kick at goal. If a scrum has to be reset, the scrum has not been completed. If time expires and a mark, free kick or penalty kick is then awarded, the referee allows play to continue. | Non-offending team is allowed to kick the ball into touch after being awarded a penalty kick, which has been blown after time expires, and the lineout will take place. |
| Law 9.A.1 Value of a Try - 5 points Value of a Penalty goal - 3 points Value of a Dropped goal - 3 points | Value of a Try - 6 points Value of a Penalty goal - 2 points Value of a Dropped goal - 2 points Also being trialled in New Zealand’s Heartland Championship in 2016. |
| Law 9.B.1 The kicker must take the kick within one minute and thirty seconds from the time a try has been awarded. The player must take the kick within one minute and thirty seconds even if the ball rolls over and has to be placed again. | Time limit reduced to 60 seconds for conversion kicks, and 45 seconds for penalty kicks. |
| Law 17.2 Keeping players on their feet. Players in a maul must endeavour to stay on their feet. The ball carrier in a maul may go to ground providing the ball is available immediately and play continues. | Greater policing of this law, in order to discourage "hold up tackles", by ensuring that the tackler, who holds up a ball carrier in an effort to form a maul, does not collapse the maul as soon as it has formed. |
| Law 19.2 For a quick throw-in, the player must use the ball that went into touch. A quick throw-in is not permitted if another person has touched the ball apart from the player throwing it in and an opponent who carried it into touch. The same team throws into the lineout. | Players will be allowed to take quick throw-ins regardless of whether someone else has touched the ball |
| Law 19.6 The player taking the throw-in must stand at the correct place. The player must not step into the field of play when the ball is thrown. The ball must be thrown straight, so that it travels at least 5 metres along the line of touch before it first touches the ground or touches or is touched by a player. | Latitude will be given to the throwing team if the opposing team does not compete for the ball near where the ball is received |
| Law 21.2 The kicker must take the penalty or free kick at the mark or anywhere behind it on a line through the mark. | Increased latitude will be given to where penalty and free kicks are to be taken |
| Competition rule - Bonus point awarded for scoring 4 tries | Bonus point awarded if winning team scores 3 or more tries than their opponents. This particular system has been used in France's professional leagues since the 2007–08 northern hemisphere season. |
| Television match official protocols | Television match official to only be consulted about tries and in-goal plays. |
Regular season
The eight teams compete in a round-robin tournament for the regular season. Each team has four matches at home and four away. The top four teams qualify for the title play-offs with semi-finals and finals.During this section of the tournament, teams can also play for the Horan-Little Shield, a challenge trophy that is played for when a challenge is accepted or offered by the holders.