The 2025/26 Champ Rugby season is fast approaching, and the return of Richmond to the second tier of English rugby brings a fresh layer of anticipation and excitement.

After securing promotion with 21 wins in 26 games, Richmond will join a restructured 14-team league that brings with it a new competitive format, a packed calendar, and high-stakes rugby throughout the year.

Matches kick off on the weekend of 4 October, and the final regular season matches will take place on the weekend of 9 May 2026. All teams will play each other in home and away fixtures over 26 rounds.

Champ Rugby will live stream games this season, with at least one fixture per round available on YouTube, increasing the visibility of the league and showcasing its rising talent, community pride and elite performances.

Richmond Rugby supporters won’t have to wait long for fireworks, as we play host to Chinnor in our opening fixture at the Richmond Athletic Ground on Saturday, 4 October. A perfect opportunity to reintroduce ourselves in front of a home crowd, and set the tone for the season ahead.

The holiday period serves up a mouthwatering set of clashes, with Richmond at the heart of it. Round 11 sees us welcome Doncaster Knights under the Friday night lights just before Christmas, we then travel to the Midlands to face Bedford Blues on Boxing Day, followed by the big New Year’s home derby on Saturday 3 January against London Scottish, set to be one of the standout fixtures of the campaign.

The final round of regular season action sees a reverse of Round 1, An away trip to Chinnor will be offering us the chance to finish the season strong at a crucial time with playoff places up for grabs, and relegation battles to be won.

Changes to the season structure announced in May mean that at the end of the 26-round Champ Rugby regular season, the table will be split into qualification stages. The teams ranked from third to sixth will participate in the quarterfinals to earn entry into the semi-finals, where the winners will take on the top two ranked sides.

The winners of the semi-finals enter the final to determine the Champ Rugby champion.
The overall winner will then face the bottom Premiership Rugby club in a promotion/relegation play-off, in both a home and away leg, to determine which league they will play in for the following campaign, subject to meeting the minimum standards criteria.

At the bottom end of the table, the team that finishes in 14th place will be relegated to National 1. The teams that finish in 12th and 13th will face off in a one-legged fixture, with the loser taking part in a play-off against the runner-up of National 1 to determine who will play in Champ Rugby for the following season. This play-off will be a one-legged fixture, with the winner joining the champion of National League 1 in Champ Rugby, subject to the teams meeting Champ Rugby Minimum Operating Standards.

Chair of the Champ Rugby Board, Simon Gillham, said:
“The upcoming Champ Rugby season is an exciting prospect, with a new format ready to test the teams.

We are delighted to welcome Worcester Warriors and Richmond into the league, two clubs that are steeped in history and who will add to the competitiveness of Champ Rugby.
The quality of rugby in last year’s competition was clear, and we only expect that to improve this year, given the exciting format changes to Champ Rugby.

Aspiration and jeopardy in the form of the new playoff system will create a brilliant narrative for the league and something that supporters will undoubtedly get behind. We can’t wait to see how the season unfolds.”

Richmond Rugby home fixtures:
• Round 1: Richmond vs Chinnor – Saturday 4 October 2025
• Round 3: Richmond vs Ealing Trailfinders – Friday 17 October 2025
• Round 5: Richmond vs Coventry – Saturday 1 November 2025
• Round 7: Richmond vs Hartpury – Friday 14 November 2025
• Round 9: Richmond vs Ampthill – Saturday 9 December 2025
• Round 11: Richmond vs Doncaster Knights – Friday 19 December 2025
• Round 13: Richmond vs London Scottish – Saturday 3 January 2026
• Round 14: Richmond vs Caldy – Saturday 24 January 2026
• Round 16: Richmond vs Nottingham – Friday 6 February 2026
• Round 18: Richmond vs Cambridge – Friday 20 February 2026
• Round 20: Richmond vs Cornish Pirates – Saturday 21 March 2026
• Round 22: Richmond vs Worcester Warriors – Saturday 3 April 2026
• Round 24: Richmond vs Bedford Blues – Saturday 18 April 2026

View the full fixture list HERE
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Match Tickets & Hospitality
Match tickets and hospitality will be on sale later this month.

Throughout the season, we’ll also be hosting a series of themed hospitality experiences, ranging from President’s Lunches and festive gatherings to Beer & Balti packages. More information will follow soon.