Champ Rugby has adopted the Top 14 try bonus system ahead of Friday’s opening match of the season between Nottingham and Blackheath, giving the league a new points structure before a ball has even been kicked in the Rugby Champion race.
The change matters because bonus points can shape the table over a long season, especially in close games and high-scoring matches. Under the Top 14 model, teams can be rewarded differently from the system used elsewhere in English rugby, and that could make a real difference across the Champ schedule.
Why the change matters
Last season offered plenty of proof that scoring patterns can have a major impact in the second tier. Ampthill collected 18 try bonus points from 26 league games but still finished 10th in the table, while Ealing got a try bonus point in all but three of their regular season matches. There were also three of the seven matches in the final round of the regular season that finished with aggregate scores of 90 points plus.
One result summed that up well: the match between Ampthill and Cambridge finished 75-33. Those kinds of scorelines are part of why the bonus-point system is now a bigger talking point as the new campaign begins.
What comes next
The new Champ season begins with Nottingham and Blackheath on Friday, and Champions Worcester will start their title defence at home to Bedford on Saturday, 19 September. That gives supporters an immediate look at how the new bonus-point system may affect the early table.
For now, the headline is simple: Champ Rugby has made a clear change before the opening whistle, and the Rugby Champion picture may look different because of it.
