Preparations for the upcoming season in the Greene King IPA Championship are now underway with the 2017/18 fixtures released today.
The competition will be played over 22 rounds, beginning the first weekend of September and culminating on the last weekend in April next year.
For the first time since its inception there will be no end-of-season play-offs between the top four teams.
From next season, the club that finishes top of the table will be crowned the winner of the Greene King IPA Championship and will be promoted into Premiership Rugby the following season if they satisfy the Minimum Standards Criteria of the top club competition in England.
Despite earning promotion to the Premiership in the 2015/16 play-offs, Bristol Rugby will return to the competition following a 36-21 defeat to Wasps at Ashton Gate in April. They will face debutants Hartpury College in the opening round of next season's Greene King IPA Championship following Hartpury's promotion from National League One earlier this year.
The Gloucestershire side defeated Old Albanians 57-21 in the final but had already won the league with five matches still to play having remained undefeated all season.
This season's runners up, Yorkshire Carnegie will face London Scottish in Richmond in their season opener. Bryan Redpath's side suffered a 55-48 defeat to London Irish in the second leg of the play-off final last month.
Elsewhere in the competition, Jersey Reds will host Doncaster Knights who secured their top-four spot following a narrow 24-20 win when the two sides last met in April, and Ealing Trailfinders will welcome the Cornish Pirates to Richmond.
Rotherham Titans will host Nottingham for their season opener while Richmond kick-off their campaign away to Bedford Blues.
Commenting ahead of the 2017/18 season, Chairman of the Greene King IPA Championship, Geoff Irvine, said: "As we continue with our planning and preparation for next season it's clear that there's a great deal to be excited about.
"With next season being the first one without the play-offs - which have been replaced by a new prize money incentive - the competition among teams will be as high as ever as they look to play for their stake in the winning fund and secure their position in the league at the end of the season.”
Head of Professional Rugby at the Rugby Football Union, Nigel Melville, added: "Next season will be an exciting one for the Greene King IPA Championship. We have been working alongside the clubs to identify positive opportunities to develop and grow the competition.
"With more movement of Elite Academy Players now available across the top three tiers of the game, we hope to see a rising number of young academy players playing Championship rugby next season.
"We have also been working behind the scenes to provide the competition with increased marketing support, taking the competition to a wider audience.”
2017/18 Greene King IPA Championship fixtures:
Round 1 – 1/2/3 Sep-17
London Scottish v Yorkshire Carnegie
Rotherham Titans v Nottingham Rugby
Jersey Reds v Doncaster Knights
Bristol Rugby v Hartpury College
Ealing Trailfinders v Cornish Pirates
Richmond v Bedford Blues
Round 2 – 8/9/10 Sep-17
Nottingham Rugby v Yorkshire Carnegie
Richmond v Ealing Trailfinders
Cornish Pirates v Bristol Rugby
Hartpury College v Jersey Reds
Doncaster Knights v Rotherham Titans
Bedford Blues v London Scottish
Round 3 - 15/16/17 Sep-17
London Scottish v Nottingham Rugby
Yorkshire Carnegie v Doncaster Knights
Rotherham Titans v Hartpury College
Jersey Reds v Cornish Pirates
Bristol Rugby v Richmond
Ealing Trailfinders v Bedford Blues
Round 4 – 22/23/24 Sep-17
Hartpury College v Yorkshire Carnegie
Doncaster Knights v Nottingham Rugby
Bedford Blues v Bristol Rugby
Richmond v Jersey Reds
Cornish Pirates v Rotherham Titans
Ealing Trailfinders v London Scottish
Round 5 – 29/30/1 Sep/Oct-17
London Scottish v Doncaster Knights
Nottingham Rugby v Hartpury College
Yorkshire Carnegie v Cornish Pirates
Rotherham Titans v Richmond
Jersey Reds v Bedford Blues
Bristol Rugby v Ealing Trailfinders
Round 6 – 6/7/8 Oct-17
Richmond v Yorkshire Carnegie
Cornish Pirates v Nottingham Rugby
Hartpury College v Doncaster Knights
Ealing Trailfinders v Jersey Reds
Bedford Blues v Rotherham Titans
Bristol Rugby v London Scottish
Round 7 – 27/28/29 Oct-17
London Scottish v Hartpury College
Doncaster Knights v Cornish Pirates
Nottingham Rugby v Richmond
Yorkshire Carnegie v Bedford Blues
Rotherham Titans v Ealing Trailfinders
Jersey Reds v Bristol Rugby
Round 8 – 10/11/12 Nov-17
Ealing Trailfinders v Yorkshire Carnegie
Bedford Blues v Nottingham Rugby
Richmond v Doncaster Knights
Cornish Pirates v Hartpury College
Bristol Rugby v Rotherham Titans
Jersey Reds v London Scottish
Round 9 – 17/18/18 Nov-17
London Scottish v Cornish Pirates
Hartpury College v Richmond
Doncaster Knights v Bedford Blues
Nottingham Rugby v Ealing Trailfinders
Yorkshire Carnegie v Bristol Rugby
Rotherham Titans v Jersey Reds
Round 10 – 24/25/26 Nov-17
Jersey Reds v Yorkshire Carnegie
Bristol Rugby v Nottingham Rugby
Ealing Trailfinders v Doncaster Knights
Bedford Blues v Hartpury College
Richmond v Cornish Pirates
Rotherham Titans v London Scottish
Round 11 – 1/2/3 Dec-17
London Scottish v Richmond
Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues
Hartpury College v Ealing Trailfinders
Doncaster Knights v Bristol Rugby
Nottingham Rugby v Jersey Reds
Yorkshire Carnegie v Rotherham Titans
Round 12 – 22/23/24 Dec-17
Yorkshire Carnegie v Nottingham Rugby
Rotherham Titans v Doncaster Knights
Jersey Reds v Hartpury College
Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates
Ealing Trailfinders v Richmond
London Scottish v Bedford Blues
Round 13 – 29/30/31 Dec-17
Doncaster Knights v Yorkshire Carnegie
Bedford Blues v Ealing Trailfinders
Richmond v Bristol Rugby
Cornish Pirates v Jersey Reds
Hartpury College v Rotherham Titans
Nottingham Rugby v London Scottish
Round 14 – 26/27/28 Jan-18
Nottingham Rugby v Doncaster Knights
Yorkshire Carnegie v Hartpury College
Rotherham Titans v Cornish Pirates
Jersey Reds v Richmond
Bristol Rugby v Bedford Blues
London Scottish v Ealing Trailfinders
Round 15 – 9/10/11 Feb-18
Cornish Pirates v Yorkshire Carnegie
Hartpury College v Nottingham Rugby
Ealing Trailfinders v Bristol Rugby
Bedford Blues v Jersey Reds
Richmond v Rotherham Titans
Doncaster Knights v London Scottish
Round 16 – 16/17/18 Feb-18
Doncaster Knights v Hartpury College
Nottingham Rugby v Cornish Pirates
Yorkshire Carnegie v Richmond
Rotherham Titans v Bedford Blues
Jersey Reds v Ealing Trailfinders
London Scottish v Bristol Rugby
Round 17 – 2/3/4 Mar-18
Bedford Blues v Yorkshire Carnegie
Richmond v Nottingham Rugby
Cornish Pirates v Doncaster Knights
Bristol Rugby v Jersey Reds
Ealing Trailfinders v Rotherham Titans
Hartpury College v London Scottish
Round 18 – 16/17/18 Mar-18
Hartpury College v Cornish Pirates
Doncaster Knights v Richmond
Nottingham Rugby v Bedford Blues
Yorkshire Carnegie v Ealing Trailfinders
London Scottish v Jersey Reds
Rotherham Titans v Bristol Rugby
Round 19 – 23/24/25 Mar-18
Bristol Rugby v Yorkshire Carnegie
Ealing Trailfinders v Nottingham Rugby
Bedford Blues v Doncaster Knights
Richmond v Hartpury College
Jersey Reds v Rotherham Titans
Cornish Pirates v London Scottish
Round 20 – 6/7/8 Apr-18
Cornish Pirates v Richmond
Hartpury College v Bedford Blues
Doncaster Knights v Ealing Trailfinders
Nottingham Rugby v Bristol Rugby
Yorkshire Carnegie v Jersey Reds
London Scottish v Rotherham Titans
Round 21 – 13/14/15 Apr-18
Rotherham Titans v Yorkshire Carnegie
Jersey Reds v Nottingham Rugby
Bristol Rugby v Doncaster Knights
Ealing Trailfinders v Hartpury College
Bedford Blues v Cornish Pirates
Richmond v London Scottish
Round 22 – 28 Apr-18
Bedford Blues v Richmond
Cornish Pirates v Ealing Trailfinders
Hartpury College v Bristol Rugby
Doncaster Knights v Jersey Reds
Nottingham Rugby v Rotherham Titans
Yorkshire Carnegie v London Scottish
NB: All kick-off times and match dates to be confirmed by the clubs.
The British & Irish Cup 2017/18 fixtures will be announced separately at a later date.
