The WRU National Championship (or Admiral Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the third tier of professional rugby union in Wales. The league was reformed by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in 2012.
History In 2012, the new division was formed from the restructuring of the Welsh Premier Division. The Premier Division was 'slimmed down' to 12 teams with Pontypool RFC and Tonmawr RFC relegated from the division. Tonmawr had already made the decision to opt out of the new league and would start the 2012–13 season in Division Six.
The National Championship is the third tier, which lies below the second tier Welsh Premier Division in Welsh club rugby. Above Welsh club rugby sides are the four regions, the Scarlets, Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, and Dragons, as part of regional rugby, who instead compete in the United Rugby Championship.
Restructuring process The teams for the league would be decided on three factors. Firstly, the holding of an 'A Licence' based on stadium criteria. The signing of a 'Participation Agreement' and judged on league results over the previous six seasons. It was originally decided that the Premiership would reduce in size to ten teams. It was announced that four clubs, Pontypool, Tonmwar, Bridgend Ravens and Carmarthen Quins RFC had not achieved the required criteria to be included into the new league. However, pressure from Ospreys and Scarlets backers led to the league being extended to 12 teams with Bridgend and Carmarthen included. Tonmawr, citing financial reasons, opted not to take part in the new league at all and re-entered themselves into Division Six.
2012 Pontypool legal challenge The new league came under scrutiny in 2012 when Pontypool RFC launched a legal challenge to avoid being the only club relegated to the new division, which they ultimately lost on the grounds of 'meritocracy'. Pontypool had finished 12th in the previous campaign, above rivals Bedwas RFC and level on points with historic rivals Newport RFC.
2025–26 season Clubs and locations Colour markers to represent the region each club belongs to: Blue = Cardiff Rugby || Orange = Dragons || Black = Ospreys || Red = Scarlets + Championship East Club Stadium Capacity Area Previous season Aberdare RFC Ynys Stadium 500 Aberdare 7th Championship East Abertillery RFC Abertillery Park 15,250 Abertillery 1st League 1 East (Promoted) Bedwas RFC The Bridge Field 2,000 Bedwas 2nd Championship East Bridgend Athletic RFC Newbridge Fields Bridgend 1st League 1 West Central (Promoted) Mountain Ash RFC Parc Duffryn Pennar Mountain Ash 9th Championship East Penallta RFC Ystrad Fawr 200 Ystrad Mynach 5th Championship East Rumney RFC Riverside Park 250 Rumney 3rd Championship East St. Joseph's RFC Maes Y Coed Road Heath, Cardiff 1st League 1 East Central (Promoted) St Peters RFC Harlequins Playing Fields Roath, Cardiff 8th Championship East Talywain RFC Emlyn Park Pontypool 6th Championship East Treorchy RFC The Oval Treorchy 10th Championship East The Wanderers Memorial Ground 3,000 Ely, Cardiff 4th Championship East Ynysddu RFC The Welfare Ground Ynysddu 11th Championship East + Championship West Club Stadium Capacity Area Previous season Aberystwyth RFC Plascrug Aberystwyth 1st League 1 West (Promoted) Ammanford RFC Manor Road Ammanford 5th Championship West Bonymaen RFC Parc Mawr Bonymaen, Swansea 12th Admiral Premiership (Relegated) Crymych RFC Parc Lloyd Thomas Crymych 9th Championship West Dunvant RFC Broadacre Dunvant, Swansea 4th Championship West Glynneath RFC Abernant Park Glynneath 6th Championship West Gorseinon RFC Welfare Ground 1,200 Gorseinon, Swansea 10th Championship West Gowerton RFC Athletic Ground 3,000 Gowerton, Swansea 11th Championship West Kenfig Hill RFC Croft Goch Playing Fields Kenfig Hill 7th Championship West Newcastle Emlyn RFC Dôl Wiber Newcastle Emlyn 13th Admiral Premiership (Relegated) Tata Steel RFC Margam Sports Ground Port Talbot 2nd Championship West Tondu RFC Pandy Park Tondu 3rd Championship West Trebanos RFC The Park Trebanos 8th Championship West
2024–25 season
Colour markers to represent the region each club belongs to: Blue = Cardiff Rugby || Orange = Dragons || Black = Ospreys || Red = Scarlets + Championship East TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTSBeddau RFC24230197933664314545200112 Bedwas RFC 24 21 0 3 1110 385 725 163 47 22 2 108 Rumney RFC 24 15 1 8 684 626 58 91 83 13 4 79 Glamorgan Wanderers RFC 24 14 1 9 771 587 184 110 78 15 6 79 Penallta RFC 24 14 1 9 745 571 174 106 75 14 5 77 Talywain RFC 24 12 1 11 586 699 -113 77 100 10 2 62 Aberdare RFC 24 12 0 12 589 637 -48 82 86 11 3 62 St. Peter's RFC 24 8 0 16 683 815 -132 96 113 12 6 50 Mountain Ash RFC 24 8 1 15 547 796 -249 75 117 10 3 47 Treorchy RFC 24 6 0 18 566 803 -237 74 117 10 7 41 Ynysddu RFC 24 7 0 17 452 941 -489 62 136 9 2 39Brynmawr RFC247116369571-20242803538Cambrian Welfare RFC246018451765-314581046636
+ Championship West TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTSLlanelli Wanderers RFC24220289040148911448161105 Tata Steel RFC 24 19 1 4 761 495 266 110 60 16 2 96 Tondu RFC 24 18 0 6 753 414 339 103 54 12 2 86 Dunvant RFC 24 14 0 10 744 682 62 109 92 17 2 77 Ammanford RFC 24 14 0 10 829 525 304 122 73 14 6 76 Glynneath RFC 24 15 0 9 630 520 110 86 69 11 4 75 Kenfig Hill RFC 24 12 2 10 617 523 94 81 60 10 4 66 Trebanos RFC 24 12 1 11 631 644 -13 85 83 9 4 63 Crymych RFC 24 7 0 17 564 885 -321 81 130 12 4 44 Gorseinon RFC 24 8 1 15 499 646 -147 58 89 6 3 43 Gowerton RFC 24 6 1 17 561 722 -161 71 104 8 7 41Ystalyfera RFC246018532737-2057210310539Maesteg Harlequins RFC2400243581175-81747174235
2023–24 season Due to the creation of Super Rygbi Cymru, the Welsh Premiership underwent a reconstruction. The top five clubs from both Championships were promoted at the end of the 2023–24 season to join the three clubs not granted access to the Super Rygbi Cymru.
+ Championship East TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTSBargoed RFC2220028983745241314919099Cardiff Met RFC2216027874882991126413481Cross Keys RFC221516655552103907312175 Ystrad Rhondda2215076595471121007214375Newbridge RFC221408675507168976512371 Beddau RFC 22 12 0 10 558 510 48 72 169 9 6 63 Bedwas RFC 22 12 0 10 550 612 -62 70 82 9 3 60 Rumney RFC 22 9 0 13 569 612 -43 73 81 9 8 53 The Wanderers 22 8 1 13 491 575 -84 61 85 5 6 45 St Peter's RFC 22 4 0 18 504 700 -196 73 101 10 11 37 Penallta RFC 22 5 0 17 523 745 -222 70 107 7 3 28 Treorchy RFC 22 1 0 21 305 952 -647 42 143 3 4 9
+ Championship West TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTSNarberth RFC22210195430465013941171102Brecon RFC2220027914013901145117198Llangennech RFC2217058624224401315719289Bonymaen RFC221408573435138865514575Newcastle Emlyn RFC2211011521567-4670757354 Dunvant RFC 22 10 0 12 504 583 -79 69 81 8 4 52 Trebanos RFC 22 11 0 11 450 595 -145 49 83 5 2 51 Crymych RFC 22 9 0 13 539 597 -58 70 82 9 6 51 Ammanford RFC 22 7 0 15 483 680 -197 64 95 5 5 38 Ystalyfera RFC 22 6 1 15 432 745 -313 63 104 7 3 36 Maesteg Harlequins 22 5 1 16 408 767 -359 45 107 4 3 29 Tata Steel RFC 22 0 0 22 363 784 -421 47 116 3 5 8
2022–23 season
POS TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTS1Pontypool RFC (C)262600128629299419334250129 2 Neath RFC 26 23 0 3 973 342 631 147 41 24 3 119 3 Bargoed RFC 26 22 0 4 883 399 484 133 53 19 1 108 4 Ystrad Rhondda 25 17 1 7 739 428 311 109 56 14 4 88 5 Narberth RFC 26 15 0 11 734 518 216 102 72 13 5 74 6 Cardiff Met RFC 26 14 0 12 770 765 5 108 112 13 1 70 7 Bedwas RFC 26 13 0 13 673 657 16 94 96 14 3 65 8 Cross Keys RFC 26 11 0 15 700 723 -23 101 100 14 4 62 9 Beddau RFC 25 11 0 14 514 571 -57 74 80 9 4 57 10 Maesteg Harlequins 26 9 1 16 447 793 -346 50 116 5 1 44 11 The Wanderers 26 8 0 18 526 870 -344 76 124 11 2 41 12 Trebanos RFC 26 6 0 20 404 751 -347 55 115 4 4 24 13 Ystalyfera RFC 26 5 0 21 390 899 -509 58 129 4 1 21 14 Tata Steel RFC 26 0 0 26 266 1297 -1031 32 204 1 0 -3
2021–22 season
POS TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTS1Bargoed RFC (C)13120136815821051198056 2 Neath RFC 13 11 0 2 382 246 136 52 27 7 2 53 3 Pontypool RFC 11 9 0 2 441 100 341 61 11 9 1 46 4 Bedwas RFC 12 9 0 3 290 234 56 38 29 4 1 41 5 Narberth RFC 12 7 0 5 307 214 93 36 27 4 3 35 6 Cardiff Met RFC 13 7 0 6 355 297 58 48 42 4 2 34 7 Cross Keys RFC 11 5 0 6 196 224 -28 25 28 2 4 26 8 Maesteg Harlequins 12 5 0 7 226 265 -39 26 36 2 3 25 9 Ystrad Rhondda RFC 10 4 0 6 136 219 -83 20 29 2 1 19 10 The Wanderers 12 4 0 8 212 384 -172 29 55 1 1 18 11 Trebanos RFC 10 3 0 7 150 253 -103 18 35 0 1 13 12 Tata Steel RFC 12 1 0 11 199 433 -234 25 61 2 2 8 13 Ystalyfera RFC 8 1 0 7 126 199 -73 14 25 1 2 7 14 Beddau RFC 9 1 0 8 90 252 -162 12 31 1 0 5
2020–21 season
Cancelled due to COVID-19
2019–20 season
POS TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTS1Pontypool RFC 1616007461366101121814078 2 Bargoed RFC 16 14 1 1 663 148 515 96 16 14 1 73 3 Bedwas RFC 17 13 0 4 478 236 242 65 29 10 3 65 4 Cardiff Met RFC 18 13 1 4 528 393 135 75 56 9 0 63 5 Neath RFC 17 8 0 9 344 413 -69 44 55 5 4 41 6 Narberth RFC 16 8 1 7 339 335 4 41 47 4 1 39 7 Cross Keys RFC 17 8 0 9 316 395 -79 39 52 3 3 38 8The Wanderers 16 8 0 8 233 340 -107 24 43 1 2 35 9 Maesteg Harlequins 16 8 0 8 235 370 -135 25 44 2 0 34 10 Ystrad Rhondda RFC 16 6 0 10 270 350 -80 31 41 3 4 3111Beddau RFC164012220506-2862975211912Trebanos RFC 162212175336-1612145061813Tata Steel RFC 162113232521-2892968141514Ystalyfera RFC 172015204504-30023650513
2018–19 season
POSTEAMPLWDLPFPADIFFPTS1Pontypool RFC (C)151500529203326732Ystrad Rhondda RFC18140444936287653Narberth RFC171403389260129634Cardiff Met RFC191216475328147595Bedlinog RFC16619276350 -74336Maesteg Harlequins RFC13706234289 -55297Trebanos RFC155010288330 -42298Newbridge RFC185112308436 -128289Tata Steel RFC (R)144010349378-292610Beddau RFC (R)174013320422-1022611Rhydyfelin RFC (R)154110235337-1022412Newcastle Emlyn RFC (R)154011273430-15721 Correct as of 26 February 2019
2017–18 season
POSTEAMPLWDLPFPADIFFPTS1Pontypool RFC (C)2222009262396871072Narberth RFC221417595439156723Trebanos RFC221408501335166694Tata Steel RFC22130954648363665Newbridge RFC2212010460461 -1586Bedlinog RFC2210210480501 -21587Rhydyfelin RFC2210012391435 -44498Newcastle Emlyn RFC229112470633 -163479Beddau RFC228014379543 -1644310Cardiff Met RFC227213473638 -1654011Skewen RFC (R)227015351535-1843412Glynneath RFC (R)223019292622-33017 (R) - denotes relegation to the WRU Division One East or WRU Division One West
2016–17 season
POSTEAMPLWDLPFPADIFFPTS1Pontypool RFC (C)222101805279526982Narberth RFC221705649362287813Tata Steel RFC221408578451127704Beddau RFC221408535397138705Newcastle Emlyn RFC2210111411504 -93546Cardiff Met RFC2210012435562 -127467Newbridge RFC229013403534 -131458Glynneath RFC2210012339488 -149449Bedlinog RFC228113407440 -334410Skewen RFC228113314418 -1044111The Wanderers (R)227114405490-854112Dunvant RFC (R)222020434790-35616
2015–16 season POSTEAMPLWDLPFPADIFFPTS1Merthyr RFC (C)26240211922899031182Swansea RFC (P)2622138594024571083Bargoed RFC (P)261916779401378974RGC 1404 RFC (P)261907928460468965Pontypool RFC261916794428366946Beddau RFC2610115537567 -30527Cardiff Met RFC269017631828 -197518Tata Steel RFC2611015622787 -165509Narberth RFC268117564710 -1464810Newcastle Emlyn RFC2610016538668 -1304711Newbridge RFC269017501686 -1854712Glynneath RFC269017461767 -3064513Bridgend Athletic RFC (R)269116362648-2864314Llanharan RFC (R)2610252771404-11277
2014–15 season POSTEAMPLWDLPFPADIFFPTS1Bargoed RFC (C)2625019583625961242Swansea RFC2622049093865231073Merthyr RFC261907671452219894RGC 1404 RFC2615011848436412835Pontypool RFC2616010639483156776Narberth RFC2615110542562 -20707Cardiff Met RFC2614012648533115668Bridgend Athletic RFC261401249646531659Tata Steel RFC2612014486651 -1655810Glynneath RFC269017532653 -1214311Newbridge RFC267118479777 -2983912Llanharan RFC266020475663 -1883313Tondu RFC264022461717 -2563014Blackwood RFC2630233681372 -100420
2013–14 season