The 2015–16 División de Honor was the 49th season of the top flight of the Spanish domestic rugby union competition since its inception in 1953. Regular season began on 19 September 2015 and finished on 1 May 2016.
The playoffs began in May, with the Final taking place on 28 May.
El Salvador won its eighth División de Honor title after defeating local arch-rivals Valladolid in the Final 24–23, held at Estadio Pepe Rojo on 28 May. Pozuelo was the team relegated to División de Honor B de Rugby.
Competition format The season took place between September and March, with every team playing each other home and away for a total of 22 matches. Points were awarded according to the following:
4 points for a win 2 points for a draw 1 bonus point for a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match 1 bonus point for a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer
The six teams with the highest number of points at the end of 22 rounds of matches played the championship playoffs. The top two teams win a semifinal berth automatically, while the next four teams played off to take the remaining two spots.
The club which finished bottom was relegated, while the club that finished 11th went into a playoff with a team from División de Honor B.
Promotion and relegation The bottom team in the standings was relegated to División de Honor B, while the team finishing 11th played the relegation playoff. The top team from División de Honor B was promoted to División de Honor.
Teams Team Stadium CapacityLocation AlcobendasLas Terrazas2,000Alcobendas, MadridBarcelonaLa Teixonera500BarcelonaCisnerosEstadio Complutense12,400MadridEl SalvadorPepe Rojo5,000ValladolidGernika_RTUrbieta zelaia1,000GernikaGetxo Artea R.T. Fadura 1,000 GuechoHernaniLandare Toki500Hernani, GipuzkoaIndependienteSan Román1,500Santander, CantabriaOrdiziaAltamira500Ordizia, GipuzkoaPozueloValle de las Cañas300Pozuelo de Alarcón, MadridSantboianaBaldiri Aleu4,000Sant Boi de LlobregatValladolidPepe Rojo5,000Valladolid
Results ALCBARCISELSGERGET HERINDORDPOZSANVALAlcobendas29-727-3624-1642-1842-734-1737-2444-5622-2314-4410-43Barcelona23-1624-4115-1528-2440-2024-157-4722-3410-638-4421-30Cisneros7-2041-2317-2732-2953-3151-1716-2449-3130-336-1822-22El Salvador27-1745-1029-2138-1547-1857-030-2343-1452-1742-3940-19Gernika RT16-1355-1216-1421-3720-2227-2124-3022-3219-1733-3217-21Getxo14-1918-2527-3212-5134-2231-1217-2814-5028-3931-155-27Hernani30-2526-2034-2713-4042-2015-2920-3422-2022-180-320-41Independiente26-3434-3421-1636-3417-1935-2131-1250-1442-3049-2016-39Ordizia27-2815-1913-1618-2420-1325-2729-466-2942-3310-3716-18Pozuelo10-215-2919-228-4034-1921-3330-2524-4156-3631-1310-29Santboiana28-2434-1317-2161-2440-1049-2448-2224-1356-1256-726-32Valladolid38-2145-1233-620-541-1328-1475-1220-1346-2064-1444-15
Table #TeamGamesPointsTriesPtsPWDL1Valladolid222011775328+447105386716982El Salvador221714763438+32597544313833Independiente221417663498+16581572414724Santboiana221309748530+218100653517695Cisneros221318606505+10182612114686Alcobendas2211011563537+2675641114587FC Barcelona228212456639-1835492-386428Getxo Artea RT227015477695-2986495-3112409Ordizia R.E.226016540714-1747396-23164010Hernani CRE227015423743-32060110-50103811Gernika R.T227015472619-1475878-2093712CRC Pozuelo226016455695-2405897-391135Source: División de Honor Table (accessed 4 May 2016) </onlyinclude> <onlyinclude> Qualified for Playoff (semifinals) Qualified for Playoff (quarter-finals) Relegation playoff Relegated
Championship playoffs
Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semifinals
Final
Relegation playoff The relegation playoff was played over two legs by Bizkaia Gernika, the team finishing 11th in División de Honor, and CAU Valencia, the losing team from División de Honor B promotion playoff final. Bizkaia Gernika won 129–25 on aggregate and remained in División de Honor for 2016–17 season.
1st leg
2nd leg
Scorers statistics
Top try scorers
RankPlayerTriesTeam1 Anthony Matoto24Getxo Artea R.T.
Top points scorers RankPlayerPointsTeam1 Sam Katz352El Salvador
See also 2015–16 División de Honor B de Rugby 2016 Copa del Rey de Rugby
References
External links Official site