The 2021–22 División de Honor was the 55th season of the División de Honor, the top flight of Spanish domestic rugby union.
Santboiana won its eight title, defeating Ordizia in the final.
Competition format
The season took place between October and May.
The league format was altered for the 2021-22 season. The twelve teams were split into two groups of 6, based on their placings in last season's league. +Group AGroup BAlcobendasBurgosBarcelonaCienciasCisnerosGernikaEl SalvadorLes AbellesLa VilaOrdiziaSantboianaValladolid Teams played the other teams in their group twice, and then played a further six games against teams from the other group, making a total of 16 games.
The teams were all classified in the same table, with the top eight sides qualifying for the playoffs to decide the champion.
Points were awarded as follows: 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
Promotion and relegation The second-tier División de Honor B is made up of three regional groups. The top eight teams across the three groups play off; the champion is promoted to División de Honor, at the expense of the team which finishes last in the División de Honor.
The runner-up plays a further play-off against the team which finishes 11th in the top flight.
Teams Relegated sides Independiente and Getxo were replaced by La Vila and Gernika.
Team Stadium CapacityLocation AlcobendasLas Terrazas2,000Alcobendas, MadridAparejadoresSan Amaro1,000Burgos, Castile and LeónBarcelonaLa Teixonera500Barcelona, CataloniaCienciasInstalaciones Deportivas La Cartuja3,000Seville, AndalusiaComplutense Cisneros Estadio Complutense12,400Madrid, MadridEl SalvadorPepe Rojo5,000Valladolid, Castile and LeónGernika RTUrbieta zelaia3,000GernikaLa VilaCampo de Rugby “El Pantano”1,550Villajoyosa, ValenciaLes AbellesPolideportivo de Quatre Carreres500Valencia, Valencia OrdiziaAltamira2,000Ordizia, Basque CountrySantboianaBaldiri Aleu3,500Sant Boi de Llobregat, CataloniaValladolidPepe Rojo5,000Valladolid, Castile and León
Results ALCAPAFCBCIECISELSGERLaVLESORDSANVALAlcobendas17-2231-1626-2921-2346-1029-2335-3039-13Aparejadores9-1642-3020-2021-1734-1368-3122-2230-28Barcelona13-2533-3412-2830-3326-1941-2124-920-23Ciencias29-1442-1145-1530-2043-534-2841-4028-3Cisneros13-3633-2025-1524-2031-3522-1531-2526-28El Salvador23-2236-1329-1925-1433-1024-747-2612-17Gernika RT10-1217-3322-2614-2029-2326-2915-168-17La Vila0-2224-2031-4315-2934-4220-720-3320-16Les Abelles27-629-1924-2124-2617-2429-2324-4427-38Ordizia22-319-1231-1851-827-1334-1234-3219-11Santboiana19-1634-2818-1538-2626-2148-1516-637-3Valladolid36-2926-2625-3213-1214-4318-1037-1213-25
Standings The final standings were affected by Alcobendas' use of Gavin van den Berg, a South African-born player whose passport was found to have falsified stamps on it. It emerged that van den Berg had played for Spain's national team despite not meeting the minimum residency requirements necessary to be eligible. Spain were duly disqualified from the rugby World Cup and Alcobendas were relegated for their part in the scandal. Team P W D L +/- 1 16 11 0 5 451 327 124 62 44 18 5 5 54 2 16 12 0 4 463 351 112 58 40 18 2 3 53 3 16 10 0 6 422 289 133 49 28 21 4 6 50 4 16 10 1 5 416 328 88 44 37 7 4 3 49 5 16 10 1 5 444 324 120 54 44 10 4 2 48 6 16 8 0 8 381 407 -26 39 56 -17 0 3 35 7 16 7 0 9 395 408 -13 53 44 9 3 4 35 8 16 6 3 7 396 389 7 43 46 -3 2 3 35 9 16 7 1 8 326 384 -58 37 40 -3 1 3 34 10 16 5 0 11 341 503 -162 46 69 -23 1 3 24 11 16 4 0 12 281 429 -148 38 54 -16 0 2 18 12 16 3 0 13 270 447 -177 36 57 -21 1 5 18 Source: Federación Española de Rugby: Clasificación de la División de Honor
Qualified for playoff quarterfinals Relegation to División de Honor B
Playoffs The playoffs were played on the 15 May 2022, with the exception of Alcobendas vs. Cisneros, which was postponed due to ongoing investigations in the Van den Berg affair. The Spanish rugby federation finally disqualified Alcobendas on the 26 May 2022, meaning Cisneros earned a bye to the semifinals.
Copa del Rey The twelve teams were divided into four groups of three. The winner of each group proceeded to the semifinals of the cup, which were one-legged ties.
The draw for the cup groups was restricted to ensure that teams are in the same group as well. This enabled specified league games to also count as cup group games.
Group 1: Barcelona, El Salvador, La Vila
Group 2: Ordizia, Les Abelles, Valladolid
Group 3: Santboiana, Lexus Alcobendas, Complutense Cisneros
Group 4: Gernika, Ciencias, Aparejadores
Although Alcobendas won a place in the final, they were eliminated from the competition as a result of the Van der Berg affair and were replaced in the final by Ciencias. Due to the prolonged investigation into Alcobendas, it was not possible to schedule the final before the off-season began, and the final was delayed until September 25 2022.
References
External links Official site