The 2022–23 División de Honor was the 56th season of the División de Honor, the top flight of Spanish domestic rugby union.
Valladolid won its sixth title in seven years, its twelfth overall, defeating Aparejadores in the final.
Competition format
The season took place between October and May.
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
Each team played twelve games - one game against each opponent. Then the league divided into two groups: the top six teams progressed to Group A and the remaining seven teams progressed to Group B. The teams played the other members of their groups once more, meaning Group A teams played a further five games and Group B teams play a further six.
As before, eight teams qualified for the playoffs, meaning the top two teams from Group B went through along with the six teams from Group A.
The division was made up of thirteen teams this season instead of the usual twelve after controversy during the 2021-22 season.
La Vila and Gernika finished eleventh and twelfth in 2021-22, but Alcobendas were automatically relegated for fielding an ineligible player. This earned La Vila a reprieve from relegation. Initially, Gernika were set to be relegated, but they argued that Alcobendas' point reduction meant the Madrid side technically finished bottom, and that they were therefore denied their rightful opportunity to play off against the runner-up from the Division B playoffs, Belenos RC.
The Spanish Rugby Federation ruled that denying either team - Gernika or Belenos - a place in the top flight would be unfair.
As the division had an extra team, two teams were automatically relegated (instead of one) and the team finishing eleventh contested a playoff against the runner-up from the División B playoffs.
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 playoff against the team which finishes 11th in the top flight.
Teams Alcobendas were relegated while Pozuelo and Belenos RC were promoted. Gernika were given a reprieve despite finishing bottom of the table last year, meaning the division grew to 13 members.
Team Stadium CapacityLocation AparejadoresSan Amaro1,000Burgos, Castile and León Belenos RCEstadio Santa Bárbara5,000Avilés, AsturiasCienciasInstalaciones Deportivas La Cartuja3,000Seville, AndalusiaComplutense Cisneros Estadio Complutense 12,400Madrid, MadridEl SalvadorPepe Rojo5,000Valladolid, Castile and LeónFC BarcelonaLa Teixonera500Barcelona, CataloniaGernika RTUrbieta zelaia3,000GernikaLa VilaCampo de Rugby “El Pantano”1,550La Vila Joiosa, ValenciaLes AbellesPolideportivo de Quatre Carreres500Valencia, ValenciaOrdiziaAltamira2,000Ordizia, Basque CountryPozueloValle de las Cañas500Pozuelo de Alarcón, MadridSantboianaBaldiri Aleu3,500Sant Boi de Llobregat, CataloniaValladolidPepe Rojo5,000Valladolid, Castile and León
Standings
First phase TeamPWDL+/-1Valladolid 12110138617021650193181532Ciencias12100248119228973205381493Aparejadores12100250224525765353061474El Salvador1271435624011648291951365FC Barcelona127054062881185735 2224346Santboiana127143602926848371122347Complutense Cisneros 12705271262 93131 032338Ordizia12507306343 -373941 -223259Pozuelo12507337405 -684056 -16212310Belenos RC12408234332 -982843 -15121911Les Abelles12309267346 -793346 -13241812Gernika RT121011225402 -1773358 -2512713La Vila12001284698 -6149104 -95000
Qualified for Group A Qualified for Group B
Second phase Group A TeamPWDL+/-1Valladolid 171412562272290753441102702Aparejadores17150266733233585463981693Ciencias171313635287348963264111614Santboiana17917487457306360323435FC Barcelona17808518484347262 1024386El Salvador1771942039327584995338 Group B TeamPWDL+/-1Complutense Cisneros 181206550392 1587150 2162562Ordizia181008608489 1198460 2463493Belenos RC188010393469 -765059 -932374Les Abelles187011476466 106061 -135365Pozuelo186012528573 -456878 -1034316Gernika RT183015353582 -2295285 -3323177La Vila1800181311132 -100114172 -158000
Qualified for playoff quarterfinals Relegation playoff Relegation to División de Honor B
Playoffs
Copa del Rey The Copa del Rey's format was changed.
The teams finishing in the top six after the first phase of the league qualified for the Copa del Rey. The team finishing third played the team finishing sixth, while the team finishing fourth faced the team finishing fifth. Playoffs
The winners of these two games progressed to the semifinal draw with the top two. Semifinals
The final was won by Valladolid in May, setting them on the path to a league and cup double. Final
Relegation playoff The relegation playoff was played over two legs by Pozuelo, the team finishing 10th in División de Honor, and Independiente, the losing team from División de Honor B promotion playoff final. Pozuelo won 170–46 on aggregate and retained their place in the División de Honor for the 2023–24 season.
References
External links Official site