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2021–22 División de Honor de Rugby
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 formatThe season took place between October and May. The league format was altered for the 2021-22 season.[1] The twelve teams were split into two groups of 6, based on their placings in last season's league.
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:
Promotion and relegationThe 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.[2] TeamsRelegated sides Independiente and Getxo were replaced by La Vila and Gernika.
Results
StandingsThe 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.[3]
PlayoffsThe 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.[4] The Spanish rugby federation finally disqualified Alcobendas on the 26 May 2022, meaning Cisneros earned a bye to the semifinals.
Copa del ReyThe twelve teams were divided into four groups of three.[5] 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.[6]
References
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