Runners-up NSW Country Eagles | Matches played 31 | |
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Date 27 August – 22 October 2016 Champions Perth Spirit (1st title) | ||
The 2016 National Rugby Championship (known as the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of Australia's National Rugby Championship. It involved eight professional rugby union teams, one team fewer than in the previous two seasons. The competition kicked off on 27 August 2016.
Contents
Teams
A major change was made for the 2016 season with the scrapping of the Sydney Stars team. The Australian Rugby Union did not renew their licence for the competition to consolidate playing strength of the teams in New South Wales. The North Harbour Rays subsequently changed their name to become the Sydney Rays. Prior to the season it was also reported that the Canberra Vikings would be renamed the Canberra Kookaburras in a return to the traditional name of the ACT team, but this change was postponed until at least the 2017 season.
The eight teams for the 2016 NRC season include three from New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one each from Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Western Australia:
Home match venues scheduled for the 2016 NRC season:
Television coverage and streaming
Two of the NRC matches each weekend are broadcast live via Fox Sports. Discussion of the NRC competition is included on Fox Sports' review show NRC Extra Time on Monday nights, and the Rugby 360 program on Wednesday evenings.
Experimental Law Variations
The ARU was given approval by World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) to conduct experimental law trials as part of the 2014 National Rugby Championship. These law variations, including the changing the scoring value of conversions to three points and penalties to two points, were retained for the 2015 season. For the 2016 season, however, scoring values were changed again to make tries worth six points and any form of goal worth two points.
Regular season
The eight teams compete in a round-robin tournament for the regular season. Each team has four matches at home and four away. The top four teams qualify for the title play-offs with semi-finals and finals.
During this section of the tournament, teams can also play for the Horan-Little Shield, a challenge trophy that is played for when a challenge is accepted or offered by the holders.
Title play-offs
The top four sides in the regular season advanced to the semifinals of the knock-out stage, which was followed by the final to decide the National Rugby Championship title.
Players
The leading scorers in 2016 over the regular season and finals combined were: