# 2016–17 Principality Premiership

The 2016–17 Principality Premiership was the first season of the new format of the Principality Premiership, the top tier of club rugby in Wales run by the Welsh Rugby Union. It was contested by sixteen Welsh clubs following an expansion from twelve teams. The next two seasons will be "ring-fenced" and will have no relegation until the 2018–19 season. The competition was won by Merthyr in their first season in the Premiership. The second-tier competition was won by Newport who won their first silverware since the 2003–04 Premiership season.

## Structure

The Principality Premiership's structure includes all the teams playing each other once, either home or away, before the table is split into a top 8 and bottom 8 after 15 rounds and points are reset to zero. Each team then plays each other team once, again either home or away, in their respective tier. After all fixtures have been played, a play-off system is implemented for the top 4 teams in each section to determine the winner. The play-off winner of the top 8 will be crowned 2016–17 Principality Premiership champions. This is the first season in which the "ring-fenced" system will be implemented, meaning no team is in danger of relegation until the 2018–19 season.

## Teams

After a two-season absence spent in the WRU Championship, Swansea returned to the Premiership finishing as runners-up in the 2015–16 WRU Championship. Also promoted to the Premiership, for the first time, were Championship winners Merthyr, Bargoed and RGC 1404, who narrowly finished above Pontypool to deny them a return to the Premiership after demotion in 2012.
Orange = Newport Gwent Dragons Blue = Cardiff Blues Black = Ospreys Red = Scarlets
* RGC acts as a de facto club representing North Wales
| Club | Stadium | Capacity | Area |
| Aberavon | Talbot Athletic Ground | 3,000 | Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot |
| Bargoed | Bargoed Park | 1,500 | Bargoed, Caerphilly |
| Bedwas | Bridge Field | 2,000 | Bedwas, Caerphilly |
| Bridgend | Brewery Field | 8,000 | Bridgend |
| Cardiff | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | Cardiff |
| Carmarthen Quins | Carmarthen Park | 3,000 | Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire |
| Cross Keys | Pandy Park | 3,000 | Crosskeys, Caerphilly |
| Ebbw Vale | Eugene Cross Park | 8,000 | Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent |
| Llandovery | Church Bank Playing Fields | 3,000 | Llandovery, Carmarthenshire |
| Llanelli | Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 | Llanelli, Carmarthenshire |
| Merthyr | The Wern | 4,500 | Merthyr Tydfil |
| Neath | The Gnoll | 6,000 | Neath, Neath Port Talbot |
| Newport | Rodney Parade | 11,676 | Newport |
| Pontypridd | Sardis Road | 7,861 | Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| RGC 1404 | Eirias Stadium | 6,000 | Colwyn Bay, Conwy |
| Swansea | St Helen's | 4,500 | Swansea |

## Standings (Phase One)

2016–17 Principality Premiership Table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Aberavon | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 475 | 277 | +198 | 67 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 55 |
| 2 | Bedwas | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 377 | 269 | +108 | 47 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 52 |
| 3 | Merthyr | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 442 | 323 | +119 | 58 | 36 | 9 | 2 | 51 |
| 4 | RGC 1404 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 431 | 281 | +150 | 52 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 48 |
| 5 | Pontypridd | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 389 | 373 | +16 | 50 | 43 | 6 | 1 | 47 |
| 6 | Carmarthen Quins | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 384 | 305 | +79 | 42 | 39 | 5 | 4 | 47 |
| 7 | Llandovery | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 416 | 287 | +129 | 49 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 43 |
| 8 | Ebbw Vale | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 354 | 311 | +43 | 41 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 42 |
| 9 | Cardiff | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 325 | 314 | +11 | 36 | 38 | 2 | 7 | 37 |
| 10 | Newport | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 291 | 339 | −48 | 34 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 33 |
| 11 | Llanelli | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 291 | 367 | −76 | 35 | 48 | 4 | 2 | 32 |
| 12 | Cross Keys | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 298 | 301 | −3 | 36 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 31 |
| 13 | Bridgend | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 232 | 332 | −100 | 21 | 42 | 2 | 4 | 22 |
| 14 | Neath | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 254 | 464 | −210 | 29 | 57 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| 15 | Bargoed | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 196 | 393 | −197 | 26 | 44 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
| 16 | Swansea | 15 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 239 | 458 | −219 | 29 | 63 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
* Number of matches won
* Number of tries scored
* Total number of points for
* Difference between points for and against

## Phase Two

After 15 rounds, the table is split into a top 8 and bottom 8 and points are reset to zero. Each team now plays each other team once, either home or away, in their respective tiers to total 22 games over the entire season. After these 7 rounds, a play-off system is implemented for the top 4 teams of each tier respectively. The winners of the play-offs for Tier One are crowned 2016–17 Principality Premiership champions.

## Standings (Tier One)

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Merthyr (C) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 255 | 132 | +123 | 32 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 30 |
| 2 | Aberavon (F) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 174 | 140 | +34 | 23 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| 3 | Bedwas (S) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 168 | 146 | +22 | 18 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| 4 | RGC 1404 (S) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 176 | 162 | +14 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 5 | Pontypridd | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 165 | 170 | −5 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 6 | Llandovery | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 156 | 240 | −84 | 19 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 7 | Ebbw Vale | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 142 | 160 | −18 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 8 | Carmarthen Quins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 128 | 214 | −86 | 15 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
* Number of matches won
* Number of tries scored
* Total number of points for
* Difference between points for and against (C) Champion; (F) Final; (S) Semifinals

## Fixtures (Tier One)
### Semi-finals

* 13 May 2017 14:30
| Merthyr | 35–7 | RGC 1404 |
* The Wern
* 14 May 2017 15:30
| Aberavon | 31–24 | Bedwas |
* Talbot Athletic Ground

### Final

* 21 May 2017 15:30
| Aberavon | 18–22 | Merthyr |
* Talbot Athletic Ground

## Standings (Tier Two)

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Newport (C) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 141 | 107 | +34 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| 2 | Neath (F) | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 207 | 141 | +66 | 25 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| 3 | Cross Keys (S) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 133 | −7 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| 4 | Llanelli (S) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 172 | 122 | +50 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| 5 | Bridgend | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 159 | 135 | +24 | 19 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 6 | Cardiff | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 161 | 160 | +1 | 18 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| 7 | Bargoed | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 124 | 208 | −84 | 18 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 8 | Swansea | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 104 | 188 | −84 | 13 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
* Number of matches won
* Number of tries scored
* Total number of points for
* Difference between points for and against (C) Champion; (F) Final; (S) Semifinals

## Fixtures (Tier Two)
### Semi-finals

* 13 May 2017 14:30
| Newport | 22–17 | Llanelli |
* Rodney Parade
* 14 May 2017 14:30
| Neath | 33–13 | Cross Keys |
* The Gnoll

### Final

* 20 May 2017 19:30
| Neath | 14–32 | Newport |
* The Gnoll