Nine of the eleven teams played in last season's competition. Yorkshire Carnegie, later renamed Leeds Tykes, were relegated to National League 1 after finishing bottom of the 2019–20 RFU Championship. They were replaced by Richmond who were promoted from 2019–20 National League 1 after just one year away from the Championship. Newcastle Falcons were promoted back to Premiership Rugby at the first attempt. They were replaced in the RFU Championship by Saracens who were relegated after finishing bottom of the 2019–20 Premiership Rugby table due to several points deductions throughout the season.