2016–17 National League 1
The 2016–17 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1 was the eighth season of the third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was introduced; and was the 30th season since league rugby began in 1987.
| 2016–17 National League 1 | |
|---|---|
| Countries | England |
| Date | 3 September 2016 – 29 April 2017 |
| Champions | Hartpury College (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Plymouth Albion |
| Relegated | Macclesfield, Blaydon |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Attendance | 140,695 (average 586 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 2,712 Coventry v Birmingham Moseley (18 December 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 113 Loughborough Students v Blaydon (7 January 2017) Loughborough Students v Old Albanian (4 February 2017) |
| Tries scored | 1802 (average 7.5 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Harry Leonard (Rosslyn Park) (265 points) |
| Top try scorer | Jonas Mikalcius (Hartpury College) (34 tries) |
Hartpury College were crowned the champions on 11 March 2017 after winning their 25th match and maintaining their 100% record. The college side went on break more National League 1 records by winning all 30 games and gaining promotion to the highest level in the club's history. Other records by Hartpury included most league points in a season (143), most points scored (1,455), as well as tying with Ealing Trailfinders (2014–15) for most bonus points gained in a season (28).
Due to London Welsh going into liquidation in January 2017 and being expelled from the RFU Championship, only two teams were relegated from National League 1. On 1 April 2017 newly promoted Macclesfield were the first team to be relegated after they lost 18–21 at home to Plymouth Albion. The second relegation spot was keenly contested and went to the last game of the season with 14th placed Hull Ionians 3 points ahead of 15th placed Blaydon. In the end Blaydon lost their final game while Hull Ionians won theirs to finish 6 points clear. It ended a run of 10 years in the 3rd tier for Blaydon.