| 2021–22 División de Honor | |
| Countries: |  Spain |
| Date: | 3 October 2021 |
| Champions: | Santboiana |
| Runnersup: | Ordizia |
| Relegated: | Gernika, Alcobendas |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
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.
The 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.
| Alcobendas | Burgos | |
| Barcelona | Ciencias | |
| Cisneros | Gernika | |
| El Salvador | Les Abelles | |
| La Vila | Ordizia | |
| Santboiana | Valladolid |
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:
The 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]
Relegated sides Independiente and Getxo were replaced by La Vila and Gernika.
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcobendas | Las Terrazas | 500 | Alcobendas, Madrid | |
| Aparejadores | San Amaro | 1,500 | Burgos, Castile and León | |
| Barcelona | La Teixonera | 500 | Barcelona, Catalonia | |
| Ciencias | Instalaciones Deportivas La Cartuja | 1,932 | Seville, Andalusia | |
| Estadio Complutense | 12,400 | Madrid, Madrid | ||
| El Salvador | Pepe Rojo | 5,000 | Valladolid, Castile and León | |
| Gernika RT | Urbieta zelaia | 1,000 | Gernika | |
| La Vila | Campo de Rugby El Pantano | 3,000 | Villajoyosa, Valencia | |
| Les Abelles | Polideportivo Quatre Carreres | 500 | ||
| Ordizia | Altamira | 500 | Ordizia, Basque Country | |
| Santboiana | Baldiri Aleu | 4,000 | Sant Boi de Llobregat, Catalonia | |
| Valladolid | Pepe Rojo | 5,000 | Valladolid, Castile and León |
| style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | ALC | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | APA | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | FCB | CIE | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | CIS | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | ELS | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | GER | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | LaV | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | LES | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | ORD | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | SAN | style=min-width:3em; font-size:70%;" | VAL |
| Alcobendas | 17-22 | 31-16 | 26-29 | 21-23 | 46-10 | 29-23 | 35-30 | 39-13 | ||||||||||||||
| Aparejadores | 9-16 | 42-30 | 20-20 | 21-17 | 34-13 | 68-31 | 22-22 | 30-28 | ||||||||||||||
| Barcelona | 13-25 | 33-34 | 12-28 | 30-33 | 26-19 | 41-21 | 24-9 | 20-23 | ||||||||||||||
| Ciencias | 29-14 | 42-11 | 45-15 | 30-20 | 43-5 | 34-28 | 41-40 | 28-3 | ||||||||||||||
| Cisneros | 13-36 | 33-20 | 25-15 | 24-20 | 31-35 | 22-15 | 31-25 | 26-28 | ||||||||||||||
| El Salvador | 23-22 | 36-13 | 29-19 | 25-14 | 33-10 | 24-7 | 47-26 | 12-17 | ||||||||||||||
| Gernika RT | 10-12 | 17-33 | 22-26 | 14-20 | 29-23 | 26-29 | 15-16 | 8-17 | ||||||||||||||
| La Vila | 0-22 | 24-20 | 31-43 | 15-29 | 34-42 | 20-7 | 20-33 | 20-16 | ||||||||||||||
| Les Abelles | 27-6 | 29-19 | 24-21 | 24-26 | 17-24 | 29-23 | 24-44 | 27-38 | ||||||||||||||
| Ordizia | 22-3 | 19-12 | 31-18 | 51-8 | 27-13 | 34-12 | 34-32 | 19-11 | ||||||||||||||
| Santboiana | 19-16 | 34-28 | 18-15 | 38-26 | 26-21 | 48-15 | 16-6 | 37-3 | ||||||||||||||
| Valladolid | 36-29 | 26-26 | 25-32 | 13-12 | 14-43 | 18-10 | 37-12 | 13-25 |
The 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]
| Team | P | W | D | L | +/- | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 451 | 327 | 124 | 62 | 44 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 54 | ||
| 2 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 463 | 351 | 112 | 58 | 40 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 53 | ||
| 3 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 422 | 289 | 133 | 49 | 28 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 50 | ||
| 4 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 416 | 328 | 88 | 44 | 37 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 49 | ||
| 5 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 444 | 324 | 120 | 54 | 44 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 48 | ||
| 6 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 381 | 407 | -26 | 39 | 56 | -17 | 0 | 3 | 35 | ||
| 7 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 395 | 408 | -13 | 53 | 44 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 35 | ||
| 8 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 396 | 389 | 7 | 43 | 46 | -3 | 2 | 3 | 35 | ||
| 9 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 326 | 384 | -58 | 37 | 40 | -3 | 1 | 3 | 34 | ||
| 10 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 341 | 503 | -162 | 46 | 69 | -23 | 1 | 3 | 24 | ||
| 11 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 281 | 429 | -148 | 38 | 54 | -16 | 0 | 2 | 18 | ||
| 12 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 270 | 447 | -177 | 36 | 57 | -21 | 1 | 5 | 18 | ||
| Source: Federación Española de Rugby: Clasificación de la División de Honor | |||||||||||||||
| Qualified for playoff quarterfinals | |
| Relegation to División de Honor B | |
The 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.
The 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]