The regular league in Regional 2 Thames has now finished - but we now advance into new territory with the advent of the promotion and survival playoffs. So, what routes lay ahead for those involved? We go through the playoff structure below.

Before we do, let's start with those who definitely know their fate :

- Brunel University are promoted as league champions and will compete at Level 5 next season, most likely in Regional 1 South East

- Oxford Harlequins II are relegated as the bottom placed side and return to Counties rugby, most likely in Counties 1 Tribute Southern North

- Marlow, Teddington, Harpenden & Grasshoppers finished in positions sixth to ninth respectively and miss out on the promotion playoffs as well as being safe from relegation

This now leaves us with two sets of playoffs in the league, starting with :

Relegation Playoff

The teams finishing in 10th and 11th place in the league - namely, London Irish Wild Geese and Windsor - must play each other to decide their fate. The winner of this tie will remain in Regional 2 Thames, while the loser is relegated to Counties 1 for the 2026/27 season.

London Irish will have home advantage and the match will be played on the 25th April.

Promotion Playoffs

The four teams to qualify for the Promotion Playoffs from Regional 2 Thames are - in positional order - Beaconsfied, Old Priorian, Belsize Park and Aylesbury ; the first round of fixtures being :

Beaconsfield (2nd) v Aylesbury (5th)

Old Priorian (3rd) v Belsize Park (4th)

Beaconsfield and OPRFC have home advantage due to their superior seedings. The winners of the respective matches will then face each other in the next round, with the highest seed once again holding home advantage.

The fun doesn't stop there. The winner of that tie - in effect, the Regional 2 Thames Play-Off Final - will then face the winner of the same process in Regional 2 Anglia, which will be one of Brentwood, H.A.C, Wanstead & Wymondham, with the home advantage once again following the seeding rule.

You might think that would be enough to ascend to level 5, but there is one more fixture following this. The winner of the Cross-League Playoff Final will then play in the Regional 1 Accessional Final, against the loser of the Regional 1 Relegation Playoff.

The opponents will be decided by lowest total mileage, with one of Amersham & Chiltern, Maidenhead, Westcliff & Wimbledon the most likely to be played in the fixture. If the Regional 2 side wins that fixture, they will then be promoted to Regional 1 ; if the Regional 1 side wins, they will remain at level 5 and the Regional 2 side at level 6.

The first round of fixtures will be played on the 18th April and for those who successfully navigate the rounds, the final will take place on the 9th May.

For further information on the structure of the playoffs, please follow the link below :

RFU Regional Play Offs