National League 2 North
National League 2 North, (which before September 2009 was known as National Division Three North) is a level four league in the English rugby union system and provides Semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England. From 2009–10 the RFU restructured the league system in England, and this league was expanded from fourteen to sixteen teams. Participating clubs are from the English Midlands and Northern England. Each team plays thirty league games on a home and away basis. The champion club is promoted to National League 1 and the runner-up participates in a one-off play-off with the runner-up of National League 2 South for promotion. Relegation is to either the Midlands Premier or North Premier leagues depending on where the teams are based.
Current season or competition: | |
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| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1987 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Country |  |
| Holders | Caldy (2nd title) (2019-20 (promoted to National League 1) |
| Most titles | Hull Ionians, Macclesfield (3 titles) |
| Website | clubs.rfu.com |
Current season
Participating teams and locations
Eleven of the teams listed below participated in the 2019–20 National League 2 North season. The 2019–20 champions, Caldy, were promoted into the 2020–21 National League 1, replacing Rotherham Titans and Hull Ionians who were relegated from the 2019–20 National League 1. The three teams relegated from National League 2 North the previous season were Otley and Preston Grasshoppers (both North Premier) and Scunthorpe (Midlands Premier).
The promoted teams were Bournville (champions of Midlands Premier), while Blaydon and Harrogate come up as champions and runners-up of North Premier. In order to address an imbalance of teams, Hinckley have been level transferred to the 2019–20 National League 2 South as the most appropriate located team in terms of access to the southern sides.
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  Rotherham Tynedale Locations of the 2019–20 National League 2 North teams
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Current standings
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| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caldy (C) | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1002 | 279 | 723 | 19 | 0 | 119 | ||||||
| 2 | Fylde | 25 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 790 | 447 | 343 | 16 | 4 | 90 | ||||||
| 3 | Hinckley | 25 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 634 | 461 | 173 | 12 | 5 | 85 | ||||||
| 4 | Sedgley Park | 25 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 627 | 549 | 78 | 11 | 4 | 83 | ||||||
| 5 | Loughborough Students | 25 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 749 | 605 | 144 | 13 | 5 | 74 | ||||||
| 6 | Chester | 25 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 690 | 618 | 72 | 12 | 4 | 70 | ||||||
| 7 | Stourbridge | 25 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 679 | 616 | 63 | 13 | 9 | 68 | ||||||
| 8 | Hull | 25 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 479 | 472 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 63 | ||||||
| 9 | Wharfedale | 25 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 528 | 539 | -11 | 5 | 6 | 59 | ||||||
| 10 | Huddersfield | 25 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 528 | 592 | -64 | 9 | 4 | 57 | ||||||
| 11 | Tynedale | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 583 | 592 | -9 | 10 | 7 | 57 | ||||||
| 12 | Sheffield Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 516 | 570 | -54 | 5 | 3 | 56 | ||||||
| 13 | Luctonians | 25 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 496 | 609 | -113 | 8 | 8 | 54 | ||||||
| 14 | Otley (R) | 25 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 508 | 628 | -120 | 5 | 5 | 52 | ||||||
| 15 | Preston Grasshoppers (R) | 25 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 385 | 656 | -271 | 3 | 4 | 29 | ||||||
| 16 | Scunthorpe (R) | 25 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 341 | 1302 | -961 | 4 | 2 | 6 | ||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are relegation places. Updated: 14 March 2020 Source: "National League 2 North". NCA Rugby. | |||||||||||||||||
- Notes
National Two North honours
Promotion play-offs
Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the league runners-up of National League 2 North and National League 2 South for the third and final promotion place to National League 1. The team with the superior league record having home advantage in the tie. As of the end of the 2019–20 season the southern teams have been more successful with fourteen wins to the northern teams four, while the home side has won thirteen teams to the away sides five.
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| Season | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Attendance | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01[1] | Sedgley Park (N) | 40–23 | Launceston (S) | Park Lane, Whitefield, Greater Manchester | 1,500 | |||||||||
| 2001–02[2] | Launceston (S) | 26–0 | Dudley Kingswinford (N) | Polson Bridge, Launceston, Cornwall | 2,500 | |||||||||
| 2002–03[3] | Lydney (S) | 21–7 | New Brighton (N) | Regentsholme, Lydney, Gloucestershire | ||||||||||
| 2003–04[4][5] | Halifax (N) | 16–18 | Launceston (S) | Ovenden Park, Halifax, West Yorkshire | ||||||||||
| 2004-05[6] | Redruth (S) | 33–14 | Macclesfield (N) | The Recreation Ground, Redruth, Cornwall | 4,000 | |||||||||
| 2005–06[7][8] | North Walsham (S) | 5–15 | Nuneaton (N) | Norwich Road, Scottow, Norfolk | 1,302 | |||||||||
| 2006–07[9][10] | Westcombe Park (S) | 36–20 | Tynedale (N) | Goddington Dene, Orpington, Greater London | 1,700[11] | |||||||||
| 2007–08[12][13] | Cinderford (S) | 15–14 | Darlington Mowden Park (N) | Dockham Road, Cinderford, Gloucestershire | 2,800 | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | No promotion play-offs this season due to widespread restructuring to the English rugby union league system which meant that only the champions of the two divisions would go up.[14] | |||||||||||||
| 2009–10[15][16] | Loughborough Students (N) | 21–43 | Rosslyn Park (S) | Loughborough University Stadium, Loughborough, Leicestershire | 1,000 | |||||||||
| 2010–11[17][18] | Jersey (S) | 30–5 | Loughborough Students (N) | St. Peter, Saint Peter, Jersey | 3,100 | |||||||||
| 2011–12[19][20] | Richmond (S) | 20–13 (aet) | Caldy (N) | Athletic Ground, Richmond, Greater London | 1,600 | |||||||||
| 2012–13[21] | Stourbridge (N) | 26–28 | Worthing Raiders (S) | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | 925 | |||||||||
| 2013–14[22] | Darlington Mowden Park (N) | 30–28 (aet) | Ampthill (S) | The Northern Echo Arena, Darlington, County Durham | 975 | |||||||||
| 2014–15[23][24] | Ampthill (N) | 19–10 | Bishop's Stortford (S) | Dillingham Park, Ampthill, Bedfordshire | 1,253 | |||||||||
| 2015–16[25][26] | Old Albanian (S) | 24–0 | Sedgley Park (N) | Woollam Playing Fields, St Albans, Hertfordshire | 473 | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | Sale FC (N) | 14–19 | Old Elthamians (S) | Heywood Road, Sale, Greater Manchester | 1,297 | |||||||||
| 2017-18 | Chinnor (S) | 40–31 | Sedgley Park (N) | Kingsey Road, Thame, Oxfordshire | 1,378 | |||||||||
| 2018-19 | Canterbury (S) | 19–10 | Chester (N) | The Marine Travel Ground, Canterbury, Kent | 1,114 | |||||||||
| 2019-20 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner up - Tonbridge Juddians (S) - promoted instead. | |||||||||||||
| 2020-21 | ||||||||||||||
| Green background represent the promoted teams. (N) stands for the northern teams and (S) stands for the southern teams. | ||||||||||||||
Number of league titles
- Hull Ionians (3)
- Macclesfield (3)
- Caldy (2)
- Nuneaton (2)
- Aspatria (1)
- Birmingham & Solihull (1)
- Blaydon (1)
- Bradford & Bingley (1)
- Broughton Park (1)
- Doncaster (1)
- Fylde (1)
- Halifax (1)
- Harrogate (1)
- Kendal (1)
- Loughborough Students (1)
- Otley (1)
- Preston Grasshoppers (1)
- Rotherham (1)[a 4]
- Roundhay (1)
- Rugby (1)
- Sale FC (1)
- Stourbridge (1)
- Tynedale (1)
- Waterloo (1)
- Worcester (1)
Original teams
When club rugby began in 1987 this division was called Area 4 North and contained the following teams:
- Birkenhead Park (now playing in North 1 West)
- Broughton Park (now playing in North 1 West)
- Derby (now playing in Midlands 1 East)
- Durham City (now playing in North 1 East)
- Lichfield (now playing in Midlands 1 West)
- Northern (now playing in Durham/Northumberland 1)
- Preston Grasshoppers (still playing in National League 2 North)
- Roundhay (now Yorkshire Carnegie and playing in the RFU Championship)
- Rugby Lions (now playing in Midlands 1 East)
- Solihull (now Birmingham & Solihull and playing in Midlands Premier)
- Stourbridge (still playing in National League 2 North)
League format since 1987
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| Year | Name | No of teams | No of matches | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–93 | Area League North and Area League South | 11 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 1993–96 | National Division Four | 10 | 18 | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | National Four North and National Four South | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 1997–00 | National Division 2 North and National Division 2 South | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 2000–09 | National Division Three North and National Division Three South | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 2009– | National League 2 North and National League 2 South | 16 | 30 | ||||||||||
Records
Note that all records are from 1996-97 season onwards as this is widely held as the dawn of professionalism across the English club game. It also offers a better comparison between seasons as the division team numbers are roughly equal (for example when league rugby union first started in 1987-88 the northern league had only 11 teams playing 10 games each, compared to 14 teams in 1996-97 playing 26 games (home & away), going up to 16 teams in 2009-10 playing 30 games each). Attendance records are from 2000 onwards unless otherwise specified. All records are up to date up till the end of the 2019-10 season.
League records
- Most titles: 3
- Most times promoted from division: 3
- Hull Ionians (2012–13, 2014–15, 2018–19)
- Nuneaton (2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09)
- Macclesfield (2009–10, 2013–14, 2015–16)
- Most times relegated from division: 3
- Morley (2001–02, 2007–08, 2010–11)
- Sheffield (1993–94, 1999–00, 2017–18)
- Scunthorpe (2002–03, 2016–17, 2019–20)
- Most league points in a season: 134
- Fewest league points in a season: 0
- Most points scored in a season: 1,259
- Fewest points scored in a season: 205
- Most points conceded in a season: 1,985
- Fewest points conceded in a season: 305
- Best points difference (For/Against): 736
- Worst points difference (For/Against): -1,780
- Most games won in a season: 28
- Most games lost in a season: 30
- Most games drawn in a season: 4
- Huddersfield (2019-20)
- Most bonus points in a season: 30
Match records
- Largest home win: 124 - 0
- Largest away win: 106 - 0
- Most points scored in a match: 124
- Most tries scored in a match: 18
- Blaydon at home to Orrell on 24 March 2007 (2006-07)
- Fylde at home to Manchester on 16 April 2011 (2010-11)
- Most conversions scored in a match: 17
- Most penalties scored in a match: 9
- Luctonians at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 15 November 2014 (2014-15)
- Most drop kicks scored in a match: 3
- Fylde at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 7 January 2006 (2005-06)
- Nuneaton at home to Macclesfield on 11 October 2008 and away to Bradford & Bingley on 29 November 2008 (both 2008-09)
- Wharfedale at home to Scunthorpe on 19 November 2016 and Wharfedale at home to Luctonians on 28 January 2017 (both 2016-17)
Player records
- Most times top points scorer: 2
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- Most times top try scorer: 3
- Most points in a season: 422
- Most tries in a season: 32
- Most points in a match: 49
- Most conversions in a match: 17
- Most tries in a match: 7
- Most penalties in a match: 9
- Most drop kicks in a match: 3
Attendance records
- Highest attendance (league game): 3,750
- Darlington Mowden Park at home to Macclesfield on 26 April 2014 (2013-14)
- Lowest attendance (league game): 37
- South Leicester at home to Sedgley Park on 30 March 2019 (2018-19)
- Highest attendance (promotion playoff): 1,500
- Sedgley Park at home to Launceston (2000-01)[a 6]
- Lowest attendance (promotion playoff): 925
- Stourbridge at home to Worthing Raiders on 11 May 2013 (2012-13)[a 7]
- Highest average attendance (club): 921
- Lowest average attendance (club): 85
National League 2 North top 10 point scorers, all time
- As of the end of the games of 27 April 2019. Stats taken from 1998-99 season onwards and include regular league games only in National League 2 North (no promotion playoff games). Points scored includes tries, drop kicks, penalties and conversions.[30]
| Rank | Nat | Name | Years | Club(s) | Points | Apps | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Jon Boden | 2006-18 | Leicester Lions | 2,059 | 277 | 7.4 |
| 2 | |
Chris Johnson | 2008-12, 2018-19 2016-18 | Huddersfield Sale | 1,927 | 187 | 10.3 |
| 3 | |
Mark Ireland | 2009-12 2013-14 2017- | Kendal Otley Sheffield Tigers | 1,471 | 159 | 9.3 |
| 4 | |
Stephen Collins | 2010-11 2013- | Fylde Sedgley Park | 1,470 | 159 | 9.2 |
| 5 | |
Richard Vasey | 2009-17 | Caldy | 1,449 | 158 | 9.2 |
| 6 | |
Ross Winney | 2005-10 | Macclesfield | 1,290 | 126 | 10 |
| 7 | |
Gavin Roberts | 2007-17, 2019- | Caldy | 1,284 | 232 | 5.5 |
| 8 | |
Rickie Aley | 2008-09 2015-18 2018- | Nuneaton South Leicester Stourbridge | 1,126 | 110 | 10.2 |
| 9 | |
Phillip Belgian | 2001-08 | Tynedale | 1,070 | 116 | 9 |
| 10 | |
Mark Bedworth | 2001-05 2010-12 | Darlington Mowden Park Westoe | 1,052 | 120 | 9 |
(Bold denotes players still playing in National League 2 North.)
National League 2 North top 10 try scorers, all time
- As of the end of the games of 27 April 2019. Stats taken from 1998-99 season onwards and include regular league games only in National League 2 North (no promotion playoff games).[31]
| Rank | Nat | Name | Years | Club(s) | Tries | Apps | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Nick Royle | 2003-04 2005-11 2014-17, 2019- | Liverpool St Helens Fylde Caldy | 193 | 212 | 0.9 |
| 2 | |
Jamie Broadley | 2009-11 2011-12, 2016- 2014-15 | Harrogate Sheffield Tigers Hull | 157 | 190 | 0.8 |
| 3 | |
Gareth Collins | 2004-05 2005-14 | Rugby Lions Leicester Lions | 152 | 229 | 0.7 |
| 4 | |
Andrew Riley | 2013- | Sedgley Park | 122 | 171 | 0.7 |
| 5 | |
Gavin Roberts | 2007-17 | Caldy | 114 | 232 | 0.5 |
| 6 | |
Oliver Brennand | 2004-11 | Fylde | 96 | 102 | 0.9 |
| 7 | |
Devon Constant | 2014-19 | Leicester Lions | 88 | 135 | 0.7 |
| 8 | |
Andrew Soutar | 2006-08 2008-17 | West Park St Helens Caldy | 83 | 281 | 0.3 |
| 9 | |
Peter Swatkins | 2011- | Sheffield Tigers | 82 | 148 | 0.6 |
|
Craig Ross | 2007-08, 2009–11, 2013-14 2014- | Caldy Chester | 82 | 165 | 0.5 | |
|
Nicholas Sharpe | 2006-07 2008-13, 2014–16, 2017- | Rugby Lions Huddersfield | 82 | 261 | 0.3 | |
(Bold denotes players still playing in National League 2 North.)
Notes
- As no northern teams from National 3 were relegated into the division at the end of the season, there was no relegation.
- This year there was a league restructure with a new league (Courage National League 4) becoming the new tier 4. Courage National 4 would contain the previous season's top teams from National 4 North and National 4 South with the remaining teams joining lower tier teams as part of Courage League Division 5 (which retained the North/South divisions). This structure would continue for several years before being abolished at the end of 1996 where the league would revert to the old system.
- The top eight teams were all promoted to the re-organised, sixteen team, Courage League Division 3 for season 1996–97
- Rotherham's league title was won during the period when tier 4 was a single national league (1993-96).
- Note that due to poor attendance keeping by press and online sources means that only seasons from 2004-05 onwards are included (apart from playoff games).
- Note that promotion playoff games include stats for northern clubs only. Southern club attendances will be covered at the National League 2 South page.
- This attendance is the lowest recorded but may not actually be the lowest as a couple of playoff games involving northern clubs have no attendance figures due to poor coverage. It is also worth noting than many Stourbridge fans felt the crowd was twice this large but this is the figure given in The Rugby Paper.
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See also
References
- "National League 3 Playoffs 2000-01". englandrugby.com. 26 May 2001.
- "Rugby Union: National Three Play-off - DK's dream shattered by Launceston power show; Launceston 26 Dudley Kingswinf'rd 0". Birmingham Post & Mail. 29 April 2002.
- "National League Playoffs 2002-03". englandrugby.com. 26 April 2003.
- "National League Playoffs 2003-04". englandrugby.com. 15 May 2004.
- "Play-off agony for Halifax". Yorkshire Post. 17 May 2004.
- "The 2004-2005 league season". trelawnysarmy.org. 1 May 2005.
- "North Walsham 6-15 Nuneaton". BBC. 17 May 2006.
- "National League Playoffs 2005-06". englandrugby.com. 13 May 2006.
- "NINE-MINUTE BLITZ ENDS TYNEDALE'S DREAMS". News and Star. 4 May 2007.
- "National League Playoffs 2006-07". englandrugby.com. 28 April 2006.
- "Level 6". Rolling Maul. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- "National League Play Offs 2007-08". englandrugby.com. 26 April 2008.
- "Foresters play-off win 'no fluke'". BBC News. 30 April 2008.
- "Championship plan gains support". BBC News. 14 November 2008.
- "Party time for Rosslyn Park". Richmond and Twickenham Times. 21 May 2010.
- "Students miss out on promotion in heartbreaker". Loughborough Echo. 21 May 2010.
- "SSE National League Playoffs". englandrugby.com. 5 May 2011.
- "Jersey beat Loughborough in play-off final". BBC. 28 May 2011.
- "Heartbreak for Caldy as they lose National League Two play-off final against Richmond". Liverpool Echo. 7 May 2012.
- "Richmond v Caldy play off". Rolling Maul. 5 May 2012.
- "Results - SSE National League 2S". The Rugby Paper. 12 May 2013. p. 32.
- Craggs, Andy (3 May 2014). "DMPRFC 30 - Ampthill RFC 28". DMP. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- "Ampthill in 'dreamland' after play-off final victory". Bedfordshire News. 2 May 2015.
- "National League 2 Playoffs". The RUGBYPaper (346). Rugby Paper Ltd. 3 May 2015. pp. 24 & 32.
- "Old Albanian back in National One after play-off win secures promotion". The Herts Advertiser. 16 May 2016.
- "National League 2 play-off". The RUGBYPaper (400). Rugby Paper Ltd. 15 May 2016. pp. 26 & 36.
- "Jewson National League 2 1999/00". rugbyarchive.net. 1 December 2015.
- "Blaydon proving a point". Chronicle Live. 27 March 2007.
- "Orrell 0, Fylde RU 106". Blackpool Gazette. 2 April 2007.
- "National Two North All time leading scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 27 April 2019.
- "National Two North All time try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 27 April 2019.
External links
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