1987–88 Courage League National Division Two

1987–88 Courage League National Division Two
Countries  England
Champions Rosslyn Park (1st title)
Runners-up Liverpool St Helens
Relegated No relegation
Matches played 65
Top point scorer 75    Andy Finnie
Bedford
Top try scorer 10    Dave McLagan
Saracens[1]

The 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two was the first full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. Each team played one match against the other teams, playing a total of eleven matches each. There was no set date for matches, clubs having to arrange the fixtures amongst themselves.[2] Rosslyn Park, the first champions, were promoted to the Courage League National Division One for season 1988–89 along with the runners-up Liverpool St Helens. Although Northampton finished in last place they were not relegated to Courage League National Division Three for the following season. Almost all clubs in the national divisions reported an increase in attendances.[3][4]

Participating teams

Locations of the 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two teams
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area
Bedford Goldington Road 7,000 Bedford, Bedfordshire
Blackheath Rectory Field 6,000 Greenwich, London
Gosworth North Road Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Headingley Bridge Road Leeds, West Yorkshire
Liverpool St Helens Moss Lane St Helens, Merseyside
London Irish The Avenue 6,600 Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
London Scottish Athletic Ground, Richmond 4,500 Richmond, London
London Welsh Old Deer Park 5,850 Richmond, London
Northampton Saints Franklin's Gardens 10,000 Northampton, Northamptonshire
Richmond Athletic Ground, Richmond 4,500 Richmond, London
Rosslyn Park Priory Lane 2,000 Roehampton, London
Saracens Bramley Road 2,000 Enfield, London

League table

1987–88 Courage League National Division Two Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff Points
1 Rosslyn Park 11 8 2 1 155 83 72 37
2 Liverpool St Helens 11 8 1 2 154 97 57 36
3 Saracens 11 7 2 2 228 86 142 34
4 Headingley 11 6 2 3 202 164 38 31
5 Bedford 11 6 2 3 152 139 13 31
6 Richmond 11 6 0 5 140 156 –16 29
7 London Scottish 11 4 1 6 141 158 –17 24
8 London Irish 11 4 1 6 120 177 –57 24
9 London Welsh 11 3 2 6 153 185 –32 22
10 Gosforth 10 2 1 7 99 129 –30 17
11 Blackheath 11 2 0 9 102 187 –85 17
12 Northampton 10 1 0 9 81 226 –145 13
  • Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 4 pts for a win
  2. 2 pts for a draw
  3. 1 pt for a loss
  • The scoring system used for this season is not the same as the current bonus points system introduced in 2000–01.
  • Some publications listed league tables with the 2 pts for a win, 1 pt for a draw and 0 pts for a loss.
  • Gosforth had three points and one win deducted for fielding an ineligible player against Bedford
Green background are the promotion places, there was no relegation this season.

Statistics

Team

50 – 3     London Scottish v Northampton
48 – 12     Saracens at Blackheath
38 – 3     Headingley v Northampton
34 – 0     Saracens v London Scottish
48 – 12     Saracens at Blackheath
60      12 – 48     Blackheath v Saracens
58      25 – 33     Bedford v Liverpool St Helens
25      28 – 25     Richmond v Bedford
25      33 – 25     Bedford v Liverpool St Helens
24     24 – 24     London Welsh v London Scottish
6      6 – 0     Bedford v Blackheath

Player

26   Andy Mitchell for London Scottish v Northampton
75   Andy Finnie for Bedford
3   Jerry Macklin for London Scottish v Northampton
     Orsen Blewitt for Northampton v Bedford
     John Roberts for Headingley v Northampton
     Peter Shillingford for London Scottish v Northampton
10   Dave McLagen for Saracens

[1][4]

Sponsorship

National Division Two is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stephen McCormack, ed. (2002). The Official RFU Club Directory 2002–2003 (15th ed.). Harpenden: Queen Anne Press.
  2. ↑ "Courage Club Championship 1987/88". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Stephen Jones, ed. (1988). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1988–89. London: Rothmans Publications Ltd.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.