1987–88 Courage Area League North

The 1987–88 Courage Area League North was the first full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 North, and was the counterpart to Courage Area League South (now National League 2 South). Each team played one match against the other teams, playing a total of ten matches each. There was no set date for matches, clubs having to arrange the fixtures among themselves.[1][2] Rugby were the first ever champions, gaining promotion to the 1988–89 National Division Three while Solihull, Derby and Birkenhead Park were the relegated sides.[3] Solihull and Derby dropped to Midlands 1 while Birkenhead Park fell into North 1.

1987–88 Courage Area League North
Countries England
ChampionsRugby (1st title)
Runners-upDurham City (not promoted)
RelegatedSolihull, Derby, Birkenhead Park
Matches played110

Structure

Each team played one match against each of the other teams, playing a total of ten matches each. The champions are promoted to National Division 3 and the bottom three teams were relegated to either North 1 or Midlands 1 depending on their locality. The reason that there were three relegated teams (compared to the 1987–88 Courage Area League South) was that both teams relegated from National Division 3 were based in the northern section of the country.

Participating teams and locations
Locations of the 1987–88 Courage Area League North teams
Team Ground Capacity City/Area
Birkenhead ParkUpper ParkBirkenhead, Wirral
Broughton ParkHough EndChorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
DerbyHaslams LaneDerby, Derbyshire
Durham CityHollow DriftDurham, County Durham
LichfieldCooke FieldsLichfield, Staffordshire
NorthernMcCracken Park1,000Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Preston GrasshoppersLightfoot Green5,000Preston, Lancashire
RoundhayChandos ParkRoundhay, Leeds West Yorkshire
RugbyWebb Ellis Road1,000Rugby, Warwickshire
SolihullSharmans Cross2,500Solihull, West Midlands
StourbridgeStourton Park3,000Stourbridge, West Midlands

[1][2]

League table
1987–88 Courage Area League North table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Rugby (C) 10 9 0 1 184 100 +84 18 Promoted
2 Durham City 10 8 0 2 165 100 +65 16
3 Roundhay 10 6 2 2 131 67 +64 14
4 Preston Grasshoppers 10 5 1 4 178 149 +29 11
5 Northern 10 5 1 4 121 137 −16 11
6 Broughton Park 10 5 0 5 152 106 +46 10
7 Stourbridge 10 5 0 5 132 134 −2 10
8 Lichfield 10 4 0 6 150 165 −15 8
9 Birkenhead Park (R) 10 4 0 6 117 179 −62 8 Relegated
10 Derby (R) 10 2 0 8 136 169 −33 4
11 Solihull (R) 10 0 0 10 59 219 −160 0
Source: [3]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 2 pts for a win
  2. 1 pt for a draw
  3. 0 pts for a loss
If teams are level at any stage, difference between points for and against applies
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Sponsorship

Area League North is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and was sponsored by Courage Brewery.

See also

References
  1. Stephen Jones, ed. (1988). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1988–89. London: Rothmans Publications Ltd.
  2. Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.
  3. "Area League 1987/88". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
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