1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North

The 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North was the tenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 North, and the last using the name Division 4 North. Changes to the league structure by the RFU at the start of the season saw Courage League 4 revert to two regional divisions (Courage League Division 4 North and Courage League Division 4 South), while the regional leagues below (Courage League Division 5) was split back into regional leagues - North 1, Midlands 1, London 1 and South West 1[a 1]. This meant that National Division 4 North increased from 10 to 14 teams (28 overall) with multiple teams coming up from the discontinued Division 5.[1]

1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North
Countries England
ChampionsWorcester (1st title)
Runners-upBirmingham & Solihull (not promoted)
RelegatedStoke-on-Trent, Hereford
Matches played182

Worcester were deserving champions, going undefeated in the league to take the title and only promotion spot to the 1997–98 National Division 1 (formerly Courage Division 3), 11 points clear of runners up Birmingham & Solihull. While Worcester were deserving champions, Stoke-on-Trent and Hereford were easily the worst teams in the division and as a consequence were the two sides to go down, well short of safety. Both sides would drop to Midlands 1.[2] The reason Division 4 North had less relegation places compared to Division 4 North (2 to 4) was that 3 out of 4 of the teams relegated from the division above were based in the south of the country, requiring more places to accommodate for their arrival the following season.

Structure

edit

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of twenty-six matches each. The league champions were promoted to the new-look National League 1 while the bottom four sides dropped to either North 1 or Midlands 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

edit
Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season
Aspatria Bower Park Aspatria, Cumbria 9th
Birmingham & Solihull Sharmans Cross 2,500 Solihull, West Midlands Promoted from Division 5 North (3rd)
Hereford Wyeside Hereford, Herefordshire Promoted from regional leagues
Kendal Mint Bridge 3,000 Kendal, Cumbria Promoted from Division 5 North (9th)
Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire Promoted from Division 5 North (12th)
Manchester Grove Park 4,000 Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester Promoted from regional leagues
Nuneaton Harry Cleaver Ground Nuneaton, Warwickshire Promoted from Division 5 North (10th)
Preston Grasshoppers Lightfoot Green 5,000 Preston, Lancashire Promoted from Division 5 North (8th)
Sandal Milnthorpe Green Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire Promoted from Division 5 North (6th)
Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Promoted from Division 5 North (5th)
Stoke-on-Trent Hartwell Lane Barlaston, Staffordshire Promoted from Division 5 North (11th)
Stourbridge Stourton Park 3,500 Stourbridge, West Midlands Promoted from Division 5 North (7th)
Winnington Park Burrows Hill Northwich, Cheshire Promoted from Division 5 North (4th)
Worcester Sixways 8,477 Worcester, Worcestershire Promoted from Division 5 North (runners up)

League table

edit
1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Worcester (C) 26 23 3 0 833 378 +455 49 Promoted
2 Birmingham & Solihull 26 19 0 7 746 391 +355 38
3 Preston Grasshoppers 26 17 2 7 568 394 +174 36
4 Manchester 26 16 1 9 763 514 +249 33
5 Sandal 26 15 1 10 618 572 +46 31
6 Stourbridge 26 14 1 11 704 579 +125 29
7 Winnington Park 26 14 1 11 641 565 +76 29
8 Sheffield 26 12 2 12 496 451 +45 26
9 Kendal 26 11 1 14 541 451 +90 23
10 Aspatria 26 10 1 15 616 713 −97 21
11 Lichfield 26 10 0 16 544 713 −169 20
12 Nuneaton 26 8 1 17 457 670 −213 17
13 Hereford (R) 26 4 0 22 287 970 −683 8 Relegated
14 Stoke-on-Trent (R) 26 2 0 24 391 854 −463 4
Source: [2]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows: 2 pts for a win, 1 pt for a draw, 0 pts for a loss. If teams are level at any stage, difference between points for and against applies.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Sponsorship

edit

Courage League Division 4 North is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery. This was their tenth and final season of sponsorship.

Notes

edit
  1. ^ These regional divisions had previously been tier 6 leagues during the days of Courage Division 5 but would revert to being level 5 leagues for the 1996-97 season.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Courage League - Division 5 1995/96". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Courage League - Division 4 1996/97". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.