The 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two was the first full season of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

. 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. Rosslyn Park, the first champions, were promoted to the Courage League National Division One for season 1988–89 along with the runner-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.

Participating teams

League table

Statistics

Team

* Record wins : 50 – 3 London Scottish v Northampton : 48 – 12 Saracens at Blackheath : 38 – 3 Headingley v Northampton : 34 – 0 Saracens v London Scottish * Record away win : 48 – 12 Saracens at Blackheath * Most points scored in a match : 60 12 – 48 Blackheath v Saracens : 58 25 – 33 Bedford v Liverpool St Helens * Most points scored but still lost : 25 28 – 25 Richmond v Bedford : 25 33 – 25 Bedford v Liverpool St Helens * Highest scoring draw : 24 24 – 24 London Welsh v London Scottish * Fewest points scored in a match : 6 6 – 0 Bedford v Blackheath

Player

* Most points in a match : 26   Andy Mitchell for London Scottish v Northampton * Most points in a season : 75   Andy Finnie for Bedford * Most tries in a match : 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 * Most tries in a season : 10   Dave McLagan for Saracens

Sponsorship

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

Courage Brewery Courage Brewery was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in 1787 in London, England. History Courage & Co Ltd was started by John Courage at the Anchor Brewhouse in Horsleydown, Bermondsey in 1787. He was a Scottish shipping agent of Fr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 Courage League National Division Two N2 RFU Championship seasons