The 1995–96 Courage League Division 4 was the ninth 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 fourth tier of the English league system, currently the regional divisions

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...

and

National League 2 North National League 2 North is one of three, level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England, the North. The remainder of England is covered by the two counte ...

, and the third using the name Division 4. Impending changes to the league structure by the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

meant that this would be the last season for Courage League Division 4 as a national league with it reverting to the previous incarnation of two regional leagues - Courage League Division 4 South and Courage League Division 4 North. It would also herald the elimination of Courage League 5 North and South, which was to be divided into four regional divisions -

North 1 North Premier was a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the fourteen teams drawn from across Northern England. The other leagues at this level were London & South East Premier, Midlands Premier and South West Premier. The ...

Midlands 1 Regional 1 Midlands (until 2022–23 known as Midlands Premier and up until 2016–17 known as National League 3 Midlands) is a level five semi-professional league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When ...

London 1 Regional 1 South East (up until 2022-23 known as London & South East Premier and up until 2016-17 known as National League 3 London & South East) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. ...

and

South West 1 Regional 1 South West (formerly South West Premier and National League 3 South West) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as South West D ...

. These changes meant that the top 8 teams would be promoted to an expanded Courage League National 3 while the bottom teams would be transferred into the new-look Courage 4 North or South depending on location, where they would be joined by teams from the discontinued Courage 5 North/South divisions. By the end of the campaign

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

finished as champions, 4 points ahead of runners up

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

. Both champions and runners up were joined by the teams ranked 3rd through to 8th in claiming promotion to the 1996–97 National Division 3. The bottom two sides were

Plymouth Albion Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC (founded 1876) and Devonport Albion RFC (founded 1876). Since 2003 they have pl ...

and

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...

who would be transferred to National Division 4 South and National Division 4 North respectively.

Structure

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of eighteen matches each. Changes to the league structure by the RFU for the 1996-97 season meant that the top eight sides were promoted to Courage League National 3 while the bottom two were transferred to the new-look Courage League Division 4 South or Courage League Division 4 North depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

League table

Sponsorship

Courage League Division 4 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 ...

Notes

References