The 2001–02 National Division Two was the second version (fifteenth overall) of the
third division of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
domestic
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 ...
competition using the name National Division Two. New teams to the division included
Orrell Orrell may refer to:
*Orrell, Greater Manchester, a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
**Orrell (ward), an electoral ward of the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
*Orrell, Merseyside, an urban area east of Bootle, in the Metropolitan Bo ...
and
Waterloo who were relegated from the
2000–01 National Division One while
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
(champions) and
Sedgley Park
Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and south of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury.
Historic counties of Eng ...
(playoffs) came up from the
2000–01 National Division Three North and
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 ...
as champions of the
2000-01 National Division Three South
The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...
. The league points system was 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
The title race was extremely tight and went to the last game with Orrell winning their rescheduled game away to
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
to draw dead level with Plymouth Albion at the top of the table and take the title by virtue of a better points difference – the fact Orrell had won both of their games against Plymouth was largely responsible for their victory. Both sides would be promoted to the
2002–03 National Division One with Orrell making an instant return following their relegation at the start of the season while Plymouth would make it a second promotion in a row. As well as gaining promotion the Devon-based side would also be easily the most popular side in the division with over 19,000 fans in total attending throughout the season. At the opposite end of the table
Preston Grasshoppers
Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team from Preston, Lancashire. The men's senior team play in the RFU National League 2 North, a level 4 league in the RFU league pyramid.
History
The club was founded on 28 Se ...
and Waterloo would be the first sides to be relegated, followed by
Rosslyn Park who battled to the end but never had quite enough to overtake relegation rivals Stourbridge and
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
. Preston and Waterloo would drop down to the
2002–03 National Division Three North while Rosslyn Park went down to the
2002–03 National Division Three South, with Waterloo suffering their second consecutive relegation. It was quite a turn around for Rosslyn Park who went within a whisker to being promoted the previous season only to be relegated this season.
Participating teams and locations
Final league table
Results
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
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Round 8
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Round 9
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Round 10
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 29 December 2001.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 29 December 2001.
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 13
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
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Round 14
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
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Round 10 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 24 November 2001.
*Game rescheduled from 24 November 2001.
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Round 15
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 April 2002.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
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Round 16
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Round 17
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Round 18
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
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Round 19
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Round 20
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
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Rounds 13 & 15 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
*Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
*Game rescheduled from 15 December 2001.
*Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
*Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
*Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
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Round 21
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Rounds 14, 18 & 20 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 22 December 2001.
*Game rescheduled from 9 February 2002.
*Game rescheduled from 26 January 2002.
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Round 22
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Round 23
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Round 24
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Round 25
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Round 26
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Round 15 (rescheduled game)
*Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
Total season attendances
Individual statistics
* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 57 pts
92 - 0 Plymouth Albion at home to Esher on 30 March 2002
;Largest away win — 59 pts
67 - 8 Orrell away to Preston Grasshoppers on 16 March 2002
;Most points scored — 67 pts
67 - 8 Orrell away to Preston Grasshoppers on 16 March 2002
;Most tries in a match — 11
Orrell away to Preston Grasshoppers on 16 March 2002
;Most conversions in a match — 8 (x2)
Plymouth Albion at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 23 February 2002
Orrell away to Nottingham on 20 April 2002
;Most penalties in a match — 8
Esher at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 1 December 2001
;Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x2)
Kendal away to Esher on 10 November 2001
Sedgley park away to Fylde on 1 December 2001
Player
;Most points in a match — 30 (x2)
Colin Stephens
Colin J. Stephens (born 29 November 1969) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and Leeds RUFC. Born in Morriston, Swansea, he was educated at Ysgol y Strade and played representative rugby for Wales Scho ...
for Sedgley Park at home to Wharfedale on 15 December 2001
Ben Harvey for Stourbridge at home to Esher on 6 April 2002
;Most tries in a match — 4
Mark Farrar for Harrogate against Preston Grasshoppers on 6 April 2002
;Most conversions in a match — 8 (x2)
Chris Atkinson
Chris Atkinson (born 30 November 1979 in Bega, New South Wales, Australia) is a professional rally driver. In the World Rally Championship (WRC), Atkinson drove for the Subaru World Rally Team between 2004 and 2008. His best finish on an indiv ...
for Plymouth Albion at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 23 February 2002
Richard Welding for Orrell away to Nottingham on 20 April 2002
;Most penalties in a match — 8
Jonathon Gregory for Esher at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 1 December 2001
;Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x2)
Mike Scott for Kendal away to Esher on 10 November 2001
Colin Stephens
Colin J. Stephens (born 29 November 1969) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and Leeds RUFC. Born in Morriston, Swansea, he was educated at Ysgol y Strade and played representative rugby for Wales Scho ...
for Sedgley park away to Fylde on 1 December 2001
Attendances
;Highest — 2,100
Plymouth Albion at home to Fylde on 5 January 2002
;Lowest — 85
Preston Grasshoppers at home to Newbury Blues on 2 March 2002
;Highest Average Attendance — 1,593
Plymouth Albion
;Lowest Average Attendance — 250
Waterloo
See also
*
English Rugby Union Leagues
Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system.
Women's Rugby union in England cons ...
*
English rugby union system
Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system.
Women's Rugby union in England cons ...
*
Rugby union in England
Rugby union in England is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports. In 1871 the Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby union in England, was formed by 21 rugby clubs, and the first international match, which involv ...
References
External links
NCA Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:2001-02 National League 1
National
National may refer to:
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** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
National League 1 seasons