The 2009–10 National League 2 South was the first season (23rd overall) of the fourth tier (south) of the English 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 ...

competitions since the professionalised format of the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

was introduced. Previously known as National Division 3 South, it had been renamed due to widespread changes to the league system 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 ...

with National One becoming the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, National 2 becoming National 1 and so on. The league system was 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and additional bonus points being awarded for scoring 4 or more tries and/or losing within 7 points of the victorious team. In terms of promotion the league champions would go straight up into

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

while the runners up would have a one-game playoff against the runners up from

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 ...

(at the home ground of the club with the superior league record) for the final promotion place. A further change to the league system would see the division increase from 14 to 15 teams (this was originally supposed to be 16 teams but one of the teams relegated from the 2008-09 National Division 2,

Mounts Bay Mount's Bay or Mounts Bay may refer to: *Mount's Bay, Cornwall UK * Mounts Bay RFC, a defunct rugby club formerly based in Penzance * Mounts Bay Road, Perth, Western Australia *Mounts Bay, in the Swan River Estuary, Perth, see Swan River (Western A ...

, folded at the beginning of the season).

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

would finish as champions with only two league defeats all season, while runners up Rosslyn Park would join them in the

2010–11 National League 1 The 2010–11 National League 1 is the second season of the National League 1, third division of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, second division was introduced. Coventry R. ...

by defeating 2009–10 National League 2 North runners up Loughborough Students in the National 2 promotion playoff. At the bottom of the table Bridgwater & Albion and newly promoted

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

would be condemned to

National League 3 South West 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 ...

and

National League 3 London & SE 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. ...

respectively.

Participating teams

Eleven of the teams listed below participated in the 2008-09 National League 3 South season;

Westcombe Park Westcombe Park is a largely residential area in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is bounded by the main London-Dartford railway line to the north, the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach to the east, ...

were relegated from the 2008-09 National Division 2, while

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

were promoted as champions of South West Division 1 with Shelford (champions) and

(playoffs) coming up from London Division 1.

League table

Notes:

Results

Round 1

Bye: Ealing Trailfinders ----

Round 2

Bye: Bridgwater & Albion ----

Round 3

Bye: Rosslyn Park ----

Round 4

Bye: Henley Hawks ----

Round 5

Bye: Worthing Raiders ----

Round 6

Bye: Southend ----

Round 7

Bye: Westcombe Park ----

Round 8

Bye: Clifton ----

Round 9

Bye: Barnes ----

Round 10

Bye: Shelford ----

Round 11

Bye: Richmond ----

Round 12

Bye: Lydney ----

Round 13

Bye: Barking ----

Round 14

Bye: Canterbury ----

Round 15

*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 February 2010. Bye: Dings Crusaders ----

Round 16

*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 March 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 March 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 March 2010. Bye: Bridgwater & Albion ----

Round 17

*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 1 May 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 1 May 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 1 May 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 1 May 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 March 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 March 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 1 May 2010. Bye: Rosslyn Park ----

Round 18

*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 March 2010. *Postponed. Game rescheduled to 19 March 2010. Bye: Henley Hawks ----

Round 19

Bye: Worthing Raiders ----

Round 20

*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 May 2010. Bye: Southend ----

Round 15 (Rescheduled games)

*Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. *Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. *Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. *Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. *Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. *Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. *Rescheduled from 19 December 2009. ----

Round 21

*Postponed. Game rescheduled for 1 May 2010. Bye: Westcombe Park ----

Round 22

Bye: Clifton ----

Round 23

Bye: Barnes ----

Round 24

Bye: Shelford ----

Round 25

Bye: Richmond ----

Round 17 (Rescheduled game)

*Rescheduled from 16 January 2010 and eventually cancelled altogether due to fixture congestion meaning both Westcombe Park and Shelford would only play 29 games each. ----

Rounds 16, 17 & 18 (Rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 2 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 16 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 2 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 2 January 2010. ----

Round 26

Bye: Lydney ----

Round 27

*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 May 2010. Bye: Barking ----

Round 28

Bye: Canterbury ----

Round 29

Bye: Dings Crusaders ----

Round 30

Bye: Ealing Trailfinders ----

Rounds 17 & 21 (Rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 13 February 2010. *Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. *Game rescheduled from 9 January 2010. ----

Rounds 20 & 24 (Rescheduled games)

*Rescheduled from 3 April 2010. *Rescheduled from 30 January 2010. ----

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 2 South and

participate in a play-off for promotion into

. Loughborough Students were runners-up in the North and would host the game as they had a better record in the league in comparison to the South runners up Rosslyn Park.

Total season attendances

Individual statistics

* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Does not include North - South playoff game.

Top points scorers

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

;Largest home win — 82 pts 96 - 14 Barking at home to Lydney on 17 April 2010 ;Largest away win — 72 pts 75 - 3 Rosslyn Park away to Westcombe Park on 6 February 2010 ;Most points scored — 96 pts 96 - 14 Barking at home to Lydney on 17 April 2010 ;Most tries in a match — 14 Barking at home to Lydney on 17 April 2010 ;Most conversions in a match — 13 Barking at home to Lydney on 17 April 2010 ;Most penalties in a match — 6 Westcombe Park away to Henley Hawks on 5 September 2009 ;Most drop goals in a match — 3 Westcombe Park at home to Ealing Trailfinders on 5 December 2009

Player

;Most points in a match — 31 Craig Ratford for Barking at home to Lydney on 17 April 2010 ;Most tries in a match — 4 (x3) Rob Viol for Clifton at home to Richmond on 31 October 2009
Paul Unseld for Rosslyn Park away to Westcombe Park on 6 February 2010
James Strong for Rosslyn Park away to Henley Hawks on 27 March 2010 ;Most conversions in a match — 13 Craig Ratford for Barking at home to Lydney on 17 April 2010 ;Most penalties in a match — 6 Lee Audis for Westcombe Park away to Henley Hawks on 5 September 2009 ;Most drop goals in a match — 3 Lee Audis for Westcombe Park at home to Ealing Trailfinders on 5 December 2009

Attendances

;Highest — 1,473 Richmond at home to Rosslyn Park on 26 September 2009 ;Lowest — 30 Barnes at home to Shelford on 20 February 2010 ;Highest Average Attendance — 566 Richmond ;Lowest Average Attendance — 99 Barnes

References

External links

NCA Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:National2 2009-10 2009–10 in English rugby union leagues