The 2018–19 National League 2 North is the tenth season (32nd overall) of the fourth tier (north) 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.

Hull Ionians Hull Ionians is a rugby union club in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The first team play in English rugby's National League 2 North, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from National League 1 ...

finished as champions following a bonus point home victory

Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. The club returned to speedway for the 2011 Premier League season, moving up to the Elite League ...

on 13 April 2019, which sealed the league title with one round still to go. It was Ionians third National League 2 North title, equalling the record set by

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

. It was a competitive league battle, with four teams looking like they could win but in the end Hull Ionians just did enough to claim the title, 4 points ahead of second placed

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, who qualified for the promotion play-off. On 4 May 2019, Chester lost 10–19 away to

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 ...

runners up,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. That result meant that only Ionians would be promoted from the division, joining the

2019–20 National League 1 The 2019–20 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1, was the 11th season of the National League 1, third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Champ ...

after just one season away. At the other end of the table, newcomers Peterborough Lions were the first side to be relegated on 9 March 2019, with five games still to play, after they lost at home to

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 ...

. A week later a win for

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. The Tigers traditionally hold their race n ...

on 6 April ensured the Sheffield based clubs safety, whilst condemning both

and South Leicester to the drop, despite South Leicester winning their fixture away from home. Peterborough Lions and South Leicester would drop into

Midlands Premier 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 ...

, while Macclesfield would fall to

North Premier 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 ...

. Another interesting fact from the season was the lowest ever recorded attendance in National League 2 North of just 37 who attended South Leicester's home game against

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 ...

on 30 March 2019. South Leicester also set an overall low attendance record for the division, averaging just 85 supporters per game.

Structure

The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one automatic promotion place, one play-off place and three relegation places. The champions are promoted to the

and the runners up play the second-placed team in the

2018–19 National League 2 South The 2018–19 National League 2 South is the tenth season (32nd overall) of the fourth tier (south) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced. At the end of the seaso ...

with the winner also being promoted. The last three teams are relegated to either

depending on the geographical location of the team (in some cases teams may join the southern regional leagues). The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows: * 4 points are awarded for a win * 2 points are awarded for a draw * 0 points are awarded for a loss, however * 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer * 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.

Participating teams and locations

Twelve of the teams listed below participated in the 2017–18 National League 2 North season. The 2017–18 champions Sale FC were promoted into the

2018–19 National League 1 The 2018–19 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1, is the tenth season of the third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was intro ...

, replacing Fylde and

who were relegated from the

2017–18 National League 1 The 2017–18 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1 is the ninth season of the third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was introduc ...

. The three teams relegated from National League 2 North the previous season were

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

Luctonians Luctonians Sports Club is an English sports club based in Kingsland, Herefordshire. The rugby union team currently plays in National League 2 West, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system, following their promotion from the Midlands ...

(both

) and

Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the postal town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blay ...

(

). The promoted teams include

from North Premier (champions) who return to the division after an absence of just one season, while Peterborough Lions came up from Midlands Premier (playoffs). Midlands Premier champions Birmingham & Solihull were level transferred to the

due to an imbalance of teams, being considered the most southerly team in the division.

League table

Fixtures & 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

*Postponed due to

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

outbreak. Game to be replayed on 10 November 2018. ----

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

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Round 5 (rescheduled game)

*Game rescheduled from 29 September 2018. ----

Round 11

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Round 12

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Round 13

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Round 14

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Round 15

*Postponed due to adverse travel conditions caused by poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019. *Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019. ----

Round 16

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Round 17

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Round 18

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Round 19

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Round 20

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Round 21

*Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019. *Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019. *Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 16 March 2019. *Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 16 March 2019. *Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019. *Postponed due to poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019. ----

Round 22

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Round 23

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Rounds 15 & 21 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019. *Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019. *Game rescheduled from 15 December 2018. *Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019. *Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019. *Game rescheduled from 15 December 2018. ----

Round 24

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Round 25

*Peterborough Lions are relegated. ----

Round 21 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019. *Game originally rescheduled from 2 February 2019 but postponed (again) to 20 April 2019 due to a waterlogged pitch caused by heavy rain. ----

Round 26

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Round 27

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Round 28

*South Leicester are relegated. *Macclesfield are relegated. ----

Round 29

*Chester qualify for promotion play-off. *Hull Ionians are champions. ----

Round 21 (rescheduled game)

*Game originally rescheduled from 2 February 2019 and then again from 16 March 2019. ----

Round 30

Promotion play-off

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

participate in a play-off for promotion to

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 ...

were runners up in the

, and because they had a better record than the 2018–19 National League 2 North runners up,

, they host the play-off match.

Attendances

* Does not include promotion play-off.

Individual statistics

* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included). Does not include promotion play-off.

Top points scorers

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

;Largest home win — 67 points 91 – 24 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 ;Largest away win — 47 points 59 – 12 Fylde away to South Leicester on 9 March 2019 ;Most points scored — 91 points 91 – 24 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 ;Most tries in a match — 13 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 ;Most conversions in a match — 13 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 ;Most penalties in a match — 6 Sheffield Tigers away to Fylde on 29 September 2018 ;Most drop goals in a match — 1 (8) Hull Ionians at home to Peterborough Lions on 15 September 2018
Hull Ionians at home to Macclesfield on 8 December 2018
Huddersfield away to Preston Grasshoppers on 5 January 2019
Huddersfield away to Hinckley on 16 February 2019
Huddersfield at home to Wharfedale on 23 February 2019
Preston Grasshoppers at home to Tynedale on 2 March 2019
Stourbridge away to Preston Grasshoppers on 6 April 2019
Huddersfield away to Sedgley Park on 27 April 2019

Attendances

;Highest — 1,794 Fylde at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 22 December 2018 ;Lowest — 37 South Leicester at home to Sedgley Park on 30 March 2019 ;Highest average attendance — 610 Fylde ;Lowest average attendance — 85 South Leicester

Player

;Most points in a match — 36 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 ;Most tries in a match — 4 (6) Jamie Broadley for Sheffield Tigers at home to Macclesfield on 3 November 2018
Callum Dacey for Hinckley at home to Chester on 23 February 2019
David Rundle for Stourbridge at home to Huddersfield on 9 March 2019
Myles Hall for Macclesfield at home to Peterborough Lions on 23 March 2019
Kian Stewart for Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019
Henri Packard for Sheffield Tigers at home to Peterborough Lions on 6 April 2019 ;Most conversions in a match — 13 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 ;Most penalties in a match — 6 Mark Ireland for Sheffield Tigers away to Fylde on 29 September 2018 ;Most drop goals in a match — 1 (8) Sam Crane for Hull Ionians at home to Peterborough Lions on 15 September 2018
Morgan Bunting for Hull Ionians at home to Macclesfield on 8 December 2018
Chris Johnson for Huddersfield away to Preston Grasshoppers on 5 January 2019
Chris Johnson for Huddersfield away to Hinckley on 16 February 2019
Chris Johnson for Huddersfield at home to Wharfedale on 23 February 2019
Thomas Davidson for Preston Grasshoppers at home to Tynedale on 2 March 2019

Chris Scott Christopher or Chris Scott may refer to: Sports *Chris Scott (Australian footballer) (born 1976), Australian rules footballer and coach *Chris Scott (cricketer, born 1964), English cricketer for Nottinghamshire and Durham *Chris Scott (cricketer, b ...

for Stourbridge away to Preston Grasshoppers on 6 April 2019
Chris Johnson for Huddersfield away to Sedgley Park on 27 April 2019

Notes

References

External links

NCA Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:National2 2018–19 4N

Structure

Participating teams and locations

League table

Fixtures & Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 5 (rescheduled game)

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Round 22

Round 23

Rounds 15 & 21 (rescheduled games)

Round 24

Round 25

Round 21 (rescheduled games)

Round 26

Round 27

Round 28

Round 29

Round 21 (rescheduled game)

Round 30

Promotion play-off

Attendances

Individual statistics

Top points scorers

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

Attendances

Player

Notes

See also

References

External links