The 2019–20 National League 2 South was the eleventh season (33rd 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. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

, the Rugby Football Union officially cancelled the season on 20 March 2020, after an initial postponement of all rugby in England including training. After the cancellation was announced the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table. This meant that Taunton Titans, who were 3 points clear when the league was suspended, were promoted as champions along with runners up Tonbridge Juddians, who went up as the best runner up as they had more considerably more points than

2019–20 National League 2 North The 2019–20 National League 2 North was the eleventh season (33rd overall) of the fourth tier (north) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced. On 22 February Scun ...

runner up Fylde. The relegated teams included

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

Old Redcliffians Old Redcliffians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Brislington, a suburb of Bristol. The club runs four senior sides and a sevens team as well as a ladies side and the full range of junior teams. The first XV currently ...

and Sutton & Epsom, all of whom had occupied the bottom three spots before league suspension, with 14th placed Sutton & Epsom 13 points behind 13th placed

Westcliff Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 m ...

and safety. Taunton Titans and Tonbridge Juddians will join the 2021–22 National League 1 (the highest level either club have reached), while

and

drop down to

South West Premier 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 Sutton & Epsom to

London & South East Premier London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Other interesting news from the season was Taunton's Gary Kingdom who finished as top scorer in the division for the third time, tying him with Worthing Raiders prolific Matthew McLean. An unwanted record was also made with Tonbridge Juddians official attendance of 0 from their game Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 being the lowest ever recorded in a National League 2 South game. This was due to the game being played behind closed doors due to safety concerns caused by flooding.

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 2020–21 National League 1 and the runners-up play the second-placed team in the

with the winner 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 Midlands 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

Eleven of the teams listed below participated 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 ...

season. The 2018–19 champions

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)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. ...

, who won the promotion play-off against

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 ...

, were promoted into 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 ...

, while

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up Ar ...

were relegated into the division from 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 ...

. Sides relegated from the 2018–19 National League 2 South included Birmingham & Solihull (to Greater Birmingham Merit Leagues),

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

(

) and London Irish Wild Geese (

). In the case of Birmingham & Solihull, they had initially been supposed to drop to

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 ...

but on further reflection decided to become an amateur club and drop out of the league system. The promoted teams are

who come up as champions of

while Sutton & Epsom (champions) and

(play-off) came up from

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 ...

were level transferred into the division 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 ...

in order to address an imbalance of teams in National 2, with Rams and Canterbury being promoted and only Esher dropping down from National League 1. Although there were several candidates for the level-transfer in the end Leicester Lions were deemed the most suitable due to being the most southerly club in a central position, making access to both the south-east and south-west more straightforward than alternatives such as

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 ...

Tables

At the date the leagues were suspended, the National League 2 South table read as follows: On 4 April, the Rugby Football Union confirmed the final table for the season.

Fixture & Results

Round 1

----

Round 2

----

Round 3

----

Round 4

----

Round 5

----

Round 6

----

Round 7

----

Round 8

----

Round 9

----

Round 10

*Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by bad weather (rain). Game to be rescheduled for 22 February 2020. ----

Round 11

----

Round 12

----

Round 13

*Abandoned after 60 minutes due to power cut. Game eventually rescheduled for 22 February 2020. ----

Round 14

----

Round 15

----

Round 16

*Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by heavy rain. Game to be rescheduled for 21 February 2020. *Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by heavy rain. Game to be rescheduled for 22 February 2020. ----

Round 17

----

Round 18

----

Round 19

----

Round 20

----

Round 21

----

Round 22

----

Round 23

*Postponed. Game to be rescheduled for 14 March 2020. *Postponed. Game to be rescheduled for 14 March 2020. *Postponed. Game to be rescheduled for 14 March 2020. *Postponed. Game to be rescheduled for 14 March 2020. ----

Rounds 10, 13 & 16 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 21 December 2019. *Game originally rescheduled from 9 November 2019 but postponed again due to poor weather. Game to be rescheduled for 11 April 2020. *Game rescheduled from 21 December 2019. *Game rescheduled from 30 November 2019. ----

Round 24

*Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by heavy rain. Game to be rescheduled for 11 April 2020. *Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by heavy rain. Game to be rescheduled for 11 April 2020. ----

Round 25

----

Round 23 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 15 February 2020. *Game originally rescheduled from 15 February 2020 but postponed again due a Dings player being potentially exposed to

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

. Game to be rescheduled. *Game rescheduled from 15 February 2020. *Game rescheduled from 15 February 2020. ----

Round 26

----

Round 27

----

Round 28

----

Rounds 10 & 24 (rescheduled games)

*Game rescheduled from 29 February 2020. *Game rescheduled from 29 February 2020. *Game rescheduled from 9 November 2019 and then 22 February 2020. ----

Round 29

----

Round 30

Attendances

* Does not include promotion play-off.

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 — 73 points 83 – 10 Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 ;Largest away win — 60 points 74 – 14 Tonbridge Juddians away to Sutton & Epsom on 14 September 2019 ;Most points scored — 83 points 83 – 10 Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 ;Most tries in a match — 13 Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 ;Most conversions in a match — 9 (3) Henley Hawks at home to Worthing Raiders on 5 October 2019
Tonbridge Juddians at home to Taunton Titans on 5 October 2019
Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 ;Most penalties in a match — 5 (2) Worthing Raiders at home to Old Redcliffians on 7 September 2019
Taunton Titans at home to Bury St Edmunds on 23 November 2019 ;Most drop goals in a match — 1 (3) Redruth at home to Old Redcliffians on 30 November 2019
Bury St Edmunds at home to Tonbridge Juddians on 14 December 2019
Leicester Lions away to Old Redcliffians on 7 March 2020

Attendances

;Highest — 1,076 Dings Crusaders at home to Clifton on 14 September 2019 ;Lowest — 0 Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 ;Highest average attendance — 676 Redruth ;Lowest average attendance — 136 Leicester Lions

Player

;Most points in a match — 26

Tristan Roberts Tristan Roberts (born 23 March 1987 in Maidstone, England) is a rugby union player who currently plays for Esher RFC, Esher in National League 1, having previously been at US Cognac (France, France's Fédérale 1, third division) and Ealing Tr ...

for Esher away to Barnes on 14 September 2019 ;Most tries in a match — 4 (2) Murray Galbraith-Lowe for Tonbridge Juddians at home to Taunton Titans on 5 October 2019
Ewan Fenley for Henley Hawks away to Dings Crusaders on 30 November 2019 ;Most conversions in a match — 9 (3) Ben Bolster for Henley Hawks at home to Worthing Raiders on 5 October 2019
Will Robinson for Tonbridge Juddians at home to Taunton Titans on 5 October 2019
Will Robinson for Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 ;Most penalties in a match — 5 (3) Matthew McLean for Worthing Raiders at home to Old Redcliffians on 7 September 2019
Gary Kingdom for Taunton Titans at home to Bury St Edmunds on 23 November 2019 ;Most drop goals in a match — 1 (3) Fraser Honey for Redruth at home to Old Redcliffians on 30 November 2019
Kodie Drury-Hawkins for Bury St Edmunds at home to Tonbridge Juddians on 14 December 2019
Ben Young for Leicester Lions away to Old Redcliffians on 7 March 2020

Notes

References

External links

NCA Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:National2 2019–20 4S

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 ...

Structure

Participating teams and locations

Tables

Fixture & Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

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 10, 13 & 16 (rescheduled games)

Round 24

Round 25

Round 23 (rescheduled games)

Round 26

Round 27

Round 28

Rounds 10 & 24 (rescheduled games)

Round 29

Round 30

Attendances

Individual statistics

Top points scorers

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

Attendances

Player

Notes

See also

References

External links