The 2007–08 National Division Two was the eighth version (twenty first 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 ...
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 it ...
league system using the name National Division Two. New teams to the division included
Waterloo and
Otley
Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...
who were relegated from the
2006–07 National Division One while promoted teams included
Blaydon coming up from the
2006–07 National Division Three North while
Southend
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
(champions) and
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, ...
(playoffs) came up from the
2006–07 National Division Three South.
At the end of the season Otley made an instant return to their former division by beating runners up
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
to the title by just one point, with Manchester also gaining promotion by virtue of their second-place finish - both teams would be promoted to the
2008–09 National Division One
The 2008–09 National Division One was the 22nd full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. Leeds Carnegie joined National Division One, having been relegated from the ...
. Relegated teams included
Halifax,
Henley Hawks
Henley Hawks is a rugby union club based in Henley-on-Thames and is one of the leading rugby clubs in the Thames Valley. The first team play in the fourth tier of the English league system; National League 2 East.
History
Henley RFC was ...
and
Nuneaton with Halifax picking up just two wins all season. Halifax and Nuneaton would drop to the
2008–09 National Division Three North while Henley Hawks would go into the
2008–09 National Division Three South.
One of the more bizarre events to take place over the season was
Redruth's game away at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
. Trailing 30 – 0 at half time the Reds returned to their dressing room to find that it had been raided by thieves while they had been playing. Incensed at the missing valuables, including wedding rings, the Redruth team refused to come out for the second half. This led to the game finishing 30 – 0 to Cambridge (who also got a bonus point for scoring four tries) and 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 ...
would dock Redruth 10 points for failing to complete the game.
[
]
Participating teams and locations
Final league table
Results
Round 1
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Round 2
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 17 November 2007.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 17 November 2007.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 17 November 2007.
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Round 3
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Round 4
*Game abandoned after 40 minutes as Redruth players refused to play second half after thieves raided the players dressing room. Redruth deducted 10 points for failing to finish game.[
----
]
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
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Round 2 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 15 September 2007.
*Game rescheduled from 15 September 2007.
*Game rescheduled from 15 September 2007.
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 13
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 March 2008.
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Round 14
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Round 15
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Round 16
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 March 2008.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 March 2008.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 February 2008.
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Round 17
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Round 16 (rescheduled game)
*Game rescheduled from 19 January 2008.
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Round 18
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 March 2008.
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Round 19
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Round 20
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Round 21
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Round 16 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 19 January 2008.
*Game rescheduled from 19 January 2008.
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Round 22
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Rounds 13 & 18 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 9 February 2008.
*Game rescheduled from 15 December 2007.
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Round 23
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Round 24
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Round 25
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Round 26
Total season attendances
Individual statistics
* Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances will come first. Also 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 — 65 pts
67 - 3 Manchester at home to Halifax on 22 March 2008
;Largest away win — 31 pts
39 - 8 Westcombe Park away to Nuneaton on 16 February 2008
;Most points scored — 67 pts (x2)
67 - 15 Westcombe Park at home to Nuneaton on 20 October 2007
67 - 3 Manchester at home to Halifax on 22 March 2008
;Most tries in a match — 11
Westcombe Park at home to Nuneaton on 20 October 2007
;Most conversions in a match — 7 (x4)
Westcombe Park at home to Halifax on 5 January 2008
Manchester at home to Blaydon on 8 March 2008
Southend at home to Henley Hawks on 15 March 2008
Manchester at home to Halifax on 22 March 2008
;Most penalties in a match — 4
N/A - multiple teams
;Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x3)
Nuneaton away to Blaydon on 13 October 2007
Nuneaton away to Halifax on 27 October 2007
Stourbridge at home to Otley on 15 March 2008
Player
;Most points in a match — 27
Robin Kitching for Otley at home to Blackheath on 19 April 2008
;Most tries in a match — 4
Adam Slade for Westcombe Park at home to Nuneaton on 20 October 2007
;Most conversions in a match — 7 (x3)
Paul Trendell for Westcombe Park at home to Halifax on 5 January 2008
Gareth Wynne for Manchester at home to Blaydon on 8 March 2008
Gareth Wynne for Manchester at home to Halifax on 22 March 2008
;Most penalties in a match — 4
N/A - multiple players
;Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x3)
Howard Graham for Nuneaton away to Blaydon on 13 October 2007
Rob Cook for Nuneaton away to Halifax on 27 October 2007
Rod Petty for Stourbridge at home to Otley on 15 March 2008
Attendances
;Highest — 1,453
Blackheath at home to Westcombe Park on 24 November 2007
;Lowest — 100
Nuneaton at home to Manchester on 10 November 2007
;Highest Average Attendance — 788
Redruth
;Lowest Average Attendance — 207
Nuneaton
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 invo ...
References
External links
NCA Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 National League 1
N2
National League 1 seasons