North Premier was a level five league in the

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 ...

, with the fourteen teams drawn from across

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. The other leagues at this level were

London & South East Premier 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. ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. 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 ...

reorganised the level five leagues for season 2022–23, with an increase from four to six and reducing the teams in each from fourteen to twelve. The teams in this league now play in either

Regional 1 North East Regional 1 North East is a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the twelve teams drawn from across North East England and the East Midlands. The other level five leagues are Regional 1 Midlands, Regional 1 North West, R ...

Regional 1 North West Regional 1 North West is a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the twelve teams drawn from across North West England. The other level five leagues are Regional 1 Midlands Regional 1 Midlands (until 2022–23 known as ...

Format

The fourteen teams in this league were drawn from across northern England with the champions promoted to

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 ...

and the runner-up going into a play-off with the second placed team from

with the winner also being promoted. The league's bottom three teams are relegated to either

North 1 East North 1 East is the sixth tier of the English rugby union domestic competition, formed in 1987 using the name North Division 2, involving clubs from the north of the country. There was also division known as North East 1 that began in 1987 f ...

North 1 West North 1 West is a rugby union league at the sixth level within the English league system. The league is made up of teams from north west England and the Isle of Man; principally consisting of the English counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater ...

depending on their geographic location. The league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following reorganisation by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, 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 ...

when the league was originally known as North Division 1. A further name change from National League 3 North to its final name for the 2017–18 season by the RFU in order to lessen confusion for the series of regional leagues. The season ran from September to May and comprised twenty-six rounds of matches, with each club playing each of its rivals home and away. The results of the matches contributed points to the league table 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

2021–22

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

and Preston Grasshoppers who were relegated from

, and promoted sides

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(from

) together with

Burnage Burnage is a suburb of the city of Manchester in North West England, about south of Manchester city centre and bisected by the dual carriageway of Kingsway. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the population of the B ...

and Northwich RUFC (both from

). Last season's champions Blaydon were promoted into National League 2 North alongside

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

(who won the virtual play-off against Newport runners-up in

), while the relegated teams were Carlisle RFC (to

) together with

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

and Ilkley RFC (both to

). The teams competing in 2021–22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019–20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020–21.

Participating teams and locations

Final league table

2020–21

On 30th October the RFU announced, that due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (

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 ...

and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning North Premier was not contested.

2019–20

Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined 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 ...

who were relegated from

, and

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

and

who were promoted into the division. Last season's champions Hull were promoted into National League 2 North, while the relegated teams were Vale of Lune and

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...

who all drop down into

and Kendal Rugby Union Football Club, Kendal who were relegated to

Participating teams and locations

2018–19

Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by Blaydon who were relegated from

, while

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

, Vale of Lune and

were promoted into the division. Preston Grasshoppers were promoted as champions into National League 2 North, while the relegated teams were

Birkenhead Park Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world. Th ...

(

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

and

Pocklington Pocklington is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is east of York and northwest of Hull. The town's sk ...

(both

Participating teams and locations

2017–18

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by Preston Grasshoppers and

who were relegated from

, while

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

and

are promoted into the division.

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

were promoted as champions into National League 2 North, with Firwood Waterloo and

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

both relegated to

and

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It ...

dropping to

. In order to address an imbalance of teams at tier 5, Doncaster Phoenix were level transferred to

. This season was the first that Kendal played at the new Mint Bridge Stadium.

Participating teams and locations

Final league table

2016–17

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by

and

Sandal Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...

who were relegated from National 2 North while Doncaster Phoenix,

and Kendal were promoted into the league.

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 ...

were promoted as champions into National 2 North while

and Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. were relegated to

and

dropped to

. In order to address a league imbalance, 7th placed

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 ...

were level transferred to

National League 3 Midlands National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** 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 ...

Participating teams and locations

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 North, and

participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 2 North. The team with the best playing record, in this case Rossendale, host the match and they lost to their opponents Sheffield 31 – 32.

2015–16

Sheffield Tigers, are the champions, winning the league by 16 points. It was Sheffield's second promotion to National 2 North; in 2010–11 they won promotion via the play-off (as Midland representatives), beating

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 ...

. Wirral, the second-placed team lost their play-off match against

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbor ...

and remain in this league for next season. Three clubs are relegated, Huddersfield YMCA to North East 1, and Birkenhead Park and Burnage, both to North West 1 .

Participating clubs and locations

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They were joined by two teams relegated from National League 2 North, Hull and Stockport; and by three promoted teams, Birkenhead Park, Ilkley and Sheffield. The teams leaving the league were the 2014–15 champions, Sale who were promoted to National League 2 North, along with the runner-up Sandal, the play-off winner against

; Morley, South Shields West and Beverley were all relegated to North 1 East.

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 Midland, and National League 3 North participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 2 North. The team with the best playing record, in this case Hinckley, host the match and their opponents are Wirral. ---- ----

2014–15

Participating clubs

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

Billingham Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed i ...

(promoted from

) * Firwood Waterloo * Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. (promoted from

) *

Lymm Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...

(transferred from

) *

* Rossendale * Sale *

(relegated from

) *

Westoe Westoe was originally a village near South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, but has since become part of the town and is now used to refer to the area of the town where the village once was. It is also an electoral ward for local politics purposes. ...

* Wirral (promoted from

)

2013–14

Participating clubs

(promoted from

) *

* Bradford & Bingley *

* Firwood Waterloo *

(relegated from

) *

(promoted from

) * Penrith * Percy Park * Rossendale * Sale (promoted from

) *

(relegated from

) *

(relegated from

)

2012–13

Participating clubs

(promoted from

) *

* Bradford & Bingley *

(relegated from

) * Kendal (relegated from

) *

* Penrith * Percy Park (promoted from

) * Rossendale *

* Waterloo *

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

2009–10

Participating clubs

Inaugural clubs (first season as National 3 North) *

(now playing in

) *

(still playing in National 3 North) *

(now playing in National 2 North) *

(still playing in National 3 North) * Darlington Mowden Park (now playing in National 2 North) *

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

(now playing in

Durham/Northumberland 1 Durham/Northumberland 1 is an English amateur rugby union competition. The league consists of fourteen clubs, and is the seventh tier of the English rugby union system, as one of the 16 regional leagues, though is the highest level of local rug ...

) *

(now playing in

) * Penrith (now playing in

) *

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

(now playing in

) * Rossendale (still playing in National 3 North) *

(still playing in National 3 North) *

(still playing in National League 3 North) *

(now playing in

) * West Park St Helens (now playing in South Lancs/Cheshire 1)

2008–09

Final league table

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams: *

Hartlepool Rovers Hartlepool Rovers F.C. are a rugby union club who play at The New Friarage, West View Road in Hartlepool. The club play in Durham/Northumberland 1, the seventh tier of the English rugby union system after being relegated from North One East at ...

(now playing in

) *

(now playing in

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 ...

) * Hull & ER (now playing as

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 ...

) * Kendal (now playing in

(now playing in

Yorkshire 1 Yorkshire Division One is an English rugby union division, the seventh tier of the domestic competition, and the top level for local rugby union in parts of Yorkshire. The champions are automatically promoted to North 1 East, a division with a ...

) *

(now playing in

) *

Tynedale __NOTOC__ Tynedale is an area and former local government district in south-west Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 Census. Its main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. Th ...

(now playing in

) *

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells an ...

Winnington Park Winnington Park Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club situated in Winnington, Northwich in Cheshire, England. The club runs three senior sides, a Ladies team, two colts sides and ten junior teams The first XV currently plays in the Norther ...

(now playing in South Lancs/Cheshire 1 * West Park (now playing in Lancs/Cheshire Division 1

North Premier honours

In the first season of the English rugby union league pyramid, sponsored by Courage, there was four, tier five leagues. The geographical area for teams in the north of England covered the

ceremonial counties The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

There were eleven teams in the league and they played each other once, giving each team ten matches. The other tier five leagues were London Division One, Midlands Division One and South West Division One. This system prevailed for five seasons, and in 1992–93 the number of teams increased from eleven to thirteen. The following season (1993–94) the league was reorganised and the four tier five leagues became two; National 5 North and National 5 South. After three seasons, in 1996–97, a further reorganisation occurred, and there was a return to four, tier five leagues; with North Division One covering the area of northern England. This system prevailed until 2009–10 when the number of teams was increased from twelve to fourteen and renamed National League Three North.

North Division 1 (1987–1993)

The original North Division 1 was a tier 5 league with promotion to Area League 2 North and relegation to North Division 2 (later split into two leagues known as

and

North Division 1 (1993–1996)

At the end of the 1992–93 season the top six teams from North Division 1 and the top six from Midland Division 1 were combined to create National 5 North. North Division 1 dropped from a tier 5 league to a tier 6 league for the years that National 5 North was active.

North Division 1 (1996–2009)

For the end of the 1995–96 season National 5 North was discontinued and North Division One returned to being a tier 5 league. Promotion was to National 4 North (later known as National League 2 North), while relegation continued to North Division 2 until 2000–01, and then into either

North 2 East North 1 East is the sixth tier of the English rugby union domestic competition, formed in 1987 using the name North Division 2, involving clubs from the north of the country. There was also division known as North East 1 that began in 1987 fo ...

or North 2 West (later known as North 1 East / North 1 West) in subsequent seasons.

National League 3 North (2009–2017)

For the 2009–10 season North Division One was renamed as National League 3 North following a restructuring of the national leagues leading to changes at all levels.

North Premier (2017–2022)

The division was renamed North Premier for the 2017–18 season in order to make it more obvious that this was a regional division and the top one in the north.

Promotion play-offs

From 2000–01 season until 2018–19 there was a play-off, between the league runners-up of North Premier and

, for the third and final promotion place to

. The team with the superior league record has home advantage. As of the end of the 2018–19 season the northern teams have been stronger with twelve wins to the Midlands seven, while the home team has won thirteen times compared to the away teams six.

Number of league titles

* Bradford & Bingley (2) * Darlington Mowden Park (2) *

(2) * Kendal (2) *

(2) *

(2) * Preston Grasshoppers (2) * Aspatria (1) * Blaydon (1) *

Caldy Caldy is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula, England, south-east of West Kirby. It is part of the West Kirby & Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. At the ...

(1) *

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

(1) *

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

(1) * Halifax (1) * Hull (1) *

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 ...

(1) * New Brighton (1) *

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

(1) * Sale FC (1) *

(1) *

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 ...

(1) *

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It is ...

(1) *

(1)

Notes

References

{{Rugby union in England 5 Recurring sporting events established in 1987 Sports leagues established in 1987 Sports leagues disestablished in 2022

Format

2021–22

Participating teams and locations

Final league table

2020–21

2019–20

Participating teams and locations

2018–19

Participating teams and locations

2017–18

Participating teams and locations

Final league table

2016–17

Participating teams and locations

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2015–16

Participating clubs and locations

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2014–15

Participating clubs

2013–14

Participating clubs

2012–13

Participating clubs

2009–10

Participating clubs

2008–09

Final league table

Original teams

North Premier honours

North Division 1 (1987–1993)

North Division 1 (1993–1996)

North Division 1 (1996–2009)

National League 3 North (2009–2017)

North Premier (2017–2022)

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References