North 1 West is a

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 ...

league at the sixth level within the English league system. The league is made up of teams from

north west England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

; principally consisting of the English counties of

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 ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

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 ...

and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. The league was known as North Division 2 when it was first created back in 1987 and was a single division. It has since split into two regional leagues, with North West 1 and its compatriot

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 ...

being the longest running versions of the division. Promotion and relegation determine the makeup of the league each season, with the top team automatically moving into

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 ...

and the second-placed team entering into a play-off match with the second-placed team in

. Occasionally, depending on promotion and relegation, teams from either North 1 East and North 1 West may be required to compete in the opposite league to ensure that the number of teams in the east and west leagues remains at 14 teams each. Teams dropping from the league go into North 2 West.

Teams 2021–22

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.

2020–21

On 30 October 2020 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 1 West was not contested.

Teams 2019–20

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this was a single division containing the following teams from the

north of 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 ...

: *

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 ...

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...

Bradford & Bingley Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's mem ...

* Davenport * Halifax *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

* New Brighton *

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 ...

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 ...

North 1 West honours

North Division 2 (1987–1993)

The original North Division 2 was a tier 6 league with promotion up to North Division 1 and relegation down to either

North East 1 North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

North West 1 North West 1 (not to be confused with North 1 West) was an English Rugby Union league which was at the seventh tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North 2 West while rel ...

North Division 2 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season, meant that North Division 2 dropped from being a tier 6 league to a tier 7 league for the years that National 5 North was active.

North Division 2 (1996–2000)

The cancellation of National 5 North at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that North Division 2 reverted to being a tier 6 league.

North 2 West

For the 2000–01 season, North Division 2 was split into two regional divisions -

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 ...

and North 2 West. While promotion continued up into North Division 1, the cancellation of the

North West 2 North West 2 was an English Rugby Union league which was at the eighth tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North West 1 while relegated teams dropped to North West 3. ...

and

North West 3 North West 3 was an English Rugby Union league which was at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North West 2 while relegated teams dropped to either South Lan ...

meant that relegation was to either North Lancashire/Cumbria or South Lancs/Cheshire 1.

North 1 West

For the 2009–10 season the division would be renamed North 1 West as part of wholesale national restructure of the league system by the RFU leading to mass changes at all levels including in the north.

Promotion play-offs

Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of

and North 1 West for the third and final promotion place to

. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season the North 1 East have been the most successful with thirteen wins to the North 1 West teams six; and the home team has won promotion on fifteen occasions compared to the away teams five.

Number of league titles

* Altrincham Kersal (2) *

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 ...

(2) * Vale of Lune (2) *

(1) *

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 Bur ...

(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) *

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 ...

(1) *

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 ...

(1) * Darlington Mowden Park *

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) *

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

(1) *

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 ...

(1) * Liverpool St Helens (1) *

(1) *

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 ...

(1) *

(1) * New Brighton (1) * Northern (1) *

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 ...

(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) *

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is the name of a historic market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach itself as the largest, Elworth, Ettiley Heath a ...

(1) * Sale FC (1) *

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 ...

(1) * Stockton (1) * West Park St Helens (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) * Wirral (1) *

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 ...

(1)

Notes

References

{{Rugby union in England 6 Sports leagues established in 1987 Recurring sporting events established in 1987 Rugby union in Cheshire Rugby union in Cumbria Rugby union in Greater Manchester Rugby union in Lancashire Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

Teams 2021–22

2020–21

Teams 2019–20

Original teams

North 1 West honours

North Division 2 (1987–1993)

North Division 2 (1993–1996)

North Division 2 (1996–2000)

North 2 West

North 1 West

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References