Counties 1 Southern North (formerly known as Southern Counties North) is a division at level 7 of 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 ...

.Rugby First
/ref> When league rugby first began in 1987 it was a single league known as Southern Counties but since 1996 the division was split into two regional leagues - Southern Counties North and

Southern Counties South Counties 1 Southern South (formerly known as Southern Counties South) is a level 7 league in the Rugby Football Union South West Division, the rugby union governing body for South West England, part of the Rugby Football Union. When league rug ...

. Counties 1 Southern North currently sits at the seventh tier of club rugby union in England and primarily featuring teams based in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. The league champions at the end of each season are automatically promoted to Regional 2 South Central. Relegated teams usually drop to Counties 2 Berks/Bucks & Oxon North or Counties 2 Berks/Bucks & Oxon South.

2021-22

2020–21

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 ...

the season was cancelled.

2019-20

2018-19

2017-18

2016-17

2015–16

The 2015–16 Southern Counties North consisted of twelve teams; six from

, two each from

and

, and one each from

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The season started on 12 September 2015 and the last league matches were played on 23 April 2016. Seven of the twelve teams participated in last season's competition. The 2014–15 champions

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

were promoted to the

South West 1 East South West 1 East is an English, level six, rugby union league in south and south-west England; mainly Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. Originally a single ...

while

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

and

Alchester Alchester is the site of an ancient Roman town. The site is not included in any ancient references so the Roman name is not known. However, Eilert Ekwall contended that it appears as ''Alavna'' in the Ravenna Cosmography, with the addition of th ...

were relegated to the

Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier Berks, Bucks & Oxon Premier is a division at level 8 of the English rugby union system featuring teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Promoted teams usually move up to Southern Counties North while relegated teams used to drop ...

Royal Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...

, who finished 4th, were level transferred to

2014–15

*Alchester *Aylesbury *

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...

(promoted from

) *Drifters *

* Marlow (relegated from

) *

*Royal Wotton Bassett *Stow-on-the-Wold *Thatcham *Wallingford

2013–14

*Alchester *Aylesbury *

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. Bletchley is best known ...

*Drifters *

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...

*Royal Wotton Bassett *Stow-on-the-Wold *Swindon College Old Boys *Thatcham *Wallingford

2012–13

*Alchester *Aylesbury *Buckingham *Drifters *Grove *

* Olney *

*Slough *Tadley *Thatcham *Wallingford

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division (known as Southern Counties) contained the following teams: *

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...

* Marlow * Oxford Marathon * Oxford Old Boys * Redingensians *

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Southern Counties North honours

Southern Counties (1987–1993)

Originally Southern Counties North and

were combined in a single division called Southern Counties. It was a tier 7 league with promotion up to South West 2 and relegation down to either Berks/Dorset/Wilts 1 or Bucks/Oxon 1.

Southern Counties (1993–1996)

At the end of the 1992–93 season the top six teams from London Division 1 and the top six from South West Division 1 were combined to create National 5 South. This meant that Southern Counties dropped from a tier 7 league to a tier 8 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion continued to South West 2 and relegation down to either Berks/Dorset/Wilts 1 or Bucks/Oxon 1.

Southern Counties North (1996–2000)

Restructuring by 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 ...

at the end of the 1995–96 season saw Southern Counties split into two separate leagues, Southern Counties North and

, which reverted to tier 7 leagues due to the cancellation of National 5 South. Promotion from Southern Counties North was now to the new South West 2 East while relegation was now only to Bucks/Oxon 1.

Southern Counties North (2000–2009)

Southern Counties North remained a tier 7 league, with promotion continuing to South West 2 East. However, the transfer of Berkshire clubs from the Dorset/Wilts leagues to the Bucks/Oxon leagues, meant that relegation was now to new

Berks/Bucks & Oxon 1 Berks, Bucks and Oxon Division 1 is an English rugby union league featuring teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. As with all of the divisions in this area at this level, the entire league is made up of second and third teams of c ...

(formerly Bucks/Oxon 1).

Southern Counties North (2009–present)

Despite widespread league restructuring by the

, Southern Counties North continued as a tier 7 league, with promotion to

(formerly South West 2 East) and relegation to

Promotion play-offs

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

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 Southern Counties North teams have been the most successful with twelve wins to the Southern Counties South teams seven; and the home team has won promotion on thirteen occasions compared to the away teams six.

Number of league titles

(3) *

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

(3) *

(2) *

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

(2) * Marlow (2) * Olney (2) * Redingensians (2) *

(2) * Amersham & Chiltern (1) *

(1) *

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 ...

(1) * Dorchester (1) * Oxford Harlequins (1) *

(1) *

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...

(1) *

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

(1) *

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was found ...

(2) * Swanage & Wareham (1) *

(1)

Notes

References

{{Rugby union in England 7 Rugby union in Berkshire Rugby union in Buckinghamshire Rugby union in Gloucestershire Rugby union in Oxfordshire

2021-22

2020–21

2019-20

2018-19

2017-18

2016-17

2015–16

2014–15

2013–14

2012–13

Original teams

Southern Counties North honours

Southern Counties (1987–1993)

Southern Counties (1993–1996)

Southern Counties North (1996–2000)

Southern Counties North (2000–2009)

Southern Counties North (2009–present)

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References