The 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North was the tenth full season of

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as

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 Northern England. The remainder of England is covered by the two counterpart leagues National L ...

, and the last using the name Division 4 North. Changes to the league structure 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 prom ...

at the start of the season saw Courage League 4 revert to two regional divisions (Courage League Division 4 North and Courage League Division 4 South), while the regional leagues below (

Courage League Division 5 Courage Division 5 was a short lived English rugby union competition created as a tier 5 regional competition divided into Courage Division 5 North and Courage Division 5 South. In 1993 the RFU decided to change the whole league structure, with ...

) was split back into regional leagues - North 1, Midlands 1,

London 1 Regional 1 South East (formerly known as London & South East Premier and 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. When this division began in 1987 ...

and South West 1. This meant that National Division 4 North increased from 10 to 14 teams (28 overall) with multiple teams coming up from the discontinued Division 5.

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

were deserving champions, going undefeated in the league to take the title and only promotion spot to the 1997–98 National Division 1 (formerly Courage Division 3), 11 points clear of runners up Birmingham & Solihull. While Worcester were deserving champions,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

and

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

were easily the worst teams in the division and as a consequence were the two sides to go down, well short of safety. Both sides would drop to Midlands 1. The reason Division 4 North had less relegation places compared to Division 4 North (2 to 4) was that 3 out of 4 of the teams relegated from the division above were based in the south of the country, requiring more places to accommodate for their arrival the following season.

Structure

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of twenty-six matches each. The league champions were promoted to the new-look

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 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 Lea ...

while the bottom four sides dropped to either North 1 or Midlands 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

League table

Sponsorship

Courage League Division 4 North is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by

Courage Brewery Courage was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in London, England, in 1787. History Origin and family ownership The Courage Brewery was started by John Courage (1757 – October 1793). He was a Scottish shipping agent believed to b ...

. This was their tenth and final season of sponsorship.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Courage League Division 4 North N4 National League 2 North