The 1996–97 Courage League National Division One was the tenth season of the first tier of the
English league system, currently known as the
Gallagher Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...
. Due to restructuring at the end of the previous season, the league had been increased from 10 to 12 teams.
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
were the defending champions and
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...
and
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union.
It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...
the promoted teams. It was the tenth and final season of sponsorship by Courage.
Each team played each other twice, in a
round robin system. The reorganisation of the Courage National League One to Allied Dunbar Premiership One for the 1997–98 season meant that there would be between 2 and 4 sides relegated from the division into the new look Allied Dunbar Premiership Two. Sides finishing 11th and 12th would be automatically relegated while sides finishing 9th and 10th would be involved in a promotion/relegation playoff against the 3rd and 4th ranked sides from
1995–96 Courage League National Division Two with 9th v 4th and 10th v 3rd.
Wasps
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
finished as champions for the second time, six points clear of defending champions
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
.
Bottom two clubs
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 ...
and
Orrell were relegated to the
1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two
The 1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two was the eleventh full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams to the division included West Hartlepoool and Orre ...
while
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
and
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...
would remain in the division having won their respective playoff games.
Participating teams
Table
Results
The home team is listed in the left column.
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 23 February 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 November 1996.
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Round 8
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 18 December 1996.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 9 April 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 November 1996.
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Rounds 7 & 8 (Rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 9 November 1996.
*Game rescheduled from 31 October 1996.
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Round 9
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Round 8 (Rescheduled game)
*Game rescheduled from 9 November 1996.
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Round 10
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 18 February 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 April 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 4 March 1997.
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Round 11
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 4 March 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 4 March 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 February 1997.
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Round 12
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 15 April 1997.
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Round 13
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 26 March 1997.
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Round 14
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 February 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 16 April 1997.
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Round 10 (rescheduled game)
*Game rescheduled from 28 December 1996.
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Rounds 7, 11 & 14 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 8 February 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 4 March 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 31 October 1996.
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Rounds 10 & 11 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 4 January 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 4 January 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 28 December 1996.
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Round 15
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Round 16
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 April 1997.
*Harlequins were originally due to play Northampton at home and West Hartlepool were due to play Bath away but the fixtures were switched, leaving Bath and Northampton without games on the 22 March. Harlequins would play Northampton on 30 April 1997 while Bath would play West Hartlepool on 27 March 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 30 April 1997.
*Byes: Bath, Northampton Saints
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Rounds 13 & 16 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 18 January 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 22 March 1997 when West Hartlepool's game with Bath was swapped for an away game against Harlequins.
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Round 17
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 30 April 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 15 April 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 2 April 1997.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 23 April 1997.
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Rounds 10 & 17 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 29 March 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 28 December 1996.
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Round 18
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Rounds 8 & 16 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 22 March 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 9 November 1996.
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Round 19
*Byes: Harlequins, West Hartlepool
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Rounds 12, 14 & 17 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 29 March 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 11 January 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 22 February 1997.
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Round 20
*Orrell were relegated.
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Round 17 (rescheduled game)
*Game rescheduled from 29 March 1997.
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Round 21
*Wasps are champions.
*West Hartlepool are relegated.
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Rounds 16 & 17 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 29 March 1997.
*Game rescheduled from 22 March 1997 when Harlequins game with Northampton was swapped to Harlequins versus West Hartlepool.
*Game rescheduled from 22 March 1997.
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Round 22
Relegation/Promotion playoffs
For the first time play-offs took place between the third and fourth placed teams in Division Two and the ninth and tenth placed teams in Division One. The play-offs followed a 4th v 9th, 3rd v 10th system. The matches were played over two legs, with the second-tier team playing at home in the first leg.
[
]
First leg
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Second leg
''Bristol won 39–23 on aggregate.''
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''London Irish won 42–23 on aggregate.''
Note
See also
* 1996–97 Courage League National Division Two
The 1996–97 Courage League National Division Two was the tenth full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship and was season that saw professional rugby openly introduced ...
* 1996–97 Courage League National Division Three
The 1996–97 Courage League National Division Three was the tenth full season of rugby union within the third tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 1
National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and ...
* 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North
* 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 South
The 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 South was the tenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 South, and the last using the name Division 4 South. Changes to the ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 English Premiership (rugby union)
Premiership Rugby seasons
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
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English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...