The
2003–04 National Division One was the seventeenth 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 second tier of the English league system, currently known as the
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...
. New teams to the division included
Bristol Shoguns who had been relegated from the
Zurich Premiership 2002–03 while
Penzance & Newlyn and
Henley Hawks were promoted from the
2002–03 National Division Two.
In terms of ground changes
Plymouth Albion had a new home - moving from Beacon Park to newly built
Brickfields A brickfield is an open site where bricks are made. Place names are often formed from the word.
Brickfield, Brickfields, or Brickfielder may also refer to:
Australia
* Brickfielder, an arid wind
* Brickfield Hill, an area of Sydney
* Brickfields ...
which at 6,500 had twice the capacity of the original ground.
After three consecutive seasons finishing second,
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 ...
became champions and were promoted to the
Zurich 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 ...
for season
2004–05.
Orrell were runners–up, and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
were relegated to the
2004–05 National Division Two. Wakefield's final match was on 26 April 2004 against Coventry, who won the match 15–11 and with that defeat, consigned Wakefield, after fourteen consecutive seasons in National Division One, to relegation; while Coventry finished above Wakefield only on points difference. Wakefield folded during the summer for financial reasons.
Participating teams
Final table
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
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Round 8
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 December 2003.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 21 February 2004.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 December 2003.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 20 December 2003.
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Round 9
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Round 10
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 8 (Rescheduled games)
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Round 13
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 3 January 2004.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 3 January 2004.
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Round 13 (Rescheduled games)
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Round 14
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Round 15
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Round 16
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Round 17
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Round 18
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Round 19
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Round 8 & 25 (Rescheduled games)
*Game brought forward from 17 April 2004.
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Round 20
*Postponed. Game rescheduled for 7 March 2004.
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Round 20 & 25 (Rescheduled games)
*Game brought forward from 17 April 2004.
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Round 21
*Postponed. Game rescheduled for 27 March 2004.
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Round 22
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Round 21 (Rescheduled game)
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Round 23
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Round 24
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Round 25
*Game brought forward to 6 March 2004.
*Game brought forward to 21 February 2004.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled for 21 April 2004.
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Round 25 (Rescheduled game)
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Round 26
Total Season Attendances
Individual statistics
* Note that points scorers include tries as well as conversions, penalties, and drop goals.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 79 pts
85 - 6 Exeter Chiefs at home to Manchester on 28 February 2004
;Largest away win — 54 pts
54 - 0 Exeter Chiefs away to Wakefield on 13 March 2004
;Most points scored — 85 pts
85 - 6 Exeter Chiefs at home to Manchester on 28 February 2004
;Most tries in a match — 13
Exeter Chiefs at home to Manchester on 28 February 2004
;Most conversions in a match — 10 (x2)
Exeter Chiefs at home to Manchester on 28 February 2004
Orrell at home to Manchester on 10 April 2004
;Most penalties in a match — 7
Exeter Chiefs away to Otley on 20 September 2003
;Most drop goals in a match — 2
Coventry at home to Worcester on 10 April 2004
Player
;Most points in a match — 31
Leigh Hinton for Orrell at home to Bedford Blues on 6 December 2003
;Most tries in a match — 4 (x3)
Dan Ward-Smith for Plymouth Albion at home to Henley Hawks on 20 March 2004
Richard Welding for Orrell at home to Manchester on 10 April 2004
Lee Carruthers for Otley at home to Manchester 13 December 2003
;Most conversions in a match — 10 (x2)
Tony Yapp for Exeter Chiefs at home to Manchester on 28 February 2004
Leigh Hinton for Orrell at home to Manchester on 10 April 2004
;Most penalties in a match — 7
Tony Yapp for Exeter Chiefs away to Otley on 20 September 2003
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple players
Attendances
;Highest — 6,025
Worcester at home to Pertemps Bees on 24 April 2004
;Lowest — 187
Manchester at home to Pertemps Bees on 3 April 2004
;Highest Average Attendance — 2,460
Worcester
;Lowest Average Attendance — 367
Wakefield
See also
*
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 consi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Division 1
2003–04 in English rugby union leagues
2003-04