The
2005–06 National Division One was the 19th full season of
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
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, whe ...
. New teams to the division included
Harlequins who had been relegated from the
2004–05 Zurich Premiership, while
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 i ...
and
Newbury were promoted from the
2004–05 National Division Two
The 2004–05 National Division Two was the fifth version (eighteenth overall) of the third division of the English rugby union league system using the name National Division Two. New teams to the division included Manchester who were relegated ...
. Additional changes saw Penzance & Newyln RFC rebrand themselves as the
Cornish Pirates
The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newly ...
as well as moving from their home ground, the
Mennaye Field
The Mennaye Field is a sports stadium located in Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The ground was provided by the Borough of Penzance for the Penzance and Newlyn RFC formed on Tuesday, 12 December 1944 with the amalgamation of Penzance RFC and Newlyn RFC. ...
in
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situ ...
, to a more central location in
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro c ...
at the
Kenwyn Rugby Ground (a temporary stadium built in the city) with the aim to appeal more to Cornish fans on the whole as well as making home games more accessible.
Rotherham Titans
Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from t ...
also rebranded themselves as 'Earth Titans' for sponsorship purposes for this season.
After only one season
Harlequins won the National Division One at the first attempt and returned to the
Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
for season
2006–07.
Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pr ...
finished in second place and there was no relegation to
National Division Two
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 Leag ...
following the
RFU's decision to expand National Division One from 14 to 16 teams for the
2006–07 season.
Participating teams
Table
;Notes
*
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...
were docked two points for an
administrative error when re–registering a player, Dave Millard. Following a foot injury, the winger was loaned to junior club Kenilworth while he was recovering. He returned before the game against Bedford on 27 December 2005 where he was named among the seven replacements. There was an error in the paperwork submitted to 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 ...
, and although Millard was not used, Coventry were found guilty.
* Statement by
First Division Rugby regarding
Newbury versus
Birmingham & Solihull
::Newbury have been awarded a 0–0 win and 4 league points following their match against Pertemps Bees on 22 April.
::Pertemps Bees won the match by 35 pts to 22 pts but due to a severe injury crisis had to field three unregistered players with the prior approval of FDR in order to fulfil the fixture. All points gained by either side in the match will be disregarded for the purpose of the official league table in accordance with the RFU Regulations.
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
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Round 9
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 17 December 2005.
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Round 10
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 9 (rescheduled game)
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Round 13
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Round 14
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 4 February 2006.
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Round 15
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Round 16
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Round 17
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Round 14 (rescheduled game)
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Round 18
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Round 19
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Round 20
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 4 March 2006.
*Postponed. Game rescheduled to 5 March 2006.
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Round 20 (rescheduled games)
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Round 21
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Round 22
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Round 23
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Round 25 (rescheduled game)
*Game brought forward from 15 April 2006.
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Round 24
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Round 25
*Rescheduled. Game brought forward to 8 April 2006.
*Newbury were awarded a 0–0 win and 4 league points following this match. Pertemps Bees won the match by 35 pts to 22 pts but due to a severe injury crisis had to field three unregistered players with the prior approval of FDR in order to fulfil the fixture. All points gained by either side in the match will be disregarded for the purpose of the official league table in accordance with the RFU Regulations.
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Round 26
Season attendances
Leading scorers
* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 65 pts
70 - 5 Harlequins at home to Exeter Chiefs on 22 October 2005
;Largest away win — 52 pts
68 - 16 Bedford Blues away to Pertemps Bees on 11 March 2006
;Most points scored — 79 pts
79 - 22 Bedford Blues at home to Newbury on 29 April 2006
;Most tries in a match — 12 (x2)
Harlequins at home to Exeter Chiefs on 22 October 2005
Bedford Blues at home to Newbury on 29 April 2006
;Most conversions in a match — 9
Bedford Blues at home to Newbury on 29 April 2006
;Most penalties in a match — 7
Coventry at home to Newbury on 11 March 2006
;Most drop goals in a match — 2
Plymouth Albion at home to Exeter Chiefs on 3 September 2005
Player
;Most points in a match — 34
Alastair Hepher for Bedford Blues at home to Newbury on 29 April 2006
;Most tries in a match — 5 (x2)
Richard Welding for Cornish Pirates at home to Earth Titans on 18 September 2005
Ugo Monye
Ugochukwu Chiedozie Monye (born 13 April 1983) is an English sports pundit and former rugby union player, Monye played 14 times for , 241 times for his only club Harlequins and played twice for the British & Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to ...
for Harlequins at home to Exeter Chiefs on 22 October 2005
;Most conversions in a match — 9
Alastair Hepher for Bedford Blues at home to Newbury on 29 April 2006
;Most penalties in a match — 7
James Moore James, Jim, or Jimmy Moore may refer to:
Authors
*James Moore (Cornish author) (1929–2017), author of works on George Gurdjieff
*James Moore (biographer) (born 1947), author of biographies of Charles Darwin
* James W. Moore (author) (1938–2019 ...
for Coventry at home to Newbury on 11 March 2006
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple players
Attendances
;Highest — 12,500
Harlequins at home to Plymouth Albion on 29 April 2006
;Lowest — 325
Sedgley Park at home to Newbury on 18 February 2006
;Highest Average Attendance — 8,996
Harlequins
;Lowest Average Attendance — 549
Orrell
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 cons ...
References
External links
national1.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Division 1
2005–06 in English rugby union leagues
2005–06