The 2018–19 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1, is the tenth season of the
third tier 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 consi ...
, since the professionalised format of the second tier
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 ...
was introduced; and is the 32nd season since league rugby began in 1987.
The league was one of the most competitive for years, with promotion and relegation not decided until the last round. In terms of the championship, at one point it looked like four teams could go on to win it, but in the end it was a two horse race between
Ampthill
Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825.
Histor ...
and
Old Elthamians. The real decider was when Ampthill won 36-6 at home over Old Elthamians on 3 March 2019, but they still had to keep their head for the remaining five games as Old Elthamians pushed them all the way, eventually claiming the title on 27 April 2019 when they won 52-20 away to
Loughborough Students.
Ampthill would be promoted to the
2019–20 RFU Championship
The 2019–20 RFU Championship, known as the 2019–20 Greene King IPA Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the eleventh season of the RFU Championship, the professional second tier of rugby union in England. It featured eleven English teams ...
- the highest level the club had reached - where they could enjoy derby games at
Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues are a semi-professional rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in the RFU Championship.
History
Foundation and 19th century
Bedford RUFC was founded in 1886 after an amalgamation between Bedford Rove ...
.
The relegation battle was also hotly contested, with all three sides going down on the last day of the season. Loughborough Students had barely escaped relegation the previous year but after a poor first half of the season, they started to rally and gain some victories, helped by their try bonus record which was one of the best in the league, and looked at one point that they might do it yet again. However, defeats in their last two games against
Plymouth Albion
Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC (founded 1876) and Devonport Albion RFC (founded 1876). Since 2003 they have played ...
and champions, Ampthill, condemned them to the drop as the bottom ranked side in the division.
They were joined by
Esher
Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole.
Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...
(15th), who went down despite a valiant win away to
Blackheath, and
Caldy
Caldy (historically spelt Calday) is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England, south-east of West Kirby. It is part of the West Kirby & Thurstaston Ward (country subdivision), Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wi ...
(14th), who were relegated after losing to
Birmingham Moseley, finishing just 2 points shy of 13th place
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, who had an excellent away win to
Sale FC to thank for keeping them up.
Loughborough and Caldy would drop to the
2019–20 National League 2 North while Esher would fall to the
2019–20 National League 2 South. For Esher demotion to level 4 will make it the lowest level they have played at since the 1999-00 season.
Structure
The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one promotion place with the champions promoted to the
Greene King IPA Championship. There are usually three relegation places with the bottom three teams relegated to either
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 ...
or
National League 2 South
National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...
depending on the geographical location of the team.
The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows:
* 4 points are awarded for a win
* 2 points are awarded for a draw
* 0 points are awarded for a loss, however
* 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer
* 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.
Participating teams and locations
Twelve of the sixteen teams participated in the preceding season's competition. The 2017–18 champions,
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, were promoted to the
2018–19 RFU Championship
The 2018–19 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the tenth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Rug ...
, swapping places with bottom club,
Rotherham Titans, who were relegated from the
2017–18 RFU Championship
The 2017–18 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, was the ninth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Rug ...
.
Sides relegated from the 2017–18 National League 1 included
Fylde and
Hull Ionians
Hull Ionians RUFC is a rugby union club in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The first team play in English rugby's National League 2 North, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from National Leagu ...
(both
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
Old Albanian
Albanian (endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group. It is the native language of the Albanian people. Standard Albanian is the offi ...
(
National League 2 South
National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...
).
Teams promoted into the division include
Cinderford
Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census.
The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of the ...
and
Sale FC, champions of
2017–18 National League 2 South and
2017–18 National League 2 North
The 2017–18 National League 2 North is the ninth season (31st overall) of the National League 2 North, fourth tier (north) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, second divisi ...
respectively, along with south runners up
Chinnor
Chinnor is a large village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about southeast of Thame and close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The village is a spring line settlement on the Icknield Way below the Chiltern escarpment. Sinc ...
who defeated the north's
Sedgley Park
Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury.
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...
in the promotion play-off. Cinderford are returning to National League 1 after an absence of two seasons, while Sale FC and Chinnor are both playing at the highest league level in their history.
League table
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
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Round 8
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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 13
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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 20
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Round 21
*Postponed due to poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
*Postponed due to poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
*Postponed due to poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
*Postponed due to poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
----
Round 22
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Round 23
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Round 21 (rescheduled games)
*Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
*Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019
*Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
*Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
----
Round 24
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Round 25
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Round 26
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Round 27
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Round 28
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Round 29
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Round 30
*Caldy are relegated.
*Esher are relegated.
*Ampthill are champions. Loughborough Students are relegated.
Attendances
Individual statistics
* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included).
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 52 points
59 – 7 Ampthill at home to Caldy on 23 February 2019
;Largest away win — 40 points
69 – 29 Old Elthamians away to Loughborough Students on 2 February 2019
;Most points scored — 69 points
69 – 29 Old Elthamians away to Loughborough Students on 2 February 2019
;Most tries in a match — 10
Old Elthamians away to Loughborough Students on 2 February 2019
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Old Elthamians away to Loughborough Students on 2 February 2019
;Most penalties in a match — 8
Rotherham Titans at home to Rosslyn Park on 15 September 2018
;Most drop goals in a match — 1 (5)
Esher away to Bishop's Stortford on 13 October 2018
Sale FC at home to Rosslyn Park on 20 October 2018
Birmingham Moseley at home to Cambridge on 15 December 2018
Darlington Mowden Park at home to Cinderford on 15 December 2018
Sale FC away to Esher on 30 March 2019
Attendances
;Highest — 3,556
Plymouth Albion at home to Birmingham Moseley on 30 March 2019
;Lowest — 133
Old Elthamians at home to Caldy on 1 December 2018
;Highest average attendance — 1,116
Plymouth Albion
;Lowest average attendance — 294
Cinderford
Player
;Most points in a match — 26
James Williams for Birmingham Moseley at home to Sale FC on 27 October 2018
;Most tries in a match — 4
Adam Caves for Birmingham Moseley at home to Rotherham Titans on 22 September 2018
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Tom White for Old Elthamians away to Loughborough Students on 2 February 2019
;Most penalties in a match — 8
Alex Dolly for Rotherham Titans at home to Rosslyn Park on 15 September 2018
;Most drop goals in a match — 1 (5)
Owen Waters for Esher away to Bishop's Stortford on 13 October 2018
Chris Johnson for Sale FC at home to Rosslyn Park on 20 October 2018
Sam Hollingsworth for Birmingham Moseley at home to Cambridge on 15 December 2018
Warren Seals for Darlington Mowden Park at home to Cinderford on 15 December 2018
Emiliano Calle Rivas for Sale FC away to Esher on 30 March 2019
Notes
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 ...
*
Rugby union in England
Rugby union in England is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports. In 1871 the Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby union in England, was formed by 21 rugby clubs, and the first international match, which invol ...
References
External links
NCA Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 National League 1
3
National League 1 seasons