National League 2 South

National League 2 South
	Current season or competition:; 2015–16 National League 2 South
	File:England Rugy text logo.svg
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1987
Number of teams	16
Country	England
Holders	Henley Hawks (2014-15)
Most titles	Barking; Henley Hawks (2 titles)
Website	clubs.rfu.com

National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) is a level four league in the English rugby union system. It is one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, National League 2 North, covering the north of England. The format of the league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following reorganisation by the Rugby Football Union.

The champions are promoted to National League 1. The runners-up play in a promotion play-off with the runners-up of National League 2 North; the team with the best record having home advantage. The bottom three teams are relegated, to either National League 3 South-West or National League 3 London & SE.^[1]

Participating teams in 2015–16 season

Twelve of the teams listed below participated in the 2014–15 National League 2 South season; Old Albanians were relegated from National League 1, Bury St Edmunds (champions) and Barnes (play-off) were promoted from National League 3 London & SE, Redingensians were promoted from National League 3 South West.

Locations of the 2015–16 National League 2 South teams

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Barnes	Barn Elms		Barnes, London	promoted from National League 3 London & SE (play-off)
Bishop's Stortford	Silver Leys		Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire	2nd
Bury St Edmunds	The Haberden		Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk	promoted from National League 3 London & SE (1st)
Cambridge	Grantchester Road	1,250	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire	7th
Canterbury	Merton Lane		Canterbury, Kent	11th
Chinnor	Kingsey Road		Thame, Oxfordshire	6th
Clifton	Station Road	400 (seated)	Clifton, Bristol	12th
Dorking	The Big Field	750	Dorking, Surrey	4th
Launceston	Polson Bridge	6,000	Launceston, Cornwall	10th
Old Albanian	Woollam Playing Fields	1,000	St Albans, Hertfordshire	relegated from National League 1 (14th)
Old Elthamians	Foxbury Avenue		Chislehurst, Kent	8th
Redingensians	Old Bath Road		Sonning, Berkshire	promoted from National League 3 South West (1st)
Redruth	The Recreation Ground	12,000	Redruth, Cornwall	9th
Southend Saxons	Warners Bridge Park		Southend, Essex	13th
Taunton Titans	Hyde Park (Bathpool)	2,000	Taunton, Somerset	3rd
Worthing Raiders	Roundstone Lane		Angmering, West Sussex	5th

Current standings

2015–16 National League 2 South Table

watch · edit · discuss

Club

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points for

Points against

Points diff

Try bonus

Losing bonus

Points

1

Cambridge (C)

30

25

2

3

1029

532

497

25

1

130

2

Old Albanian (P)

30

25

1

4

1040

468

572

23

3

128

3

Bishop's Stortford

30

22

1

7

912

436

476

21

5

116

4

Redruth

30

22

1

7

752

547

205

16

4

110

5

Taunton Titans

30

20

1

9

896

611

285

16

5

103

6

Chinnor

30

13

0

17

802

748

54

13

8

73

7

Bury St Edmunds

30

13

0

17

735

753

–18

12

7

71

8

Redingensians Rams

30

13

1

16

670

746

–76

12

5

71

9

Old Elthamians

30

13

2

15

669

770

–101

8

6

70

10

Canterbury

30

13

0

17

700

871

–171

12

6

70

11

Worthing Raiders

30

13

1

16

636

684

–48

10

5

69

12

Clifton

30

11

2

17

732

749

–17

12

6

66

13

Barnes

30

10

4

16

677

827

–150

15

3

66

14

Dorking (R)

30

10

0

20

598

822

–224

9

7

56

15

Southend Saxons (R)

30

7

3

20

574

845

–271

8

4

46

16

Launceston (R)

30

0

1

29

290

1303

–1013

2

6

5^{[b 1]}

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

Number of matches won
Difference between points for and against
Total number of points for
Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled

Green background is the promotion place. Blue background is the play-off place. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 30 April 2016
Source: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Notes

↑ *Launceston were deducted 5 points for playing an unregistered player against Bury St Edmunds on 19 March 2016.^[2]

National Two South Honours

List of National Two South Honours

Season

No of teams

Champions

Runners–up

Relegated Teams

League Name

1987–88

11

Askeans

Sidcup

Streatham/Croydon

Area League South

1988–89

11

Lydney

Havant

Ealing, Stroud and Sidcup

Area League South

1989–90

11

Metropolitan Police

Clifton

Salisbury

Area League South

1990–91

11

Redruth

Basingstoke

Maidenhead and Cheltenham

National 4 South

1991–92

11

Havant

Basingstoke

Ealing and Sidcup

National 4 South

1992–93

11

Sudbury

London Welsh

Thurrock

National 4 South

1993–94

10

Clifton

Harrogate

Sheffield (to 5 North) and Sudbury (to 5 South)

Courage National League 4^{[n 1]}

1994–95

10

Rotherham^[3]

Reading

Askeans (to 5 South) and Broughton Park (to 5 North)

Courage National League 4

1995–96

10

Exeter

London Welsh^{[n 2]}

Aspatria (to 4 North) and Plymouth Albion (to 4 South)

Courage National League 4

1996–97

14

Newbury

Henley

Berry Hill, High Wycombe, Charlton Park and Askeans

National 4 South

1997–98

14

Camberley

Henley

No relegation

National 2 South

1998–99

14

Bracknell

Esher

Havant

National 2 South

1999–00

14

Esher

Penzance & Newlyn

Bridgwater & Albion, Norwich and Metropolitan Police

National 2 South

2000–01

14

Plymouth Albion

Launceston

Reading, Weston-super-Mare, Basingstoke and Cheltenham

National 3 South

2001–02

14

Penzance & Newlyn

Launceston

Clifton and Cinderford

National 3 South

2002–03

14

Rosslyn Park

Lydney

Camberley and Havant

National 3 South

2003–04

14

Blackheath

Launceston

Basingstoke and Old Colfeians

National 3 South

2004–05

14

Barking

Redruth

Weston-super-Mare, Tabard and Haywards Heath

National 3 South

2005–06

14

Cambridge

North Walsham

Bracknell and Reading

National 3 South

2006–07

14

Southend

Westcombe Park

Chinnor, Hertford and Old Patesians

National 3 South

2007–08

14

Mount's Bay

Cinderford

Clifton, North Walsham and Luton

National 3 South

2008–09

14

London Scottish

Rosslyn Park

Chinnor and Havant

National 3 South

2009–10

15

Barking

Rosslyn Park

Barnes and Bridgwater & Albion^{[n 3]}

National League 2 South

2010–11

16

Ealing Trailfinders

Jersey

Canterbury, Hinckley and Newbury

National League 2 South

2011–12

16

Old Albanian

Richmond

Barnes, Hertford and Westcombe Park

National League 2 South

2012–13

15^{[n 4]}

Henley Hawks

Worthing Raiders

Lydney and Barking

National League 2 South

2013–14

16

Hartpury College

Ampthill & District

London Irish Wild Geese, Bournemouth and Exmouth

National League 2 South

2014–15

16

Henley Hawks

Bishop's Stortford

Lydney, Shelford and Dings Crusaders

National League 2 South

2015–16

16

National League 2 South

Green backgrounds are promotion places.

↑ This year there was a league restructure with a new league (Courage National League 4) becoming the new tier 4. Courage National 4 would contain the previous season's top teams from National 4 North and National 4 South with the remaining teams joining lower tier teams as part of Courage League Division 5 (which retained the North/South divisions). This structure would continue for several years before being abolished at the end of 1996 where the league would revert to the old system.
↑ The top eight teams were all promoted to the re-organised, sixteen team, Courage League Division 3 for season 1996–97
↑ Mounts Bay were originally scheduled to participate in the 2009–10 season after being demoted at the end of the previous season but folded in July 2009. As they were unable to participate, the division went ahead with fifteen teams instead of the expected sixteen.^[4]
↑ Rugby Lions were on the original 2012–13 fixture list after winning promotion from National League 3 Midlands but during July 2012 they went into liquidation and were unable to participate in the division, leaving fifteen teams instead of the usual sixteen.^[5]

^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[14]^[15] ^[16] ^[17] ^[18] ^[19] ^[20] ^[21]

League format since 1987

Format of fourth tier rugby union leagues in England

Year

Name

No of teams

No of matches

1987–93

Courage National Division Four North and Courage National Division Four South

11

10

1993–96

Courage National Division Four

10

18

1996–97

National Four North and
National Four South

14

26

1997–00

Jewson National Division 2 North and
Jewson National Division 2 South

14

26

2000–09

National Division Three North and
National Division Three South

14

26

2009–

National League 2 North and
National League 2 South

16

30

^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[22]^[23] ^[16] ^[17] ^[18] ^[19] ^[20] ^[21]

Records

Note that all records are from 1996-97 season onwards as this is widely held as the dawn of professionalism across the English club game. It also offers a better comparison between seasons as the division team numbers are roughly equal (for example when league rugby union first started in 1987-88 the southern league had only 11 teams playing 10 games each, compared to 14 teams in 1996-97 playing 26 games (home & away), going up to 16 teams in 2009-10 playing 30 games each). Attendance records are from 2000 onwards unless otherwise specified. All records are up to date up till the end of the 2014-15 season.

League records

Most titles: 2, Barking (2004-05, 2009-10), Henley Hawks (2012-13, 2014-15)
Most times promoted from division: 3, Henley Hawks (1997-98, 2012-13, 2014-15)
Most times relegated from division: 3, Havant (1998-99, 2002-03, 2008-09)
Most league points in a season: 132, Ealing Trailfinders (2010-11)
Least league points in a season: 0, Metropolitan Police (1999-00), Camberley (2002-03)^[24]
Most points scored in a season: 1,490, Ealing Trailfinders (2010-11)
Least points scored in a season: 270, Camberley (2002-03)
Most points conceded in a season: 2,055, Newbury Blues (2010-11)
Least points conceded in a season: 240, Plymouth Albion (2000-01)
Best points difference (For/Against): 1,066, Ealing Trailfinders (2010-11)
Worst points difference (For/Against): -1,676, Newbury Blues (2010-11)
Most games won in a season: 27, Ealing Trailfinders and Jersey (both 2010-11)
Most games lost in a season: 29, Newbury Blues (2010-11)
Most games drawn in a season: 4, Rugby Lions (2008-09)
Most bonus points in a season: 26, Bishop's Stortford (2013-14)

Match records

Largest home win: 132 - 0 Old Albanian at home to Newbury Blues on 26 March 2011 (2010-11)^[25]
Largest away win: 83 - 5, Henley Hawks away to Barking on 27 October 2012 (2012-13)^[26]
Most points scored in a match: 132, Old Albanian at home to Newbury Blues on 26 March 2011 (2010-11)^[25]
Most tries scored in a match: 20, Jersey at home to Newbury Blues on 6 November 2011, Ealing Trailfinders at home to Hinckley on 12 March 2011, Old Albanian at home to Newbury Blues on 26 March 2011 (all 2010-11)^[27]
Most conversions scored in a match: 16, Old Albanian at home to Newbury Blues on 26 March 2011, Ealing Trailfinders at home to Lydney on 30 April 2011 (both 2010-11)^[28]
Most penalties scored in a match: 7, Blackheath at home to Redruth on 14 December 2002 (2002-03), Hertford at home to Rosslyn Park on 30 September 2006 and Clifton at home to Lydney on 21 October 2006 (both 2006-07), Dings Crusaders at home to Southend on 6 November 2011 (2010-11), Launceston at home to Hartpury College on 28 September 2013 (2013-14), Launceston away to Dings Crusaders on 27 September 2014 (2014-15)^[29]^[30]^[31]^[32]^[33]
Most drop kicks scored in a match: 3, Westcombe Park at home to Ealing Trailfinders on 5 December 2009 (2009-10)^[34]

Player records

Most times top points scorer: 2, Nat Saumi for Penzance & Newlyn (2000-01, 2001-02), Adam Westall for Lydney (2002-03, 2004-05), Andy Frost for Southend (2005-06, 2006-07)^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]
Most times top try scorer: 2, Phil Chesters for Ealing Trailfinders (2009-10, 2010-11), Ian Clark for Hartpury College (2011-12, 2012-13)^[41]^[42]^[43]^[44]
Most points in a season: 374, Nat Saumi for Penzance & Newlyn (2000-01)^[35]
Most tries in a season: 70, Phil Chesters for Ealing Trailfinders (2010-11))^[42]
Most points in a match: 45, Adam Westall for Lydney away to Haywards Heath on 12 March 2005 (2004-05)^[45]
Most tries in a match: 7, James O'Brien for Old Patesians at home to Old Colfeians on 27 March 2004 (2003-04), Phil Chesters for Ealing Trailfinders at home to Newbury Blues on 2 October 2010 and at home to Lydney on 30 April 2011)^[46]^[47]
Most conversions in a match: 16, Richard Gregg for Old Albanian at home to Newbury Blues on 26 March 2011 (2010-11)
Most penalties in a match: 7, Jonathan Griffin for Blackheath at home to Redruth on 14 December 2002 (2002-03), Kieron Davies for Hertford at home to Rosslyn Park on 30 September 2006 and John Barnes for Clifton at home to Lydney on 21 October 2006 (both 2006-07), Mitch Burton for Dings Crusaders at home to Southend on 6 November 2011 (2010-11), Luke Cozens for Hartpury College away to Dings Crusaders on 17 November 2012 and Danial Trigg for Dings Crusaders away to Lydney on 1 December 2012 (both 2012-13), Kieron Lewitt for Launceston away to Dings Crusaders on 27 September 2014 (2014-15)^[48]^[49]^[50]^[51]^[52]^[53]
Most drop kicks in a match:3, Lee Audis for Westcombe Park at home to Ealing Trailfinders on 5 December 2009 (2009-10)^[54]

Attendance records

^{[a 1]}

Highest attendance (league game): 3,270, Henley Hawks at home to Worthing Raiders on 4 May 2013 (2012-13)^[55]
Lowest attendance (league game): 30, Barnes at home to Shelford on 20 February 2010 (2009-10)^[56]
Highest attendance (promotion playoff): 4,000, Redruth at home to Macclesfield on 1 May 2005 (2004-05)^[57]
Lowest attendance (promotion playoff): 1,302, North Walsham at home to Nuneaton on 13 May 2006 (2005-06)^[58]
Highest average attendance (club): 1,281, Plymouth Albion (2000-01)^[59]
Lowest average attendance (club): 96, Old Patesians (2006-07)^[60]
Highest average attendance (season): 444 (2000-01)^[59]
Lowest average attendance (season): 289 (2009-10)^[61]

↑ Note that due to poor attendance keeping by press and online sources means that the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons are excluded from these statistics due to lack of information.