1987–88 National Division One

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1987–88 Courage League National Division One
Countries England
ChampionsLeicester Tigers (1st title)
Runners-upWasps
RelegatedCoventry
Sale
Matches played64

The 1987–88 Courage League National Division One was the first season of the first tier of the English rugby union league system. It was the first season of a truly national rugby union league, which is currently known as the Gallagher Premiership.

There was no fixture list; the teams arranged fixtures amongst themselves. One match would count between each of the twelve teams involved and the points scheme was such that a team received four points for a win, two for a draw and one point for a loss. Most teams played eleven games, although some played ten.

Leicester Tigers finished first in the league table and were crowned champions. Coventry and Sale were relegated to the 1988–89 Courage League National Division Two for next season, the latter side having lost all of its eleven matches. Rosslyn Park and Liverpool St Helens were promoted from the 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two for the following season.[1]

Participating teams[]

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Locations of the 1987–88 Courage League National Division One teams
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area
Bath Bath 8,200 Bath, Somerset
Bristol Memorial Stadium 12,100 Bristol, Avon
Coventry Coundon Road 9,000+ Coventry, West Midlands
Gloucester Kingsholm 11,000 Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Harlequins The Stoop 8,500 Twickenham, London
Leicester Tigers Welford Road 16,000 Leicester, Leicestershire
Moseley The Reddings 10,000 (est) Birmingham, West Midlands
Nottingham Ireland Avenue 4,950 Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Orrell Edge Hall Road 3,000 Orrell, Greater Manchester
Sale Heywood Road 5,400 Sale, Greater Manchester
Wasps Repton Avenue Sudbury, London
Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 Blundellsands, Merseyside

League table[]

1987–88 Courage League National Division One Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Points
1 Leicester Tigers 10 9 0 1 225 133 142 37
2 Wasps 11 8 1 2 218 136 82 36
3 Harlequins 11 6 1 4 261 128 133 30
4 Bath 11 6 1 4 197 156 41 30
5 Gloucester 10 6 1 3 206 121 85 29
6 Orrell 11 5 1 5 192 153 39 27
7 Moseley 11 5 0 6 167 170 –3 26
8 Nottingham 11 4 1 6 146 –170 –24 24
9 Bristol 10 4 1 5 171 145 –26 23
10 Waterloo 10 4 0 6 123 208 –85 22
11 Coventry 11 3 1 7 139 246 –107 21
12 Sale 11 0 0 11 95 374 –279 11
  • Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 4 pts for a win
  2. 2 pt for a draw
  3. 1 pt for a loss
Red background are teams relegated.

Results[]

The home team is listed in the left column.

Clubs BAT BRI COV GLO HAR LEI MOS NOT ORR SAL WAS WAT
Bath Rugby 15–9 21–9 14–0 23–18 10–17
Bristol Rugby 16–21 21–10 37–3 12–12
Coventry 9–9 25–3 12–15 15–20 11–24 24–19 15–10
Gloucester RFC 9–16 39–3 18–12 17–9 61–7 13–24
Harlequins 28–22[2] 9–9 9–12 34–8 6–12 66–0 37–4
Leicester Tigers 24–13 15–10 32–16 42–15 12–9 39–15
Moseley 26–3 11–32 3–21 28–10 19–12 27–3
Nottingham 25–15 3–16 13–22 21-12 12–12
Orrell 13–25 9–13 30–6 19–0 30–6
Sale 17–46 15–19 0–17 6–14
Wasps 19–15 49–6 17–16 17–9 23–15
Waterloo 16–6 10–9 29–13 13–22
Home Win Draw Away Win

First match[]

5 September 1987
Nottingham 21 – 12 Moseley
Ireland Avenue

[3]

Sponsorship[]

National Division One is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Courage League 1987–1988". Ipernews.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ^ The 1988 final of the John Player Cup which took place on neutral ground at Twickenham also counts for the league.
  3. ^ "Results". The Guardian. 7 September 1987. ProQuest 186753976.
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