1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North

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1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North
Countries England
ChampionsWorcester (1st title)
Runners-upBirmingham & Solihull (not promoted)
RelegatedStoke-on-Trent, Hereford
Matches played182

The 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North was the tenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 North, and the last using the name Division 4 North. Changes to the league structure by the RFU at the start of the season saw Courage League 4 revert to two regional divisions (Courage League Division 4 North and Courage League Division 4 South), while the regional leagues below (Courage League Division 5) was split back into regional leagues - North 1, Midlands 1, London 1 and South West 1[a 1]. This meant that National Division 4 North increased from 10 to 14 teams (28 overall) with multiple teams coming up from the discontinued Division 5.[1]

Worcester were deserving champions, going undefeated in the league to take the title and only promotion spot to the 1997–98 National Division 1 (formerly Courage Division 3), 11 points clear of runners up Birmingham & Solihull. While Worcester were deserving champions, Stoke-on-Trent and Hereford were easily the worst teams in the division and as a consequence were the two sides to go down, well short of safety. Both sides would drop to Midlands 1.[2] The reason Division 4 North had less relegation places compared to Division 4 North (2 to 4) was that 3 out of 4 of the teams relegated from the division above were based in the south of the country, requiring more places to accommodate for their arrival the following season.

Structure[]

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of twenty-six matches each. The league champions were promoted to the new-look National League 1 while the bottom four sides dropped to either North 1 or Midlands 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations[]

League table[]

1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Points
1 Worcester (C) 26 23 3 0 833 378 455 49
2 Birmingham & Solihull 26 19 0 7 746 391 355 38
3 Preston Grasshoppers 26 17 2 7 568 394 174 36
4 Manchester 26 16 1 9 763 514 249 33
5 Sandal 26 15 1 10 618 572 46 31
6 Stourbridge 26 14 1 11 704 579 125 29
7 Winnington Park 26 14 1 11 641 565 76 29
8 Sheffield 26 12 2 12 496 451 45 26
9 Kendal 26 11 1 14 541 451 90 23
10 Aspatria 26 10 1 15 616 713 -97 21
11 Lichfield 26 10 0 16 544 713 -169 20
12 Nuneaton 26 8 1 17 457 670 -213 17
13 Hereford (R) 26 4 0 22 287 970 -683 8
14 Stoke-on-Trent (R) 26 2 0 24 391 854 -463 4
  • Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 2 pts for a win
  2. 1 pt for a draw
  3. 0 pts for a loss
  4. If teams are level at any stage, difference between points for and against applies

Green background are promotion places. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 22 January 2018

[2]

Sponsorship[]

Courage League Division 4 North is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery. This was their tenth and final season of sponsorship.

Notes[]

  1. ^ These regional divisions had previously been tier 6 leagues during the days of Courage Division 5 but would revert to being level 5 leagues for the 1996-97 season.

References[]

  1. ^ "Courage League - Division 5 1995/96". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Courage League - Division 4 1996/97". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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