North 1 East
Current season or competition:
2019–20 North 1 East
SportRugby union
Instituted1987; 37 years ago (1987)
Number of teams14
Country England
Most titlesBradford & Bingley (3 titles)
WebsiteEngland RFU

North 1 East is the sixth tier of the English rugby union domestic competition, formed in 1987 using the name North Division 2, involving clubs from the north of the country. There was also division known as North East 1 that began in 1987 for clubs based in the north-east but this was a seventh (later eighth) tier league. North Division 2 would later split into two regional divisions, currently known as North 1 East and North 1 West. North 1 East is made up of teams from around the North East and Yorkshire, who play home and away matches throughout a winter season.

The league champions are automatically promoted to the North Premier, whilst the second placed team enters into a play-off match with the second placed team in the equivalent Division North 1 West. The bottom three teams are relegated to either the Counties 1 Yorkshire or the Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland leagues, the seventh tier of the English domestic rugby union competition. Following the play-off game, depending on the result, a team from the division with fifteen teams are transferred to the division with thirteen teams to level up the number of teams in each division.

Clubs

2021–22

Kendal finished 5th in N1E in 2019-20 but were level transferred to North 1 West for the current season to address an imbalance of teams.

The teams competing in 2021-22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019-20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020-21.

2020–21

On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced [1] that due to the coronavirus pandemic a decision had been taken to cancel all adult competitive leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season, meaning North 1 East was not contested.

2019–20

Original

When league rugby began in 1987 this was a single division containing the following teams from the north of England:

Division honours

North Division 2 (1987–1993)

The original North Division 2 was a tier 6 league with promotion up to North Division 1 and relegation down to either North East 1 or North West 1.

North Division 2
Season No of teams Champions Runners–up Relegated teams
1987–88 11 Aspatria Halifax Wilmslow, Manchester
1988–89[3] 11 Bradford & Bingley Middlesbrough Davenport
1989–90[3] 11 Rotherham Widnes No relegation
1990–91[3] 11 Stockton Sandal New Brighton
1991–92[3] 11 Wharfedale Lymm No relegation
1992–93 13 Manchester Huddersfield Sandbach
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North Division 2 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season, meant that North Division 2 dropped from being a tier 6 league to a tier 7 league for the years that National 5 North was active.

North Division 2
Season No of teams Champions Runners–up Relegated teams
1993–94 13 York West Park Bramhope Carlise, Wigan, Lymm
1994–95 13 Macclesfield Bridlington Northwich
1995–96 13 New Brighton Sedgley Park Birkenhead Park, West Park St Helens, Old Crossleyeans, Hartlepool Rovers[b]
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North Division 2 (1996–2000)

The cancellation of National 5 North at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that North Division 2 reverted to being a tier 6 league.

North Division 2
Season No of teams Champions Runners–up Relegated teams
1996–97 12 Doncaster Middlesbrough Durham City
1997–98 12 Northern Blaydon Halifax
1998–99[4] 12 Bradford & Bingley Driffield York, Percy Park
1999–00[5] 12 Darlington Mowden Park Chester No relegation
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North 2 East

For the 2000–01 season, North Division 2 was split into two regional divisions - North 2 East and North 2 West. While promotion continued up into North Division 1, the cancellation of the North East 1, North East 2 and North East 3 meant that relegation was now to either Durham/Northumberland 1 or Yorkshire 1.

North 2 East
Season No of teams Champions Runners–up Relegated Teams
2000–01[6] 12 Halifax Darlington York, West Park Leeds
2001–02[7] 12 Cleckheaton Huddersfield Bridlington, Old Crossleyans, Northern
2002–03[8] 12 Bradford & Bingley Sheffield Goole, Scarborough, Alnwick
2003-04[9] 12 Hull Middlesbrough Northern, York, Bridlington
2004–05[10] 12 Westoe Huddersfield Horden, Redcar, Malton & Norton
2005-06[11] 12 Penrith Beverley Sandal, Stockton, Alnwick
2006–07[12] 12 Middlesbrough Sheffield Tigers Horden, Percy Park, Sheffield
2007–08[13] 12 West Hartlepool Durham City Aldwinians, York, Hartlepool Rovers
2008–09[14] 12 Penrith Old Crossleyans Aspatria
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North 1 East

For the 2009–10 season the division would be renamed North 1 East as part of wholesale national restructure of the league system by the RFU leading to mass changes at all levels including in the north.

North 1 East
Season No of teams Champions Runners–up Relegated Teams
2009–10[15] 14 Billingham Sandal Ilkley, Gateshead, Darlington
2010–11[16] 14 West Hartlepool Percy Park Hartlepool Rovers, Driffield, Pontefract
2011–12[17] 14 Billingham Percy Park Team Northumbria [c] , Gateshead, Old Brodleians
2012–13[18] 14 Beverley Morley Darlington, Durham City, Keighley
2013–14[19] 14 Cleckheaton Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. Malton & Norton, Middlesbrough, Morpeth
2014–15[20] 14 Ilkley Sheffield Horden, Old Crossleyans, Bradford and Bingley
2015–16[21] 14 Doncaster Phoenix Morley Beverley, South Shields Westoe, Northern
2016–17[22] 14 Pocklington Penrith Wheatley Hills, Guisborough, Durham City
2017–18[23] 14 Alnwick Driffield Northern, West Hartlepool, Dinnington
2018–19[24] 14 Morpeth Scarborough Consett, West Leeds, Bridlington
2019–20[25] 14 York Cleckheaton Huddersfield Y.M.C.A., West Hartlepool, Percy Park
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Promotion play-offs

Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of North 1 East and North 1 West for the third and final promotion place to North Premier. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season the North 1 East have been the most successful with thirteen wins to the North 1 West teams six; and the home team has won promotion on fifteen occasions compared to the away teams five.

North 1 East v North 1 West promotion play-off results
Season Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance
2000–01[26] Darlington (E) 49-0 Aldwinians (W) Blackwell Meadows, Darlington, County Durham
2001–02[27] Huddersfield (E) 26-10 Vale of Lune (W) Lockwood Park, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
2002–03[28] Sheffield (E) 32-15 Rochdale (W) Abbeydale Park, Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
2003–04[29] Middlesbrough (E) 21-13 Caldy (W) Acklam Park, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
2004–05[30] Huddersfield (E) 22-13 Stockport (W) Lockwood Park, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
2005–06[31] Beverley (E) 21-16 Winnington Park (W) Beaver Park, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire
2006–07[32] Sheffield Tigers (E) 50-10 Lymm (W) Dore Moor, Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
2007–08[33] Durham City (E) 13-18 Stockport (W) Hollow Drift, Durham, County Durham
2008–09[34] Old Crossleyans (E) 25-31 Rossendale (W) Broomfield Avenue, Halifax, West Yorkshire
2009–10[35] Sandal (E) 30-22 Northwich (W) Milnthorpe Green, Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
2010–11[36] Percy Park (E) 26-27 Burnage (W) Preston Avenue, North Shields, Tyne and Wear 1200
2011–12[37] Percy Park (E) 18-12 Liverpool St Helens (W) Preston Avenue, North Shields, Tyne and Wear 800
2012–13[38] Liverpool St Helens (W) 17-28 Morley (E) Moss Lane, St Helens, Merseyside
2013–14[39] Birkenhead Park (W) 19-29 Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. (E) Upper Park, Birkenhead, Merseyside
2014–15[40] Kirkby Lonsdale (W) 29-35 Sheffield (E) Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria 1,000
2015–16[41] Kirkby Lonsdale (W) 33-38 (aet) Morley (E) Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
2016–17[42] Birkenhead Park (W) 29-21 Penrith (E) Upper Park, Birkenhead, Merseyside
2017–18[43] Driffield (E) 21-24 Wilmslow (W) Show Ground, Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire
2018–19[44] Blackburn (W) 17-7 Scarborough (E) Ramsgreave Drive, Blackburn, Lancashire
2019–20 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner up - Northwich (W) - promoted instead.
2020–21
Green background is the promoted team. E = North 1 East (formerly North 2 East) and W = North 1 West (formerly North 2 West)

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Davenport would be renamed as Stockport RUFC in 1992.[2]
  2. ^ The introduction of a number of new leagues in the north for the 1996–97 season meant that more teams than normal were relegated between leagues to populate the new divisions.
  3. ^ Team Northumbria disbanded after relegation. Although they still do participate in the Northumberland Senior Cup.
  4. ^ One of Bradford & Bingley's titles was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  5. ^ Aspatria's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  6. ^ Doncaster's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  7. ^ Manchester's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  8. ^ Manchester's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  9. ^ New Brighton's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  10. ^ Northern's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  11. ^ Rotherham's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  12. ^ Stockton's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  13. ^ Currently known as South Shields Westoe.
  14. ^ Wharfedale's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
  15. ^ York's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.

References

  1. ^ "RFU Cancels Adult Competitive Leagues for the 2020/21 Season". RFU. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. ^ "History". Stockport RUFC. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sheet1 - Wharfedale". Wharfedale RUFC. Wharfedale RUFC. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. ^ "1998-99 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  5. ^ "1999-00 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  6. ^ "2000-01 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  7. ^ "2001-02 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  8. ^ "2002-03 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  9. ^ "2003-04 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  10. ^ "2004-05 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  11. ^ "2005-06 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  12. ^ "2006-07 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  13. ^ "2007-08 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  14. ^ "2008-09 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  15. ^ "2009-10 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  16. ^ "2010-11 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  17. ^ "2011-12 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  18. ^ "2012-13 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  19. ^ "2013-14 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  20. ^ "2014-15 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  21. ^ "2015-16 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  22. ^ "2016-17 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  23. ^ "2017-18 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  24. ^ "2018-19 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  25. ^ "Men's level 5 - 7 leagues 2019–20" (PDF). England Rugby. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  26. ^ "2000-01 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 19 May 2001.
  27. ^ "2001-02 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 18 May 2002.
  28. ^ "2002-03 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 26 April 2003.
  29. ^ "2003-04 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 24 April 2004.
  30. ^ "2004-05 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 30 April 2006.
  31. ^ "2005-06 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 29 April 2006.
  32. ^ "2006-07 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 28 April 2007.
  33. ^ "2007-08 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 26 April 2008.
  34. ^ "2008-09 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 25 April 2009.
  35. ^ "2009-10 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 1 May 2010.
  36. ^ "2010-11 North Playoffs". England Ruby. 23 April 2011.
  37. ^ "Percy Park 18 Liverpool St Helens 12". St Helens Star. 3 May 2012.
  38. ^ "2012-13 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 27 April 2013.
  39. ^ "2013-14 North Playoffs". England Rugby. 26 April 2014.
  40. ^ "Kirkby defeated as Sheffield step it up at end of hard game". The Westmorland Gazette. 1 May 2015.
  41. ^ "Rugby Union: Morley edge thriller to earn promotion". Morley Observer & Advertiser. 30 April 2016.
  42. ^ "Birkenhead Park promoted back to National League Three after 'winner-take-all' clash with Penrith". Wirral Globe. 30 April 2017.
  43. ^ "Escapologists Never Say Die". Wimslow RUFC (Pitchero). 12 May 2018.
  44. ^ "Scarborough RUFC battle hard but edged out in play-off at Blackburn". The Scarborough News. 27 April 2019.
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