Rugby union competition in England
2025–26 National League 1 Countries England Date 6 September 2025 – 25 April 2026 Matches played 77 Attendance 46,395 Highest attendance 2,027 – Plymouth v B Moseley, 25 October 2025 Lowest attendance 193 – Tonbridge v Leeds, 22 November 2025 Tries scored 653 Top point scorer 114 – Richard Hayes (Rotherham) Top try scorer 22 – William Harding (Blackheath)
The2025–26 National League 1 is the 38th season of thethird tier of theEnglish domestic rugby union competitions .
The league consists of fourteen teams, with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis, to make a total of twenty-six matches each. There is one automatic promotion place, with the champions promoted toChamp Rugby , and one play-off place. The 12th and 13th placed teams in Champ Rugby will play against each other (in a one-off game) with the loser meeting the runner-up of National League 1 for the final place in Champ Rugby.[ 1] National League 2 East ,National League 2 North orNational League 2 West , depending on the geographical location of the team.[ 2]
Participating teams and locations [ edit ] 2025–26 National 1 teams in England
2025–26 Greater London National League 1 clubs
Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Birmingham Moseley Billesley Common [ 3] 5,000 (1,300 seats) Birmingham ,West Midlands 7th Bishop's Stortford Silver Leys[ 4] 1,600 Bishop's Stortford ,Hertfordshire 9th Blackheath Well Hall 1,650 (550 seats) Eltham ,London 6th Clifton Station Road[ 5] 2,500 (400 seats) Cribbs Causeway ,Patchway ,Bristol Promoted fromNational League 2 West (champions)[ 6] Dings Crusaders Shaftesbury Park[ 7] 2,250 (250 seats) Frenchay ,Bristol 10th Leeds Tykes The Sycamores[ a] 1,500 Bramhope ,Leeds ,West Yorkshire Promoted fromNational League 2 North (champions)[ 8] Leicester Lions Westleigh Park 2,000 Blaby ,Leicestershire 12th[ b] Plymouth Albion The Brickfields [ 10] 8,500 Plymouth ,Devon 4th Rams Old Bath Road[ 11] 2,000 (300 seats)[ 12] Sonning ,Reading ,Berkshire 5th Rosslyn Park The Rock 2,000 Roehampton ,London 2nd Rotherham Titans Clifton Lane [ 13] 2,500 Rotherham ,South Yorkshire 3rd Sale FC Heywood Road [ 14] 3,387 Sale ,Greater Manchester 8th Sedgley Park Park Lane [ 15] 3,000 Whitefield ,Bury, Greater Manchester 11th Tonbridge Juddians The Slade 1,500 Tonbridge ,Kent Promoted fromNational League 2 East (champions)[ 16]
Updated to match(es) played on 22 November 2025. Source: National League Rugby
[ 17] Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
Number of matches won Number of matches drawn 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 Leicester Lions 14 – 46 Tonbridge Juddians (1 BP)
Westleigh Park Alan Chandrachad
Clifton 17 – 34 Blackheath (1 BP)
Station Road Adam Wookey
(1 BP) Sale FC 28 – 43 Rotherham Titans (1 BP)
Heywood Road Daniel Rowlands
(1 BP) Sedgley Park 18 – 24 Rams (1 BP)
Park Lane Alex Powdrell
(1 BP) Bishops Stortford 26 – 12 Birmingham Moseley
Silver Leys Ben Simpson
Leeds Tykes 12 – 45 Plymouth Albion (1 BP)
The Sycamores Jack Moorhouse
(1 BP) Rosslyn Park 45 – 10 Dings Crusaders
Priory Lane Callum Watson
[ 18]
(1 BP) Rotherham Titans 52 – 12 Leeds Tykes
Clifton Lane Ben Simpson
Sedgley Park 27 – 22 Sale FC (2 BP)
Park Lane Tim Allat
(1 BP) Birmingham Moseley 49 – 21 Leicester Lions
Billesley Common Jack Moorhouse
(1 BP) Blackheath 33 – 31 Bishop's Stortford (2 BP)
Well Hall Alex Powdrell
(1 BP) Plymouth Albion 62 – 5 Clifton
The Brickfields Callum Watson
(1 BP) Rams 73 – 24 Dings Crusaders (1 BP)
Old Bath Road Daniel Rowlands
(1 BP) Tonbridge Juddians 22 – 29 Rosslyn Park (1 BP)
The Slade Adam Wookey
[ 19]
Leicester Lions 12 – 47 Blackheath (1 BP)
Westleigh Park George Ounsley
Clifton 15 – 40 Rotherham Titans (1 BP)
Station Road Callum Watson
(1 BP) Sale FC 31 – 17 Rams
Heywood Road Alex Powdrell
Bishop's Stortford 15 – 31 Plymouth Albion (1 BP)
Silver Leys Jack Moorhouse
Dings Crusaders 21 – 34 Tonbridge Juddians (1 BP)
Shaftesbury Park Holly Wood
Leeds Tykes 8 – 20 Sedgley Park
The Sycamores Ben Rayner
(1 BP) Rosslyn Park 47 – 24 Birmingham Moseley
The Rock Ben Simpson
[ 20]
(1 BP) Rotherham Titans 71 – 12 Bishop's Stortford
Clifton Lane Ben Rayner
(1 BP) Sale FC 38 – 15 Leeds Tykes
Heywood Road George Ounsley
(1 BP) Sedgley Park 30 – 41 Clifton (1 BP)
Park Lane [ c] Samuel Yates
Birmingham Moseley 19 – 34 Dings Crusaders (1 BP)
Billesley Common David Charlton
(1 BP) Blackheath 27 – 31 Rosslyn Park (1 BP)
Well Hall Ben Simpson
(1 BP) Plymouth Albion 45 – 22 Leicester Lions (1 BP)
The Brickfields Adam Wookey
(1 BP) Rams 40 – 19 Tonbridge Juddians
Old Bath Road Callum Watson
[ 21]
Leicester Lions 25 – 41 Rotherham Titans (1 BP)
Westleigh Park [ d] Samuel Yates
(1 BP) Bishop's Stortford 15 – 20 Sedgley Park
Silver Leys Holly Wood
(1 BP) Clifton 17 – 24 Sale FC (1 BP)
Station Road [ e] Jack Moorhouse
(2 BP) Dings Crusaders 31 – 36 Blackheath (1 BP)
Shaftesbury Park George Ounsley
The Sycamores Timothy Allatt
(1 BP) Rosslyn Park 29 – 14 Plymouth Albion
The Rock Daniel Rowlands
(1 BP) Tonbridge Juddians 31 – 17 Birmingham Moseley
The Slade Alex Powdrell
[ 22]
(1 BP) Rotherham Titans 27 – 26 Rosslyn Park (2 BP)
Clifton Lane Ben Rayner
(1 BP) Sale FC 43 – 12 Bishop's Stortford
Heywood Road Alex Powdrell
(1 BP) Sedgley Park 52 – 29 Leicester Lions (1 BP)
Park Lane Jack Moorhouse
(1 BP) Blackheath 40 – 0 Tonbridge Juddians
Well Hall Samuel Yates
Leeds Tykes 27 – 24 Clifton (2 BP)
The Sycamores Ben Simpson
(1 BP) Plymouth Albion 64 – 17 Dings Crusaders
Brickfields Holly Wood
(1 BP) Rams 31 – 28 Birmingham Moseley (2 BP)
Old Bath Road Daniel Rowlands
[ 23]
(1 BP) Leicester Lions 35 – 31 Sale FC (2 BP)
Westleigh Park Timothy Allatt
(1 BP) Birmingham Moseley 32 – 19 Blackheath
Billesley Common Jack Moorhouse
(1 BP) Bishop's Stortford 36 – 46 Leeds Tykes (1 BP)
Silver Leys George Ounsley
(1 BP) Clifton 14 – 21 Rams
Station Road [ f] Ben Rayner
(1 BP) Rosslyn Park 68 – 19 Sedgley Park
The Rock Holly Wood
(1 BP) Tonbridge Juddians 35 – 25 Plymouth Albion (1 BP)
The Slade Callum Watson
(1 BP) Dings Crusaders 50 – 31 Rotherham Titans (1 BP)
Shaftesbury Park Alex Powdrell
[ 24]
(1 BP) Rotherham Titans 38 – 28 Tonbridge Juddians (1 BP)
Clifton Lane Ben Rayner
(1 BP) Sale FC 24 – 27 Rosslyn Park (1 BP)
Heywood Road George Ounsley
(1 BP) Sedgley Park 29 – 22 Dings Crusaders (2 BP)
Park Lane Callum Watson
(1 BP) Clifton 55 – 29 Bishop's Stortford (1 BP)
Station Road Timothy Allatt
(1 BP) Leeds Tykes 19 – 24 Leicester Lions (1 BP)
The Sycamores Daniel Rowlands
Rams 7 – 26 Blackheath (1 BP)
Old Bath Road Ben Simpson
(1 BP) Plymouth Albion 36 – 21 Birmingham Moseley
Brickfields Adam Wookey
[ 25]
(2 BP) Leicester Lions 26 – 29 Clifton (1 BP)
Westleigh Park Ben Rayner
(1 BP) Tonbridge Juddians 56 – 0 Sedgley Park
The Slade Holly Wood
Birmingham Moseley 15 – 33 Rotherham Titans
Billesley Common Jack Moorhouse
(1 BP) Bishop's Stortford 36 – 29 Rams (2 BP)
Silver Leys Callum Watson
(1 BP) Blackheath 40 – 28 Plymouth Albion (1 BP)
Well Hall George Ounsley
Dings Crusaders 12 – 58 Sale FC (1 BP)
Shaftesbury Park Ben Simpson
(1 BP) Rosslyn Park 53 – 17 Leeds Tykes
The Rock Daniel Rowlands
[ 26]
Rotherham Titans 24 – 19 Blackheath (1 BP)
Clifton Lane Ben Simpson
(1 BP) Leeds Tykes 26 – 17 Dings Crusaders
The Sycamores Alex Powdrell
(1 BP) Sale FC 33 – 26 Tonbridge Juddians (2 BP)
Heywood Road Jack Moorhouse
(1 BP) Sedgley Park 28 – 27 Birmingham Moseley (2 BP)
Park Lane Samuel Yates
(1 BP) Bishop's Stortford 48 – 29 Leicester Lions (1 BP)
Silver Leys Callum Watson
(1 BP) Clifton 37 – 29 Rosslyn Park (1 BP)
Station Road Adam Wookey
Rams 15 – 34 Plymouth Albion (1 BP)
Old Bath Road Ben Rayner
[ 27]
Leicester Lions 24 – 38 Rams (1 BP)
Westleigh Park Adam Wookey
(2 BP) Tonbridge Juddians 31 – 38 Leeds Tykes (1 BP)
The Slade Alan Chandrachad
(1 BP) Birmingham Moseley 13 – 15 Sale FC
Billesley Common George Ounsley
(1 BP) Blackheath 31 – 3 Sedgley Park
Well Hall Alex Powdrell
(1 BP) Dings Crusaders 24 – 35 Clifton (1 BP)
Shaftesbury Park Jack Moorhouse
Plymouth Albion 22 – 21 Rotherham Titans (1 BP)
Brickfields Daniel Rowlands
(1 BP) Rosslyn Park 27 – 28 Bishop's Stortford (1 BP)
The Rock Samuel Yates
[ 28]
Leicester Lions v Rosslyn Park
Leeds Tykes v Birmingham Moseley
Sedgley Park v Plymouth Albion
Bishop's Stortford v Dings Crusaders
Clifton v Tonbridge Juddians
[ 29]
Rotherham Titans v Sedgley Park
Tonbridge Juddians v Bishop's Stortford
Birmingham Moseley v Clifton
Dings Crusaders v Leicester Lions
[ 30]
Rosslyn Park v Tonbridge Juddians
Leicester Lions v Birmingham Moseley
Bishop's Stortford v Blackheath
Leeds Tykes v Rotherham Titans
[ 31]
Club Home Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity Birmingham Moseley 5 3,253 651 880 388 13% Bishop's Stortford 6 2,716 453 543 367 28% Blackheath 5 3,024 605 854 450 37% Clifton 6 2,611 435 560 295 17% Ding's Crusaders 5 2,549 510 700 301 23% Leeds Tykes 6 2,145 358 537 284 24% Leicester Lions 6 1,582 264 324 223 13% Plymouth Albion 5 8,748 1,750 2,027 1,419 21% Rams 5 4,356 871 1,054 702 44% Rosslyn Park 6 3,553 592 680 449 30% Rotherham Titans 5 3,669 734 1,260 415 29% Sale FC 6 4,727 788 830 723 23% Sedgley Park 6 2,048 341 389 298 11% Tonbridge Juddians 5 1,414 283 322 193 19%
[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 25] [ 26] [ 27] [ 28]
Individual statistics [ edit ] Rank Player Team Points 1 Richard Hayes Rotherham Titans 114 2 William Harding Blackheath 110 3 Connor Lloyd Tonbridge Juddians 93 4 Francisco Diaz Dart Plymouth Albion 89 5 Luke Bouchier Leicester Lions 74 6 Oliver Glasse Sedgley Park 68 7 Luke Mehson Rosslyn Park 65 8 Joseph Green Sale FC 62 8 Ed Dunford Blackheath 60 9 Michael Cooke Rams 53
[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 25] [ 26] [ 27] [ 28]
Rank Player Team Tries 1 William Harding Blackheath 22 2 Luke Mehson Rosslyn Park 13 3 Jackson Barling Rotherham Titans 11 4 Morgan MacRae Rams 10 5 Morgan Veness Rotherham Titans 9 Charlie Walker Rosslyn Park Robert Wigginton Plymouth Albion 6 Curtis Barnes Tonbridge Juddians 8 Connor Lloyd Tonbridge Juddians Shea Cornish Plymouth Albion Harry Rowson Dings Crusaders
[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 25] [ 26] [ 27] [ 28]
^ Leeds Tykes will also play one home game at the 19,700 capacityHeadingley Stadium inLeeds . ^ Typically the 12th placed team would be relegated butLeicester Lions avoided relegation from the2024–25 National League 1 due to theRFU Championship expanding from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2025–26 season.[ 9] ^ The Rugby Paper gave 2 attendances for Sedgley Park's home game versus Clifton on 27 September 2025 - 350 on the match report and 400 on the results page. The match report figure will be used until further notice. ^ The Rugby Paper gave 2 attendances for Leicester Lions home game versus Rotherham Titans on 4 October 2025 - 227 on the match report and 278 on the results page. The match report figure will be used until further notice. ^ The Rugby Paper gave 2 attendances for Clifton's home game versus Sale FC on 4 October 2025 - 432 on the match report and 300 on the results page. The match report figure will be used until further notice. ^ The Rugby Paper gave 2 attendances for Clifton's home game versus Rams on 18 October 2025 - 500 on the match report and 560 on the results page. The results figure will be used until further notice as it is more specific. ^ "Extra drama added at both ends as RFU unveil new-look Champ Rugby" .www.rugbypass.com . 2025-05-15. Retrieved2025-05-17 .^ "RFU Council confirm three teams will be relegated from National One" .National League Rugby . Retrieved29 April 2023 .^ "Contact us" .Moseley Rugby . Retrieved22 June 2023 .^ "Silver Leys" .Bishop Stortford RFC . Retrieved22 June 2023 .^ "Station Road" .Clifton Rugby Club . Retrieved10 June 2023 .^ "Clifton Crowned National Two West Champions!" . Clifton RFC. 28 April 2025.^ "Shaftsbury Park" .Dings Crusaders RFC . Retrieved10 June 2023 .^ "Leeds Tykes prove to be made of 'the right stuff' as tougher tests await in National One" . Yorkshire Evening Post. 11 April 2025.^ "Promotion/Relegation 2024-25" . London & SE Division Rugby Football Union. 2 March 2025.^ "Contact Us" .Plymouth Albion RFC . Retrieved22 June 2023 .^ "Rams Rugby Club" .Rams Rugby Football Club . Retrieved22 June 2023 .^ "Rams would be happy to play in RFU's new Tier 2".The RugbyPaper . No. 802. 28 January 2024. p. 1-2. ^ "Clifton Lane: The Perfect Function Room Venue" .Titans Rugby . Retrieved13 June 2023 .^ "Contact Us" .SaleFC . Retrieved22 June 2023 .^ "Park Lane - Sedgley Park RUFC" .UK Events . Retrieved23 June 2023 .^ "Round 25 Takeaways: Leicester Lions roar, Hull + Billingham boost hopes, TJs are the champs and Clifton + Camborne survive scares" . NCA Rugby. 13 April 2025.^ "National League 1" .NCA Rugby .^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 886. 7 September 2025. pp. 22– 23, 31. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 887. 14 September 2025. pp. 22– 23, 31. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 888. 21 September 2025. pp. 24– 25, 33. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 889. 28 September 2025. pp. 24– 25, 35. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 890. 5 October 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 891. 12 October 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 892. 19 October 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 893. 26 October 2025. pp. 28– 29, 37. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 895. 9 November 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 896. 16 November 2025. pp. 28– 29, 37. ^a b c d "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 897. 23 November 2025. pp. 22– 23, 31. ^ "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 899. 7 December 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35. ^ "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 900. 14 December 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35. ^ "Results".The RugbyPaper . No. 901. 21 December 2025. pp. 26– 27, 35.
2025–26 teams Former clubs Seasons
National Division Three National League One National Division Two National League One National League 1
Governing body National teams
International competitions
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