| Founded | 1987; 38 years ago (1987) |
|---|---|
| Country |  England |
| Number of clubs | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | Level 4 |
| Promotion to | National League 1 |
| Relegation to |
|
| Current champions | Leeds Tykes (1st title) (2024–25 promoted toNational One) |
| Most championships | Hull Ionians,Macclesfield (3 titles) |
| Website | [1] |
| Current:2025–26 National League 2 North | |
National League 2 North is one of three level four leagues in theEnglish rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams inNorthern England. The remainder of England is covered by the two counterpart leaguesNational League 2 East andNational League 2 West. The champion club is promoted toNational One. Relegation is to either theRegional 1 Midlands,Regional 1 North East orRegional 1 North West, depending on their location.Rotherham Titans are the current champions.
Before September 2009, it was known as National Division Three North. From 2009 to 2010 theRugby Football Union (RFU) expanded the league from fourteen to sixteen teams. Each team played thirty league games on a home and away basis. The2019–20 season ended before all the matches were completed because of thecoronavirus pandemic and the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table.[1]
The RFU approved a new structure for the National Leagues from the2022–23 season. The league is reduced to fourteen teams, there will be a two-week break over Christmas and protected weekend breaks through the season. The competition structure will be reviewed every three years.[2]
The league consists of fourteen teams and each play the others on a home and away basis, to make a total of 26 matches each. The champions are promoted toNational League 1. The RFU will release details of relegation in the summer.
The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 418 | 161 | +257 | 9 | 0 | 49 | Promotion place |
| 2 | Darlington Mowden Park | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 418 | 302 | +116 | 9 | 0 | 47 | |
| 3 | Macclesfield | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 471 | 296 | +175 | 8 | 1 | 45 | |
| 4 | Tynedale | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 389 | 253 | +136 | 8 | 2 | 42 | |
| 5 | Fylde | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 310 | 268 | +42 | 4 | 1 | 37 | |
| 6 | Hull Ionians | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 341 | 256 | +85 | 8 | 2 | 36 | |
| 7 | Billingham | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 272 | 386 | −114 | 7 | 0 | 27 | |
| 8 | Otley | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 338 | 353 | −15 | 7 | 4 | 27 | |
| 9 | Wharfedale | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 315 | 330 | −15 | 6 | 5 | 27 | |
| 10 | Sheffield Tigers | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 270 | 310 | −40 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| 11 | Preston Grasshoppers | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 322 | 333 | −11 | 6 | 1 | 23 | |
| 12 | Rossendale | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 257 | 434 | −177 | 6 | 1 | 15 | |
| 13 | Hull | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 251 | 432 | −181 | 4 | 4 | 12 | Relegation place |
| 14 | Scunthorpe | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 196 | 454 | −258 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| ||||||||||||||
| Season | No of teams | Champions | Runner–up | Relegated teams | League name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | 11 | Rugby | Durham City | Solihull,Derby,Birkenhead Park | Area League North | |||||||||
| 1988–89 | 11 | Roundhay | Broughton Park | Birmingham | Area League North | |||||||||
| 1989–90 | 11 | Broughton Park | Morley | No relegation[b] | Area League North | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | 13 | Otley | Lichfield | Birmingham & Solihull,Stoke-on-Trent | National 4 North | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | 13 | Aspatria | Hereford | Vale of Lune,Northern | National 4 North | |||||||||
| 1992–93 | 13 | Harrogate | Rotherham | Towcestrians | National 4 North | |||||||||
| 1993–94 | 10 | Clifton | Harrogate | Sheffield (to 5 North),Sudbury (to 5 South) | Courage National League 4[c] | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | 10 | Rotherham | Reading | Askeans (to 5 South),Broughton Park (to 5 North) | Courage National League 4 | |||||||||
| 1995–96 | 10 | Exeter | London Welsh[d] | Aspatria (to 4 North),Plymouth Albion (to 4 South) | Courage National League 4 | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | 14 | Worcester | Birmingham & Solihull | Stoke-on-Trent,Hereford | National 4 North | |||||||||
| 1997–98 | 14 | Birmingham & Solihull | Manchester | No relegation | National 2 North | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | 14 | Preston Grasshoppers | Stourbridge | Winnington Park,Lichfield,Hinckley | National 2 North | |||||||||
| 1999–00 | 14 | Kendal | Stourbridge | Sheffield | National 2 North | |||||||||
| 2000–01 | 14 | Stourbridge | Sedgley Park | Walsall,Aspatria | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | 14 | Doncaster | Dudley Kingswinford | Whitchurch,Morley,Sandal,West Hartlepool | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | 14 | Nuneaton | New Brighton | Bedford Athletic,Broadstreet,Hull Ionians,Scunthorpe | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | 14 | Waterloo | Halifax | Preston Grasshoppers,Liverpool St Helens,Longton | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | 14 | Halifax | Macclesfield | Rugby Lions,Dudley Kingswinford,Bedford Athletic | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | 14 | Bradford & Bingley | Nuneaton | New Brighton,Kendal | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | 14 | Blaydon | Tynedale | Darlington,Cleckheaton,Orrell | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | 14 | Tynedale | Darlington Mowden Park | Morley,West Park St Helens,Beverley | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | 14 | Nuneaton | Caldy | Darlington Mowden Park,Halifax | National 3 North | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | 16 | Macclesfield | Loughborough Students | Waterloo,Bradford & Bingley | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | 16 | Fylde | Loughborough Students | Morley,Rugby Lions,Manchester | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | 16 | Loughborough Students | Caldy | Harrogate,Nuneaton,Kendal | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | 16 | Hull Ionians | Stourbridge | Westoe,Stockport,Huddersfield | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | 16 | Macclesfield | Darlington Mowden Park | Sheffield Tigers,Bromsgrove,Dudley Kingswinford | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2014–15 | 16 | Hull Ionians | Ampthill | Birmingham & Solihull,Hull,Stockport | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2015–16 | 16 | Macclesfield | Sedgley Park | Huddersfield,Broadstreet,Sandal | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | 16 | Caldy | Sale | Preston Grasshoppers,Scunthorpe,Harrogate | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2017–18 | 16 | Sale FC | Sedgley Park | Sheffield,Blaydon,Luctonians | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | 16 | Hull Ionians | Chester | Peterborough Lions,South Leicester,Macclesfield | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | 16 | Caldy | Fylde | Scunthorpe,Preston Grasshoppers,Otley | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | 16 | Cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. | National League 2 North | |||||||||||
| 2021–22 | 16 | Hull | Sedgley Park | No relegation owing to league reorganisation | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | 14 | Sedgley Park | Fylde | Blaydon andHarrogate | National League 2 North[15] | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | 14 | Rotherham Titans | Leeds Tykes | Huddersfield[e] | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | 14 | Leeds Tykes | Sheffield | Harrogate[f] | National League 2 North | |||||||||
| 2025–26 | 14 | National League 2 North | ||||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
Until the 2018–19 season, there was a play-off between the league runners-up of National League 2 North andNational League 2 South, for the third and final promotion place toNational League 1. The team with the superior league record having home advantage in the tie. Southern teams have been more successful with fourteen wins to the northern teams four, while the home side has won thirteen teams to the away sides five.
| ||||||||||||||
| Season | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Attendance | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01[17] | Sedgley Park (N) | 40–23 | Launceston (S) | Park Lane,Whitefield,Greater Manchester | 1,500 | |||||||||
| 2001–02[18] | Launceston (S) | 26–0 | Dudley Kingswinford (N) | Polson Bridge,Launceston,Cornwall | 2,500 | |||||||||
| 2002–03[19] | Lydney (S) | 21–7 | New Brighton (N) | Regentsholme,Lydney,Gloucestershire | ||||||||||
| 2003–04[20][21] | Halifax (N) | 16–18 | Launceston (S) | Ovenden Park,Halifax,West Yorkshire | ||||||||||
| 2004-05[22] | Redruth (S) | 33–14 | Macclesfield (N) | The Recreation Ground,Redruth,Cornwall | 4,000 | |||||||||
| 2005–06[23][24] | North Walsham (S) | 5–15 | Nuneaton (N) | Norwich Road,Scottow,Norfolk | 1,302 | |||||||||
| 2006–07[25][26] | Westcombe Park (S) | 36–20 | Tynedale (N) | Goddington Dene,Orpington,Greater London | 1,700[27] | |||||||||
| 2007–08[28][29] | Cinderford (S) | 15–14 | Darlington Mowden Park (N) | Dockham Road,Cinderford,Gloucestershire | 2,800 | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | No promotion play-offs this season due to the restructuring of the English rugby union league system, with only the champions of each division promoted.[30] | |||||||||||||
| 2009–10[31][32] | Loughborough Students (N) | 21–43 | Rosslyn Park (S) | Loughborough University Stadium,Loughborough,Leicestershire | 1,000 | |||||||||
| 2010–11[33][34] | Jersey (S) | 30–5 | Loughborough Students (N) | St. Peter,Saint Peter,Jersey | 3,100 | |||||||||
| 2011–12[35][36] | Richmond (S) | 20–13 (aet) | Caldy (N) | Athletic Ground,Richmond,Greater London | 1,600 | |||||||||
| 2012–13[37] | Stourbridge (N) | 26–28 | Worthing Raiders (S) | Stourton Park,Stourbridge,West Midlands | 925 | |||||||||
| 2013–14[38] | Darlington Mowden Park (N) | 30–28 (aet) | Ampthill (S) | The Northern Echo Arena,Darlington,County Durham | 975 | |||||||||
| 2014–15[39][40] | Ampthill (N) | 19–10 | Bishop's Stortford (S) | Dillingham Park,Ampthill,Bedfordshire | 1,253 | |||||||||
| 2015–16[41][42] | Old Albanian (S) | 24–0 | Sedgley Park (N) | Woollam Playing Fields,St Albans,Hertfordshire | 473 | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | Sale FC (N) | 14–19 | Old Elthamians (S) | Heywood Road,Sale,Greater Manchester | 1,297 | |||||||||
| 2017–18 | Chinnor (S) | 40–31 | Sedgley Park (N) | Kingsey Road,Thame,Oxfordshire | 1,378 | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Canterbury (S) | 19–10 | Chester (N) | The Marine Travel Ground,Canterbury,Kent | 1,114 | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner-up –Tonbridge Juddians (S) promoted. | |||||||||||||
| 2020–21 | Cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. | |||||||||||||
| 2021–22 | Cancelled due the reorganisation of tier three and four national leagues. | |||||||||||||
| Green background represent the promoted teams. (N) stands for the northern teams and (S) stands for the southern teams. | ||||||||||||||
When club rugby began in 1987 this division was called Area 4 North and contained the following teams:
| |||||||||||||
| Year | Name | No of teams | No of matches | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–93 | Area League North Area League South | 11 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 1993–96 | National Division Four | 10 | 18 | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | National Four North National Four South | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 1997–00 | National Division 2 North National Division 2 South | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 2000–09 | National Division Three North National Division Three South | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 2009–22 | National League 2 North National League 2 South | 16 | 30 | ||||||||||
| 2022– | National Two East National Two North National Two West | 14 | 26 | ||||||||||
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 northern 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 2019–20 season.
Tom Rhodes forBradford & Bingley (2004–05,2005–06)Chris Johnson forHuddersfield (2010–11,2011–12)Lewis Mininkin forHull Ionians (2015–16,2018–19)
Gavin Roberts forCaldy (2008–09,2019–20)Gareth Collins forLeicester Lions (2010–11)Ryan Parkinson forMacclesfield (2013–14)Nick Royle forCaldy (2016–17)Ross Winney forMacclesfield away toWaterloo on 30 January 2010 (2009–10)Lewis Minikin forHull Ionians at home toHuddersfield on 27 April 2024 (2023–24)Anthony Mellalieu forBlaydon at home toOrrell on 24 March 2007 (2006–07)Matt Donkin forDoncaster at home toWhitchurch on 10 November 2001 (2001–02)Nick Royle forFylde away toOrrell on 31 March 2007 (2006–07)Dominic Moon forPreston Grasshoppers at home toOtley on 14 April 2012 (2011–12)Louis Silver forLuctonians at home toBirmingham & Solihull on 15 November 2015 (2014–15)Mike Scott for Fylde at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 7 January 2006 (2005–06)Rickie Aley forNuneaton at home to Macclesfield on 11 October 2008 and away to Bradford & Bingley on 29 November 2008 (both2008–09)Tom Barrett for Wharfedale at home to Scunthorpe on 19 November 2016 and at home to Luctonians on 28 January 2017 (both2016–17)| Rank | Nat | Name | Years | Club(s) | Points | Apps | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Jon Boden | 2006–18 | Leicester Lions | 2,059 | 277 | 7.4 |
| 2 | | Chris Johnson | 2008–12, 2018–19 2016–18 | Huddersfield Sale | 1,927 | 187 | 10.3 |
| 3 | | Mark Ireland | 2009–12 2013–14 2017– | Kendal Otley Sheffield Tigers | 1,479 | 159 | 9.3 |
| 4 | | Stephen Collins | 2010–11 2013– | Fylde Sedgley Park | 1,470 | 159 | 9.2 |
| 5 | | Richard Vasey | 2009–17 | Caldy | 1,449 | 158 | 9.2 |
| 6 | | Ross Winney | 2005–10 | Macclesfield | 1,290 | 126 | 10 |
| 7 | | Gavin Roberts | 2007–17, 2019– | Caldy | 1,284 | 232 | 5.5 |
| 8 | | Rickie Aley | 2008–09 2015–18 2018– | Nuneaton South Leicester Stourbridge | 1,126 | 110 | 10.2 |
| 9 | | Phillip Belgian | 2001–08 | Tynedale | 1,070 | 116 | 9 |
| 10 | | Mark Bedworth | 2001–05 2010–12 | Darlington Mowden Park Westoe | 1,052 | 120 | 9 |
(Bold denotes players still playing in National League 2 North.)
| Rank | Nat | Name | Years | Club(s) | Tries | Apps | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Nick Royle | 2003–04 2005–11 2014–17, 2019– | Liverpool St Helens Fylde Caldy | 193 | 212 | 0.9 |
| 2 | | Jamie Broadley | 2009–11 2011–12, 2016– 2014-15 | Harrogate Sheffield Tigers Hull | 157 | 190 | 0.8 |
| 3 | | Gareth Collins | 2004–05 2005–14 | Rugby Lions Leicester Lions | 152 | 229 | 0.7 |
| 4 | | Andrew Riley | 2013– | Sedgley Park | 122 | 171 | 0.7 |
| 5 | | Gavin Roberts | 2007–17 | Caldy | 114 | 232 | 0.5 |
| 6 | | Oliver Brennand | 2004–11 | Fylde | 96 | 102 | 0.9 |
| 7 | | Devon Constant | 2014–19 | Leicester Lions | 88 | 135 | 0.7 |
| 8 | | Andrew Soutar | 2006–-08 2008–17 | West Park St Helens Caldy | 83 | 281 | 0.3 |
| 9 | | Peter Swatkins | 2011– | Sheffield Tigers | 82 | 148 | 0.6 |
| Craig Ross | 2007–08, 2009–11, 2013–14 2014– | Caldy Chester | 82 | 165 | 0.5 | |
| Nicholas Sharpe | 2006–07 2008–13, 2014–16, 2017– | Rugby Lions Huddersfield | 82 | 261 | 0.3 |
(Bold denotes players still playing in National League 2 North.)
| Governing body |
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| National teams |
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| International competitions |
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| Competition divisions |
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| European competitions | |||||
| National competitions | |||||
| London and South East competitions |
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| Midland competitions |
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| Northern competitions |
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| South West competitions |
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| County competitions | |||||
| Discontinued competitions | |||||
| Related articles | |||||
| Other | |||||
