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(Top) 1 Participating teams 2 Table 3 Promotion play–offs 3.1 First leg 3.2 Second leg 4 Individual statistics 4.1 Top points scorers 4.2 Top try scorers 5 Season records 5.1 Team 5.2 Player 5.3 Attendances 6 See also 7 References

1996–97 Courage League National Division Two

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1996–97 Courage League National Division Two
Countries	England
Champions	Richmond (1st title)
Runners-up	Newcastle Falcons
Relegated	Rugby Lions and Nottingham
Matches played	132
Highest attendance	8,000 Coventry at home to Newcastle Falcons on 2 November 1996
Top point scorer	Simon Mason, (Richmond) 334 points
Top try scorer	John Bentley, (Newcastle Falcons) 23 tries^[1]
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Courage League National Division Two was the tenth full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship and was season that saw professional rugby openly introduced into the English game. Joining the eight teams who participated in the division in 1995–96 were Richmond, Coventry, Rugby and Rotherham all of whom were promoted from National Division Three with no teams coming down from National Division One due to league restructuring. The league was sponsored by Courage Brewery for the tenth consecutive year.

The top two teams, Richmond and Newcastle Falcons were automatically promoted, and for the first time there were play–offs between the third and fourth placed teams, and the ninth and tenth placed teams in Division One, for a place in the top tier for season 1997–98.^[2] The Division Two sides played at home first with the winners of the two matches, on aggregate score, playing in the top division the following season. Coventry and Bedford both failed to win promotion. Rugby Lions and Nottingham were relegated to Division 3 for the 1997–98 season. Last season Nottingham finished in the bottom two and escaped relegation due to the division being increased from ten clubs to twelve clubs. This season they were not so lucky and next season will be their first in Division Three.^[3]

Participating teams[edit]

London

London teams:
Blackheath
London Scottish
Richmond

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Locations of the 1996–97 Courage League National Division Two teams

Blackheath

London Scottish
Richmond

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Greater London Courage League National Division Two clubs

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
Bedford	Goldington Road	7,000	Bedford, Bedfordshire
Blackheath	Rectory Field	6,000	Greenwich, London
Coventry	Coundon Road	9,000+	Coventry, West Midlands
London Scottish	Athletic Ground	4,500	Richmond, London
Moseley	The Reddings	10,000 (est)	Birmingham, West Midlands
Newcastle Falcons	Kingston Park	10,000	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Nottingham	Ireland Avenue	4,950	Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Richmond	Athletic Ground	4,500	Richmond, London
Rotherham	Clifton Lane	2,500	Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Rugby	Webb Ellis Road	1,000	Rugby, Warwickshire
Wakefield	College Grove	3,000	Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Waterloo	St Anthony's Road	9,000	Blundellsands, Merseyside

Table[edit]

1996–97 Courage League National Division Two table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Richmond (C)	22	19	2	1	986	410	+576	40	Promoted
2	Newcastle Falcons	22	19	1	2	1255	346	+909	39	Promoted
3	Coventry	22	16	1	5	738	394	+344	33	Promotion play–offs
4	Bedford	22	15	0	7	720	482	+238	30	Promotion play–offs
5	London Scottish	22	11	0	11	549	568	−19	22
6	Wakefield	22	11	0	11	504	557	−53	22
7	Rotherham	22	10	0	12	525	661	−136	20
8	Moseley	22	9	0	13	492	741	−249	18
9	Waterloo	22	8	0	14	506	661	−155	16
10	Blackheath	22	7	0	15	412	641	−229	14
11	Rugby Lions	22	3	0	19	317	1060	−743	6	Relegated
12	Nottingham	22	2	0	20	344	827	−483	4	Relegated

Source: ^[2]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows:

two points for a win

one point for a draw

no points for a loss

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

difference between points for and against
total number of points for
(C) Champions

Promotion play–offs[edit]

For the first time play–offs took place between the third and fourth placed teams in Division Two and the ninth and tenth placed teams in Division One. The play–offs followed a 4th v 9th, 3rd v 10th system - with the games being played over two legs and the second-tier team playing at home in the first leg.^[3]

First leg[edit]

7 May 1997

Bedford	11 – 20	Bristol

Goldington Road

7 May 1997

Coventry	16 – 14	London Irish

Coundon Road

Second leg[edit]

11 May 1997

Bristol	19 – 12	Bedford

Memorial Ground

Bristol won 39 – 23 on aggregate to retain their place in Division One

11 May 1997

London Irish	28 – 7	Coventry

The Avenue

London Irish won 42 – 23 on aggregate to retain their place in Division One

Individual statistics[edit]

Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.

Top points scorers[edit]

Rank	Player	Team	Appearances	Points
1	Simon Mason	Richmond	22	324
2	Rob Andrew	Newcastle Falcons	22	297
3	John Steele	London Scottish	18	256
4	Mike Rayer	Bedford	21	238
5	Jez Harris	Coventry	20	236
6	Mike Jackson	Wakefield	19	199
7	Richard Le Bas	Moseley	14	177
8	Chris Braithwaite	Blackheath	14	137
9	Tim Stimpson	Newcastle Falcons	21	116
10	John Bentley	Newcastle Falcons	18	115

^[4]

Top try scorers[edit]

Rank	Player	Team	Appearances	Tries
1	John Bentley	Newcastle Falcons	18	23
2	Gary Armstrong	Newcastle Falcons	21	21
2	Scott Quinnell	Richmond	21	21
3	Jim Fallon	Richmond	21	19
4	Andy Smallwood	Coventry	20	17
5	Pat Lam	Newcastle Falcons	11	15
5	Darragh O'Mahony	Moseley	13	15
6	Andy McAdam	Coventry	18	14
6	Tim Stimpson	Newcastle Falcons	18	14
7	Ben Whetstone	Bedford	18	13
7	Guy Easterby	Rotherham	21	13

^[5]

Season records[edit]

Team[edit]

Largest home win — 151 pts

156 - 5 Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996

Largest away win — 72 pts

87 - 15 Richmond away to Moseley on 5 October 1996

Most points scored — 151 pts

156 - 5 Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996

Most tries in a match — 24

Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996

Most conversions in a match — 18

Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996

Most penalties in a match — 7

Rotherham away to Richmond on 14 September 1996

Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x3)

Coventry at home to Wakefield on 21 September 1996
London Scottish away to Blackheath on 8 February 1997
Blackheath at home to Nottingham on 22 March 1997

^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

Player[edit]

Most points in a match — 42

Jez Harris for Coventry at home to Nottingham on 5 October 1996

Most tries in a match — 5

Pat Lam for Newcastle Falcons at home to Rotherham on 4 May 1997

Most conversions in a match — 18

Rob Andrew for Newcastle Falcons at home to Rugby Lions on 5 October 1996

Most penalties in a match — 7

Matt Inman for Rotherham away to Richmond on 14 September 1996

Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x2)

Jez Harris for Coventry at home to Wakefield on 21 September 1996
Chris Braithwaite for Blackheath at home to Nottingham on 22 March 1997

^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]

Attendances[edit]

Note that attendances were very poorly documented this season and aside from a few big games there is almost no information available

Highest — 8,000

Coventry at home to Newcastle Falcons on 2 November 1996^[15]^[16]

Lowest — N/A

N/A

Highest Average Attendance — N/A

N/A

Lowest Average Attendance — N/A

N/A

^[17]

References[edit]

^ Stephen McCormack, ed. (2000). The Official RFU Club Directory 2000–2001. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press.

^ ^a ^b "Courage League Championship 1996/97". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 8 August 2012.

^ ^a ^b Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0 7472 7732 X.

^ "National Two 96/97 Leading points scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Leading try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most tries in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most conversions in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most penalties in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most drop goals in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most conversions in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most penalties in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "National Two 96/97 Most drop goals in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

^ "Rugby Union: Harris has the drop on tough Newcastle". The Independent. 4 November 1996. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01.

^ "Falcons in Division Two 1996/97". thesouthstandchoir.wordpress.com. 9 August 2012.

^ "National Two 96/97 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker. 11 May 1997.

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