1988–89 National Division 3

1988–89 National Division 3
Countries England
DateSeptember 1988 – April 1989
ChampionsPlymouth (1st title)
Runners-upRugby (also promoted)
RelegatedMetropolitan Police
Maidstone
Matches played66
Top point scorer123 – Chris Howard (Rugby)[1]
Top try scorer8 – Dave Scully (Wakefield)
Steve Walklin (Plymouth)[1]

The 1988–89 National Division 3 (sponsored by Courage Brewery) was the second season of the third tier of the English rugby union league system, the Courage Clubs Championship, currently known as National League 1. New clubs to the division included Askeans and Rugby who were promoted from tier 4 and there was no relegation from tier 2 at the end of the previous season.

Plymouth Albion won all their eleven matches and won promotion to the 1989–90 National Division 2. Rugby Lions finished second, winning ten of their eleven matches, and were also promoted. Metropolitan Police and Maidstone finished in the bottom two places and both clubs were relegated to the 1989–90 Area League South with Metropolitan Police relegated on points difference and Maidstone losing all of their matches.[2]

Structure

Each team played one match against each of the other teams, playing a total of eleven matches each, and for the first time matches were played on fixed Saturdays. The top two clubs were promoted to National Division 2 and the bottom two relegated to Area League North or Area League South depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

1988–89 National Division 3 teams in England
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area Previous season
Askeans Broad Walk 1,500 (300 seats)[3] Kidbrooke, London Promoted from Area South (1st)
Exeter County Ground 5,750 (750 seats)[4] Exeter, Devon 9th
Fylde Woodlands 7,500 (500 seats)[5] Lytham St Annes, Lancashire 6th
Maidstone William Davey Memorial 2,000 (100 seats)[6] Maidstone, Kent 8th
Metropolitan Police Imber Court 3,500 (500 seats)[7] East Molesey, Surrey 7th
Nuneaton Harry Cleaver Ground 5,000 (650 seats)[8] Nuneaton, Warwickshire 10th
Plymouth Albion Beacon Park 1,950 (450 seats)[9] Plymouth, Devon 3rd
Rugby Webb Ellis Road 3,200 (200 seats)[10][11] Rugby, Warwickshire Promoted from Area North (1st)
Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,300 (100 seats)[a] Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire 4th
Vale of Lune Powderhouse Lane 9,860 (360 seats)[13] Lancaster, Lancashire 5th
Wakefield College Grove 4,000 (500 seats)[14] Wakefield, West Yorkshire 1st (no promotion)
West Hartlepool Brierton Lane 4,950 (450 seats)[15] Hartlepool, Cleveland 2nd (no promotion)

[2]

League table

1988–89 National Division 3 table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Plymouth Albion (C) 11 11 0 0 311 89 +222 22 Promoted
2 Rugby 11 10 0 1 268 99 +169 20
3 Wakefield 11 9 0 2 282 114 +168 18
4 West Hartlepool 11 5 1 5 164 133 +31 11
5 Nuneaton 11 5 0 6 178 214 −36 10
6 Sheffield 11 4 1 6 170 182 −12 9
7 Vale of Lune 11 4 1 6 120 145 −25 9
8 Askeans 11 4 1 6 141 215 −74 9
9 Exeter 11 4 0 7 142 180 −38 8
10 Fylde 11 4 0 7 136 181 −45 8
11 Metropolitan Police 11 4 0 7 130 275 −145 8 Relegated
12 Maidstone 11 0 0 11 74 289 −215 0
Source: [16]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 2 pts for a win
  2. 1 pt for a draw
  3. 0 pts for a loss

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

  1. Difference between points for and against
    (C) Champions

Notes

  1. ^ Although a 1990 club estimate was 1,100 (100 seated and 1,000 standing) this is very conservative as Abbeydale Park would experience 3,000+ crowds several times in later history in what was a relatively unchanged ground.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ross Young, ed. (1993). "Season by Season Leading Scorers". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1993–94. Taunton: Tony Williams Publications. p. 52.
  2. ^ a b Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.
  3. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Askeans R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 130.
  4. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Exeter R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 138.
  5. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Fylde R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 142.
  6. ^ Ross Young, ed. (1993). "Maidstone FC (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1993–94. Taunton: Tony Williams Publications. p. 299.
  7. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Metropolitan Police R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 147.
  8. ^ Bill Mitchell, ed. (1994). "Nuneaton RFC (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1994–95. Taunton: Tony Williams Publications. p. 277.
  9. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Plymouth Albion RFC (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 109.
  10. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Rugby F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 116.
  11. ^ "Gloucester v. Leicester (PDF, opens in a new window)" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  12. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Sheffield R.U.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 162.
  13. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Vale of Lune R.U.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 164.
  14. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Wakefield R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 123.
  15. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "West Hartlepool R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 165.
  16. ^ "Courage Club Championship 1988–89". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
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