1995–96 National Division 3

1995–96 National Division 3
Countries England
ChampionsCoventry (2nd title)
Runners-upRichmond (also promoted)
Matches played90
Top point scorer215 Ralph Zoing (Harrogate)
Top try scorer12 Collin Phillips (Reading)[1]

The 1995–96 National Division 3 (sponsored by Courage Brewery) was the ninth season of the third tier of the English rugby union league system, the Courage Clubs Championship, currently known as National League 1. New teams to the division included Coventry and Fylde (relegated from tier 2) and Reading and Rotherham (promoted from tier 4).

Following relegation last season, Coventry won the division by three points to finish as champions. They would be joined in 1996–97 National Division 2 by runners up Richmond and, owing to an increase in the number of teams in the above divisions for the following season, 3rd place Rugby and 4th place Rotherham were also promoted. There was no relegation because National Division 3 will consist of sixteen teams next season.[2]

Structure

Each side played one another twice, in a round robin system, home and away, to make a total of eighteen matches for each team. There are usually two promotion places and two relegation places, with the champions and runner-up promoted to National Division 2 and the last two teams relegated to National Division 4. Owing to a reorganisation of the league system four teams are promoted and none relegated this season.[2]

Participating teams and locations

1995–96 National Division 3 teams in England
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area Previous season
Coventry Coundon Road 10,000 (1,100 seats)[3] Coventry, West Midlands Relegated from National 2 (10th)
Fylde Woodlands Memorial Ground 7,500 (500 seats)[4] Lytham St Annes, Lancashire Relegated from National 2 (9th)
Harrogate Claro Road 4,500 (500 seats)[5] Harrogate, North Yorkshire 7th
Morley Scatcherd Lane 6,000 (1,000 seats)[6] Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire 5th
Otley Cross Green 7,000 (852 seats)[7] Otley, West Yorkshire 6th
Reading Holme Park Reading, Berkshire Promoted from National 4 (1st)
Richmond Athletic Ground 7,300 (1,300 seats)[8] Richmond, London 8th
Rosslyn Park The Rock 4,630 (630 seats)[9] Roehampton, London 4th
Rotherham Clifton Lane 2,500 Rotherham, South Yorkshire Promoted from National 4 (2nd)
Rugby Webb Ellis Road 3,200 (200 seats)[10][11] Rugby, Warwickshire 3rd

League table

1995–96 National Division 3 table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Coventry (C) 18 15 0 3 524 264 +260 30 Promoted
2 Richmond 18 13 1 4 476 266 +210 27
3 Rugby 18 12 1 5 395 284 +111 25
4 Rotherham 18 12 0 6 384 368 +16 24
5 Morley 18 9 2 7 336 328 +8 20
6 Harrogate 18 6 3 9 333 387 −54 15
7 Otley 18 6 1 11 278 441 −163 13
8 Reading 18 5 1 12 397 484 −87 11
9 Rosslyn Park 18 3 2 13 290 426 −136 8
10 Fylde 18 3 1 14 283 448 −165 7
Source: [12]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows: 2 pts for a win, 1 pt for a draw, 0 pts for a loss. If teams are level at any stage, the following tiebreaker is applied: Difference between points for and against.
(C) Champions

See also

References

  1. ^ McCormack, Stephen (2000). The Official RFU Club Directory 2000–2001. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. pp. 313–319. ISBN 1 85291 627 3.
  2. ^ a b Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1996). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1996–97. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7472-7771-2.
  3. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Coventry F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 94.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Harrogate R.U.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 172.
  6. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Morley R.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 152.
  7. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Otley R.U.F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 178.
  8. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Richmond F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 112.
  9. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). "Rosslyn Park F.C. (Ground Details)". Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 74.
  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. ^ "Courage Clubs Championship 1995/96". Moseley Rugby Club. Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.