North Lancashire Division 2 was an English Rugby Union league for teams from North Lancashire. The division was initially known as North-West East 2 when it was created in 1987, and had a number of different names since with North Lancashire 2 being the longest running. Promotion from this division was into North Lancashire 1 but there was no relegation as this is the basement division of club rugby union in North Lancashire. This league, and the three other lowest level north west leagues, were replaced in 2015 by three county-specific leagues - Cheshire (South), Merseyside (West) and Lancashire (North).
Participating Clubs 2014-15 Bury Carnforth Clitheroe Colne & Nelson Crosby St Mary's Eagle Hutton (relegated from North Lancashire 1) Mossley Hill (relegated from North Lancashire 1) Newton-le-Willows Old Bedians Pendle
Participating Clubs 2013-14 Birchfield Broughton Bury (relegated from North Lancashire 1) Carnforth Clitheroe Colne & Nelson Crosby St Mary's Eagle Newton-le-Willows North Manchester (relegated from North Lancashire 1) Old Bedians Pendle
Participating Clubs 2012-13 Ashton-under-Lyne Birchfield Carnforth Chorley Clitheroe Colne & Nelson Crosby St Mary's Eagle Newton-le-Willows Old Bedians Pendle Thornton Cleveleys
Original teams When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams based in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire:
Bolton Broughton Bury Chorley Crewe & Nantwich Dunkinfield Greater Manchester Fire Service Manchester YMCA Marple Oldham College
North Lancashire 2 honours
North-West East 2 (1987–1992)
The original incarnation of North Lancashire 2 was known as North-West East 2, and was a tier 11 league with promotion up to North-West East 2. Initially, there was no relegation until the creation of North-West East 3 for the 1989–90 season.
North-West East 2 HonoursSeasonNo of TeamsChampionsRunners–upRelegated Teams 1987–88 10 Bolton Crewe & Nantwich No relegation 1988–89 12 Broughton Greater Manchester Fire Service Bowdon, Oldham College 1989–90 11 Ashton-under-Lyne Manchester YMCA Agecroft, North Manchester 1990–91 10 Calder Vale Bury Dukinfield, Lostock 1991–92 11 Marple Littleborough No relegation Green backgrounds are promotion places.
Lancashire North 2 (1992–1996)
North-West East 2 was renamed as Lancashire North 2 for the start of the 1992–93 season with promotion to Lancashire North 1 (formerly North-West East 1), while the cancellation of North-West East 3 meant there was no longer relegation. Initially a tier 11 league, the creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season saw Lancashire North 2 become a tier 12 league.
Lancashire North 2 HonoursSeasonNo of TeamsChampionsRunners–upRelegated Teams 1992–93 5 Clitheroe Dukinfield No relegation 1993–94 8 Heaton Moor North Manchester No relegation 1994–95 9 Eccles Littleborough No relegation 1995–96 9 Old Bedians Broughton No relegation Green backgrounds are promotion places.
North Lancashire 2 (1996–2000)
The league system was restructured from top to bottom by the Rugby Football Union for the start of the 1996–97 season. Lancashire North 2 was renamed as North Lancashire 2, and the cancellation of National 5 North and creation of North West 3 meant that it remained a tier 12 league. Promotion continued to North Lancashire 1 (formerly Lancashire North 1).
North Lancashire 2 HonoursSeasonNo of TeamsChampionsRunners–upRelegated Teams 1996–97 8 Oldham Eccles No relegation 1997–98 7 Colne & Nelson Chorley No relegation 1998–99 7 Burnage Thornton-Cleveleys No relegation 1999–00 7 Didsbury Toc H North Manchester No relegation Green backgrounds are promotion places.
North Lancashire 2 (2000–2015)
Northern league restructuring by the RFU at the end of the 1999–00 season saw the cancellation of North West 1, North West 2 and North West 3 (tiers 7-9). This meant that North Lancashire 2 became a tier 8 league, with promotion continuing to North Lancashire 1. North Lancashire 2 was cancelled at the end of the 2014–15 season as part of restructuring by the RFU who decided to break up the North Lancashire and South Lancs/Cheshire leagues into 3 different zones - Cheshire (South), Lancashire (North) and Merseyside (West).
North Lancashire 2 HonoursSeasonNo of TeamsChampionsRunners–upRelegated Teams 2000–01 9 Fylde Saracens Thornton-Cleveleys No relegation 2001–02 11 Ashton-Under-Lyne Littleborough No relegation 2002–03 8 West Park Warriors Chorley No relegation 2003–04 9 Tarleton Thornton-Cleveleys No relegation 2004–05 9 Old Bedians Colne & Nelson No relegation 2005–06 8 Birchfield Blackpool No relegation 2006–07 9 Ashton-Under-Lyne Garstang No relegation 2007–08 8 Furness Bury No relegation 2008–09 10 Hutton Windermere No relegation 2009–10 11 St. Edward's Old Boys Newton-le-Willows No relegation 2010–11 11 Windermere North Manchester No relegation 2011–12 12 Manchester Medics Mossley Hill No relegation 2012–13 12 Ashton-Under-Lyne Thornton-Cleveleys No relegation 2013–14 12 North Manchester Eagle No relegation 2014–15 9 Pendle Eagle No relegation Green backgrounds are promotion places.
Number of league titles
Ashton-under-Lyne (4) Old Bedians (2) Birchfield (1) Bolton (1) Broughton (1) Burnage (1) Calder Vale (1) Clitheroe (1) Colne & Nelson (1) Didsbury Toc H (1) Eccles (1) Furness (1) Fylde Saracens (1) Heaton Moor (1) Manchester Medics (1) Marple (1) North Manchester (1) Oldham (1) Pendle (1) St. Edward's Old Boys (1) Tarleton (1) West Park Warriors (1) Windermere (1)
Notes
See also North Lancashire 1 Lancashire RFU English Rugby Union Leagues English rugby union system Rugby union in England
References