The 2018–19 National League 2 North is the tenth season (32nd overall) of the fourth tier (north) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced.
Hull Ionians finished as champions following a bonus point home victory Leicester Lions on 13 April 2019, which sealed the league title with one round still to go. It was Ionians third National League 2 North title, equalling the record set by Macclesfield. It was a competitive league battle, with four teams looking like they could win but in the end Hull Ionians just did enough to claim the title, 4 points ahead of second placed Chester, who qualified for the promotion play-off. On 4 May 2019, Chester lost 10–19 away to National League 2 South runners up, Canterbury. That result meant that only Ionians would be promoted from the division, joining the 2019–20 National League 1 after just one season away.
At the other end of the table, newcomers Peterborough Lions were the first side to be relegated on 9 March 2019, with five games still to play, after they lost at home to Preston Grasshoppers. A week later a win for Sheffield Tigers on 6 April ensured the Sheffield based clubs safety, whilst condemning both Macclesfield and South Leicester to the drop, despite South Leicester winning their fixture away from home. Peterborough Lions and South Leicester would drop into Midlands Premier, while Macclesfield would fall to North Premier.
Another interesting fact from the season was the lowest ever recorded attendance in National League 2 North of just 37 who attended South Leicester's home game against Sedgley Park on 30 March 2019. South Leicester also set an overall low attendance record for the division, averaging just 85 supporters per game.
Structure The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one automatic promotion place, one play-off place and three relegation places. The champions are promoted to the 2019–20 National League 1 and the runners up play the second-placed team in the 2018–19 National League 2 South with the winner also being promoted. The last three teams are relegated to either North Premier or Midlands Premier depending on the geographical location of the team (in some cases teams may join the southern regional leagues).
The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows: 4 points are awarded for a win 2 points are awarded for a draw 0 points are awarded for a loss, however 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.
Participating teams and locations Twelve of the teams listed below participated in the 2017–18 National League 2 North season. The 2017–18 champions Sale FC were promoted into the 2018–19 National League 1, replacing Fylde and Hull Ionians who were relegated from the 2017–18 National League 1. The three teams relegated from National League 2 North the previous season were Sheffield and Luctonians (both Midlands Premier) and Blaydon (North Premier).
The promoted teams include Preston Grasshoppers from North Premier (champions) who return to the division after an absence of just one season, while Peterborough Lions came up from Midlands Premier (playoffs). Midlands Premier champions Birmingham & Solihull were level transferred to the 2018–19 National League 2 South due to an imbalance of teams, being considered the most southerly team in the division.
TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Chester Hare Lane 2,000 (500 seats) Chester, Cheshire 7th Fylde Woodlands Memorial Ground 7,500 (500 seats) Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire Relegated from National League 1 (16th) Hinckley De Montfort Park 2,000 Hinckley, Leicestershire 5th Huddersfield Lockwood Park 1,500 (500 seats) Huddersfield, West Yorkshire 6th Hull Ionians Brantingham Park 1,500 (240 seats) Brantingham, East Riding of Yorkshire Relegated from National League 1 (14th) Leicester Lions Westleigh Park 2,000 Blaby, Leicestershire 12th Macclesfield Priory Park 1,250 (250 seats) Macclesfield, Cheshire 8th Otley Cross Green 7,000 (852 seats) Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire 11th Peterborough Lions Bretton Woods Bretton, Cambridgeshire Promoted from Midlands Premier (playoff) Preston Grasshoppers Lightfoot Green 2,250 (250 seats) Preston, Lancashire Promoted from North Premier (champions) Sedgley Park Park Lane 3,000 Whitefield, Bury, Greater Manchester 2nd (lost playoff) Sheffield Tigers Dore Moor 1,000 Sheffield, South Yorkshire 10th South Leicester Welford Road Ground Leicester, Leicestershire 9th Stourbridge Stourton Park 3,500 (499 seats) Stourbridge, West Midlands 3rd Tynedale Tynedale Park 2,000 (400 seats) Corbridge, Northumberland 4th Wharfedale The Avenue 2,000 Threshfield, North Yorkshire 13th
League table
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Postponed due to MRSA outbreak. Game to be replayed on 10 November 2018.
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 5 (rescheduled game)
Game rescheduled from 29 September 2018.
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Postponed due to adverse travel conditions caused by poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 16 March 2019.
Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 16 March 2019.
Postponed due to poor weather (frozen pitch). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
Postponed due to poor weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 23 February 2019.
Round 22
Round 23
Rounds 15 & 21 (rescheduled games)
Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
Game rescheduled from 15 December 2018.
Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
Game rescheduled from 15 December 2018.
Round 24
Round 25
Peterborough Lions are relegated.
Round 21 (rescheduled games)
Game rescheduled from 2 February 2019.
Game originally rescheduled from 2 February 2019 but postponed (again) to 20 April 2019 due to a waterlogged pitch caused by heavy rain.
Round 26
Round 27
Round 28
South Leicester are relegated.
Macclesfield are relegated.
Round 29
Chester qualify for promotion play-off.
Hull Ionians are champions.
Round 21 (rescheduled game)
Game originally rescheduled from 2 February 2019 and then again from 16 March 2019.
Round 30
Promotion play-off
Each season, the runners-up in the National League 2 North and National League 2 South participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 1. Canterbury were runners up in the 2018–19 National League 2 South, and because they had a better record than the 2018–19 National League 2 North runners up, Chester, they host the play-off match.
Attendances Does not include promotion play-off. ClubHomegamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity Chester 15 5,540 369 447 276 18% Fylde 15 9,156 610 1,794 375 8% Hinckley 15 8,599 573 740 385 29% Huddersfield 15 4,728 315 552 178 21% Hull Ionians 15 4,360 291 635 163 19% Leicester Lions 15 2,641 176 450 109 9% Macclesfield 15 3,473 232 306 172 19% Otley 15 4,139 276 630 200 4% Peterborough Lions 15 2,313 154 410 100 Preston Grasshoppers 15 6,354 424 1,023 272 19% Sedgley Park 15 3,570 238 439 150 8% Sheffield Tigers 15 2,078 139 215 88 14% South Leicester 15 1,280 85 300 37 Stourbridge 15 4,967 331 497 265 9% Tynedale 15 7,393 493 860 203 25% Wharfedale 15 8,279 552 780 389 28%
Individual statistics Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included). Does not include promotion play-off.
Top points scorers Rank Player Team Appearances Points 1 Lewis Minikin Hull Ionians 30 315 2 Gregory Smith Fylde 29 258 3 Joe Wilson Hinckley 30 240 4 Thomas Davidson Preston Grasshoppers 29 229 5 Chris Johnson Huddersfield 20 222 6 Stephen Collins Sedgley Park 22 204 7 Jack Blakeney-Edwards Wharfedale 25 181 8 Mark Ireland Sheffield Tigers 22 166 9 Ben Palmer South Leicester 18 158 10 Thomas Morton Macclesfield 29 156
Top try scorers Rank Player Team Appearances Tries 1 Morgan Passman Tynedale 19 31 2 David Rundle Stourbridge 30 26 3 Thomas Carleton Fylde 30 24 4 Jamie Broadley Sheffield Tigers 29 22 Matt Riley Sedgley Park 30 22 5 Devon Constant Leicester Lions 30 21 6 Henri Packard Sheffield Tigers 29 20 Lewis Minikin Hull Ionians 30 20 7 Andrew Riley Sedgley Park 29 19 8 Callum Dacey Hinckley 21 18 Alex Wilcockson Leicester Lions 24 18
Season records
Team Largest home win — 67 points 91 – 24 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Largest away win — 47 points 59 – 12 Fylde away to South Leicester on 9 March 2019 Most points scored — 91 points 91 – 24 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Most tries in a match — 13 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Most conversions in a match — 13 Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Most penalties in a match — 6 Sheffield Tigers away to Fylde on 29 September 2018 Most drop goals in a match — 1 (8) Hull Ionians at home to Peterborough Lions on 15 September 2018 Hull Ionians at home to Macclesfield on 8 December 2018 Huddersfield away to Preston Grasshoppers on 5 January 2019 Huddersfield away to Hinckley on 16 February 2019 Huddersfield at home to Wharfedale on 23 February 2019 Preston Grasshoppers at home to Tynedale on 2 March 2019 Stourbridge away to Preston Grasshoppers on 6 April 2019 Huddersfield away to Sedgley Park on 27 April 2019
Attendances Highest — 1,794 Fylde at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 22 December 2018 Lowest — 37 South Leicester at home to Sedgley Park on 30 March 2019 Highest average attendance — 610 Fylde Lowest average attendance — 85 South Leicester
Player Most points in a match — 36 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Most tries in a match — 4 (6) Jamie Broadley for Sheffield Tigers at home to Macclesfield on 3 November 2018 Callum Dacey for Hinckley at home to Chester on 23 February 2019 David Rundle for Stourbridge at home to Huddersfield on 9 March 2019 Myles Hall for Macclesfield at home to Peterborough Lions on 23 March 2019 Kian Stewart for Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Henri Packard for Sheffield Tigers at home to Peterborough Lions on 6 April 2019 Most conversions in a match — 13 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield at home to South Leicester on 23 March 2019 Most penalties in a match — 6 Mark Ireland for Sheffield Tigers away to Fylde on 29 September 2018 Most drop goals in a match — 1 (8) Sam Crane for Hull Ionians at home to Peterborough Lions on 15 September 2018 Morgan Bunting for Hull Ionians at home to Macclesfield on 8 December 2018 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield away to Preston Grasshoppers on 5 January 2019 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield away to Hinckley on 16 February 2019 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield at home to Wharfedale on 23 February 2019 Thomas Davidson for Preston Grasshoppers at home to Tynedale on 2 March 2019 Chris Scott for Stourbridge away to Preston Grasshoppers on 6 April 2019 Chris Johnson for Huddersfield away to Sedgley Park on 27 April 2019
Notes
See also English rugby union system Rugby union in England
References
External links NCA Rugby