1989–90 Courage League National Division Two

The 1989–90 Courage League National Division Two was the third full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. Each team played one match against each of the other teams in the league, playing a total of eleven matches. Three teams participated in the division for the first time. They were Waterloo who were relegated from last seasons Division One, and Rugby and Plymouth Albion who were promoted from Division Three. They joined the nine teams who remained from the previous seasons.

1989–90 Courage League National Division Two
Countries	England
Champions	Northampton (1st title)
Runners-up	Liverpool St Helens
Relegated	None
Matches played	66
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

Northampton, the champions, were promoted to the Courage League National Division One for season 1990–91 along with the runners–up Liverpool St Helens. It was the second time in three seasons that Liverpool St Helens won promotion from National Division Two. Due to the expansion of the national divisions there was no relegation to Courage League National Division Three.^[1]

Participating teams

 

 

Blackheath

 

Coventry

 

Gosworth

 

Headingley

 

Liverpool
St Helens

 

London Irish

 

Northampton

 

Plymouth

 

Richmond

 

Rugby

 

Sale

 

Waterloo

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Locations of the 1989–90 Courage League National Division Two teams

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
Blackheath	Rectory Field	6,000	Greenwich, London
Coventry	Coundon Road	9,000+	Coventry, West Midlands
Liverpool St Helens	Moss Lane		St Helens, Merseyside
Gosworth	North Road		Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Headingley	Bridge Road		Leeds, West Yorkshire
London Irish	The Avenue	6,600	Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
Northampton Saints	Franklin's Gardens	10,000	Northampton, Northamptonshire
Plymouth Albion	Beacon Park	3,500	Plymouth, Devon
Richmond	Athletic Ground	4,500	Richmond, London
Rugby Lions	Webb Ellis Road	1,000	Rugby, Warwickshire
Sale	Heywood Road	5,400	Sale, Greater Manchester
Waterloo	St Anthony's Road	9,000	Blundellsands, Merseyside

Table

1989–90 Courage League National Division Two Table^[2]
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Points
1	Northampton	11	9	1	1	192	135	57	19
2	Liverpool St Helens	11	8	2	1	154	106	48	18
3	Richmond	11	7	1	3	282	135	147	15
4	Coventry	11	6	1	4	206	185	21	13
5	London Irish	11	6	0	5	228	247	–19	12
6	Rugby	11	5	0	6	238	172	66	10
7	Plymouth Albion	11	5	0	6	206	164	42	10
8	Headingley	11	5	0	6	161	226	–65	10
9	Sale	11	4	0	7	153	182	–29	8
10	Blackheath	11	3	2	6	141	205	–64	8
11	Waterloo	11	3	0	8	147	193	–46	6
12	Gosforth	11	1	1	9	108	266	–158	3
Points are awarded as follows: 2 pts for a win 1 pt for a draw 0 pts for a loss
Green background are teams promoted. (There was no relegation this season)

Sponsorship

National Division Two is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery

See also

• English rugby union system

References

1. Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.
2. "Courage Clubs Championship–1989/1990". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 30 August 2012.