1997–98 National League 1

English third-tier rugby union season

1997–98 NationalLeague 1
Countries	England
Champions	Worcester (1st title)
Runners-up	Leeds Tykes (also promoted)
Relegated	no relegation
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 National League 1, sponsored by Jewson, was the eleventh full season of rugby union within the third tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 1.

Structure

The league consisted of fourteen teams, playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of twenty-six matches for each team. There were four promotion places with the top four teams promoted to the 1998–99 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two. There was no relegation, this season, to either National Division 4 North or South due to an increase, from twelve teams to fourteen, in the top two divisions.^[1]^[2]

Participating teams and locations

National Division Three was reduced from sixteen teams to fourteen with ten of the clubs participating in last seasons competition. To make up the numbers two of the teams (Rugby Lions and Nottingham) were relegated from National League 2, and the champions of National 4 North (Worcester) and National 4 South (Newbury) were both promoted.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Last season
Harrogate	Claro Road		Harrogate, North Yorkshire	5th
Leeds Tykes	Headingley Stadium	22,250	Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire	3rd
Liverpool St Helens	Moss Lane		St Helens, Merseyside	12th
London Welsh	Old Deer Park	5,850	Richmond, London	11th
Lydney	Regentsholm	1,500	Lydney, Gloucestershire	10th
Morley	Scatcherd Lane		Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire	4th
Newbury	Monks Lane	8,000	Newbury, Berkshire	Promoted from National 4 South (champions)
Nottingham	Ireland Avenue	4,950	Nottingham, Nottinghamshire	Relegated from Courage National League 2 (12th)
Otley	Cross Green	5,000	Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire	9th
Reading	Holme Park		Sonning, Berkshire	6th
Rosslyn Park	The Rock	2,000	Roehampton, London	8th
Rugby Lions	Webb Ellis Road	1,000	Rugby Warwickshire	Relegated from Courage National League 2 (11th)
Wharfedale	The Avenue	2,000	Threshfield, North Yorkshire	7th
Worcester	Sixways	8,477	Worcester, Worcestershire	Promoted from National 4 North (champions)

Liverpool
St Helens

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1997–98 Courage League National Division Three teams in England

League table

	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Points
1997–98 Jewson National Division One Table^[3]
1	Worcester	26	24	0	2	1001	331	670	48
2	Leeds Tykes	26	21	1	4	858	407	451	43
3	London Welsh	26	21	1	4	848	478	370	43
4	Rugby Lions	26	21	0	5	733	405	328	42
5	Rosslyn Park	26	13	1	12	486	537	−51	27
6	Nottingham	26	13	0	13	527	602	−75	26
7	Newbury	26	12	2	12	639	545	96	24*
8	Reading	26	11	1	14	620	697	−77	23
9	Otley	26	10	1	15	447	682	−235	21
10	Wharfedale	26	8	3	15	476	684	−208	19
11	Liverpool St Helens	26	8	1	17	430	767	−337	15*
12	Lydney	26	5	0	21	361	575	−214	10
13	Morley	26	5	0	21	372	844	−472	10
14	Harrogate	26	4	1	21	463	707	−244	9
* Newbury and Liverpool St Helens deducted 2 pts
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
Green background are promotion places. (There was no relegation this season)

Sponsorship

For the first ten seasons Courage Brewery sponsored the league. Following reorganisation the top two divisions are sponsored by the assurance company Allied Dunbar and the rest of the divisions, including National League 1 is sponsored by the building suppliers, Jewson.^[2]

References

^ Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98 (26 ed.). London: Headline Book Publishing. pp. 87–100. ISBN 0 7472 7732 X.
^ ^a ^b Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John (1998). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1998–99 (27th ed.). London: Headline Book Publishing. pp. 84–98. ISBN 0 7472 7653 6.
^ "Leagues 1997/98". Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2016.

National League 1

2023–24 teams

Former clubs

Seasons

National Division Three	1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
National League One	1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
National Division Two	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09
National League One	2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 ~~2020–21~~ 2021–22
National League 1	2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Rugby union in England

Governing body

Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union for Women (merged into the RFU)

National teams

Men's	England England A 7's U-21 U-20 U-18 British & Irish Lions England Counties XV
Women's	Women's 7's

International competitions

Men's	World Cup Six Nations Rugby World Cup Sevens Sevens World Series Sevens Grand Prix Series Commonwealth Games
Women's	World Cup Six Nations World Series Sevens

Competition divisions

Men's	Premiership Championship National Leagues London and SE Division Northern Division Midland Division South West Division United Hospitals Cup
Women's	Premiership Women's Rugby