1987–88 Courage Area League South

The 1987–88 Courage Area League South was the first full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as the National League 2 South, and was the counterpart to Courage Area League South (now National League 2 North). Each team played one match against the other teams, playing a total of ten matches each. There was no set date for matches, clubs having to arrange the fixtures amongst themselves.[1][2] Askeans were the first ever champions, gaining promotion to the 1988–89 National Division Three while Streatham-Croydon were the only relegated side, dropping to London 1.

1987–88 Courage Area League South
Countries	England
Champions	Askeans (1st title)
Runners-up	Sidcup
Relegated	Streatham-Croydon
Matches played	110

Structure

Each team played one match against each of the other teams, playing a total of ten matches each. The champions are promoted to National Division 3 and the bottom team was relegated to either London 1 or South West 1 depending on their locality.

Participating teams and locations

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Askeans Broad Walk 2,000 Kidbrooke, London Camborne Recreation Ground 9,000 Camborne, Cornwall Cheltenham Prince of Wales 2,000 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Havant Hook's Lane 1,500 Havant, Hampshire Lydney Regentsholme 1,500 Lydney, Gloucestershire Salisbury Castle Road 1,500 Salisbury, Wiltshire Sidcup Crescent Farm Sidcup, London Southend Warners Park Southend, Essex Streatham-Croydon Frant Road 1,400 Thornton Heath, Croydon, London Stroud Fromehall Park Stroud, Gloucestershire Sudbury Moorsfield Sudbury, Suffolk [1][2]

Askeans Camborne Cheltenham Havant Lydney Salisbury Sidcup Southend Streatham-Croydon Stroud Sudbury Locations of the 1987–88 Courage Area League South teams

League table

1987–88 Courage Area League South Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff	Points
1	Askeans (C)	10	8	1	1	141	83	58	17
2	Sidcup	10	7	2	1	130	58	72	16
3	Lydney	10	7	0	3	173	99	74	14
4	Camborne	10	5	2	3	113	119	–6	12
5	Havant	10	5	0	5	116	102	4	10
6	Stroud	10	5	0	5	112	114	–2	10
7	Southend	10	5	0	5	63	108	–45	10
8	Sudbury	10	3	2	5	125	106	19	8
9	Salisbury	10	3	1	6	84	94	–10	7
10	Cheltenham	10	3	0	7	95	152	–57	6
11	Streatham-Croydon (R)	10	0	0	10	70	173	–103	0
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, difference between points for and against applies
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are relegation places. Updated: 25 December 2015

Sponsorship

Area League South is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and was sponsored by Courage Brewery.

See also

• National League 2 North

References

1. Stephen Jones, ed. (1988). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1988–89. London: Rothmans Publications Ltd.
2. Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.