1996–97 Courage League Division 4 South

The 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 South was the tenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 South, and the last using the name Division 4 South. Changes to the league structure by the RFU at the start of the season saw Courage League 4 revert to two regional divisions (Courage League Division 4 North and Courage League Division 4 South), while the regional leagues below (Courage League Division 5) was split back into regional leagues - North 1, Midlands 1, London 1 and South West 1[a 1]. This meant that National Division 4 South increased from 10 to 14 teams (28 overall) with multiple teams coming up from the discontinued Division 5.[1]

1996–97 Courage League Division 4 South
Countries England
ChampionsNewbury (1st title)
Runners-upHenley (not promoted)
RelegatedAskeans, Charlton Park, High Wycombe, Berry Hill
Matches played182

At the end of the season, Newbury were deserving champions, winning 25 league games that they played (one match was cancelled) and claiming the only promotion spot to the 1997–98 National Division 1 (formerly Courage Division 3), 10 points clear of their nearest challengers, Henley. At the other end of the table, four teams were relegated. Askeans and Charlton Park were comfortably the worst teams in the division and were the first two sides to go down, followed by High Wycombe and then Berry Hill, with Berry Hill putting up the most fight and finishing just one point from safety. Askeans and Charlton Park would drop to London Division 1 while High Wycombe and Berry Hill would fall to South West 1.[2] The reason Division 4 South had so many relegation places compared to Division 4 North (4 to 2) was that 3 out of 4 of the teams relegated from the division above were based in the south of the country, requiring more places to accommodate for their arrival the following season.

Structure

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of twenty-six matches each. The league champions were promoted to the new-look National League 1 while the bottom four sides dropped to either London 1 or South West 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

League table
1996–97 Courage League Division 4 South Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Points
1Newbury (C)252500117029587550
2Henley Hawks26192575447727740
3Barking26161974049624433
4Camberley26152968851317532
5Cheltenham26152955942013932
6Plymouth Albion261331070959111829
7Metropolitan Police261411165955810129
8Weston-super-Mare2612014503501224
9Tabard2610313511557-4623
10North Walsham2610115426604-17821
11Berry Hill (R)2610016425643-21820
12High Wycombe (R)268117560707-14717
13Charlton Park (R)2631223511140-7897
14Askeans (R)252122340893-5535
  • Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 2 pts for a win
  2. 1 pt for a draw
  3. 0 pts for a loss
  4. If teams are level at any stage, difference between points for and against applies

Green background are promotion places. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 18 December 2017

[2]

Sponsorship

Courage League Division 4 South is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery. This was their tenth and final season of sponsorship.

Notes
  1. These regional divisions had previously been tier 6 leagues during the days of Courage Division 5 but would revert to being level 5 leagues for the 1996-97 season.

References
  1. "Courage League - Division 5 1995/96". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. "Courage League - Division 4 1996/97". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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