1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North

1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North
1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North
Countries	England
Champions	Worcester (1st title)
Runners-up	Birmingham & Solihull (not promoted)
Relegated	Stoke-on-Trent, Hereford
Matches played	182
	← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North was the tenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 North, and the last using the name Division 4 North. 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 North increased from 10 to 14 teams (28 overall) with multiple teams coming up from the discontinued Division 5.^[1]

Worcester were deserving champions, going undefeated in the league to take the title and only promotion spot to the 1997–98 National Division 1 (formerly Courage Division 3), 11 points clear of runners up Birmingham & Solihull. While Worcester were deserving champions, Stoke-on-Trent and Hereford were easily the worst teams in the division and as a consequence were the two sides to go down, well short of safety. Both sides would drop to Midlands 1.^[2] The reason Division 4 North had less relegation places compared to Division 4 North (2 to 4) 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 North 1 or Midlands 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North teams in England

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Aspatria	Bower Park		Aspatria, Cumbria	9th
Birmingham & Solihull	Sharmans Cross	2,500	Solihull, West Midlands	Promoted from Division 5 North (3rd)
Hereford	Wyeside		Hereford, Herefordshire	Promoted from regional leagues
Kendal	Mint Bridge	3,000	Kendal, Cumbria	Promoted from Division 5 North (9th)
Lichfield	Cooke Fields		Lichfield, Staffordshire	Promoted from Division 5 North (12th)
Manchester	Grove Park	4,000	Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester	Promoted from regional leagues
Nuneaton	Harry Cleaver Ground		Nuneaton, Warwickshire	Promoted from Division 5 North (10th)
Preston Grasshoppers	Lightfoot Green	5,000	Preston, Lancashire	Promoted from Division 5 North (8th)
Sandal	Milnthorpe Green		Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire	Promoted from Division 5 North (6th)
Sheffield	Abbeydale Park	3,200	Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire	Promoted from Division 5 North (5th)
Stoke-on-Trent	Hartwell Lane		Barlaston, Staffordshire	Promoted from Division 5 North (11th)
Stourbridge	Stourton Park	3,500	Stourbridge, West Midlands	Promoted from Division 5 North (7th)
Winnington Park	Burrows Hill		Northwich, Cheshire	Promoted from Division 5 North (4th)
Worcester	Sixways	8,477	Worcester, Worcestershire	Promoted from Division 5 North (runners up)

League table

1996–97 Courage League Division 4 North table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Worcester (C)	26	23	3	0	833	378	+455	49	Promoted
2	Birmingham & Solihull	26	19	0	7	746	391	+355	38
3	Preston Grasshoppers	26	17	2	7	568	394	+174	36
4	Manchester	26	16	1	9	763	514	+249	33
5	Sandal	26	15	1	10	618	572	+46	31
6	Stourbridge	26	14	1	11	704	579	+125	29
7	Winnington Park	26	14	1	11	641	565	+76	29
8	Sheffield	26	12	2	12	496	451	+45	26
9	Kendal	26	11	1	14	541	451	+90	23
10	Aspatria	26	10	1	15	616	713	−97	21
11	Lichfield	26	10	0	16	544	713	−169	20
12	Nuneaton	26	8	1	17	457	670	−213	17
13	Hereford (R)	26	4	0	22	287	970	−683	8	Relegated
14	Stoke-on-Trent (R)	26	2	0	24	391	854	−463	4	Relegated

Source: ^[2]
Rules for classification: 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.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Sponsorship

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

Notes

^ 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

^ "Courage League - Division 5 1995/96". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Courage League - Division 4 1996/97". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.

[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.

[2] "Courage League - Division 5 1995/96". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 18 December 2017.

[Final_Table-3] "Courage League - Division 4 1996/97". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.

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