1988–89 Courage League National Division Three

The 1988–89 Courage League National Division Three was the second full season of rugby union within the third tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 1. Each team played one match against the other teams, playing a total of eleven matches each. Plymouth Albion won all their eleven matches and won promotion to National Division Two. Rugby finished second, winning ten of their eleven matches, and were also promoted. Metropolitan Police and Maidstone finished in the bottom two places and both clubs were relegated to Area League South for the following season. Metropolitan Police was relegated on points difference and Maidstone lost all of their matches.[1]

1988–89 Courage League National Division Three
Countries England
DateSeptember 1988 – April 1989
ChampionsPlymouth Albion (1st title)
Runners-upRugby (also promoted)
RelegatedMetropolitan Police
Maidstone
Matches played66

Participating teams and locations

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1988–89 Courage League National Division Three teams in England
Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season
Askeans Broad Walk Kidbrooke, London Promoted from Area League South
Exeter County Ground 5,200 Exeter, Devon 9th
Fylde Woodlands 9,000 Lytham St Annes, Lancashire 6th
Maidstone William Davey Memorial Maidstone, Kent 8th
Metropolitan Police Imber Court East Molesey, Surrey 7th
Nuneaton Harry Cleaver Ground Nuneaton, Warwickshire 10th
Plymouth Albion Beacon Park 3,500 Plymouth, Devon 3rd
Rugby Webb Ellis Road 1,000 Rugby, Warwickshire Promoted from Area League North
Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire 4th
Vale of Lune Powderhouse Lane Lancaster, Lancashire 5th
Wakefield College Grove 3,000 Wakefield, West Yorkshire 1st (not promoted)
West Hartlepool Brierton Lane Hartlepool, Cleveland 2nd

[1]

League table

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1988–89 Courage League National Division Three table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Plymouth Albion (C) 11 11 0 0 311 89 +222 22 Promoted
2 Rugby 11 10 0 1 268 99 +169 20
3 Wakefield 11 9 0 2 282 114 +168 18
4 West Hartlepool 11 5 1 5 164 133 +31 11
5 Nuneaton 11 5 0 6 178 214 −36 10
6 Sheffield 11 4 1 6 170 182 −12 9
7 Vale of Lune 11 4 1 6 120 145 −25 9
8 Askeans 11 4 1 6 141 215 −74 9
9 Exeter 11 4 0 7 142 180 −38 8
10 Fylde 11 4 0 7 136 181 −45 8
11 Metropolitan Police 11 4 0 7 130 275 −145 8 Relegated
12 Maidstone 11 0 0 11 74 289 −215 0
Source: [2]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 2 pts for a win
  2. 1 pt for a draw
  3. 0 pts for a loss

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

  1. Difference between points for and against
    (C) Champions

Sponsorship

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91. Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co Ltd.
  2. ^ "Courage Club Championship 1988–89". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
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