1999–2000 National League 2 South

The 1999–2000 National League 2 South (sponsored by Jewson) was the thirteenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier (south) of the English league system, and the last until 2009–10 to use the name National League 2 South. It is counterpart to National League 2 North, which covers the northern half of the country.

1999–2000 National League 2 South
Countries England
ChampionsEsher (1st title)
Runners-upPenzance & Newlyn (not promoted)
RelegatedMetropolitan Police, Norwich, Bridgwater & Albion
Matches played182

At the end of the season, Esher were crowned as champions gaining promotion to the 2000–01 National Division 2 (former National League 1), 5 points clear of second place Penzance & Newlyn. At the other end of the table, the first side to go down were Metropolitan Police who had a truly awful campaign with 26 losses from 26 games despite having finished 5th the previous season. They were followed by Norwich and Bridgwater & Albion who were much more competitive but still somewhat short of 12th placed Weston-super-Mare, who finished four points clear. Metropolitan Police and Norwich would drop to London 1 while Bridgwater Albion would fall to South West 1.[1]

The reason National League 2 South had three relegation places compared to National League 2 North (who had one) was that both of the two 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

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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 National Division 2 while the bottom three sides dropped to either London 1 or South West 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

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Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season
Barking Goresbrook 1,000 Becontree, Dagenham, London 4th
Bridgwater & Albion Bath Road 5,000 Bridgwater, Somerset 10th
Cheltenham Newlands Park Southam, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire 13th
Clifton Station Road 2,500 Cribbs Causeway, Henbury, Bristol 7th
Esher Molesey Road 3,500 Hersham, Surrey Runners up (not promoted)
Metropolitan Police Imber Court East Molesey, Surrey 5th
North Walsham Norwich Road 1,200 Scottow, Norfolk 3rd
Norwich Beeston Hyrne Norwich, Norfolk 6th
Penzance & Newlyn Mennaye Field 4,000 Penzance, Cornwall Promoted from South West 1 (champions)
Plymouth Albion Beacon Park 3,500 Plymouth, Devon 12th
Redruth Recreation Ground 12,000 Redruth, Cornwall 11th
Tabard Cobden Hill Radlett, Hertfordshire 8th
Westcombe Park Goddington Dene 3,200 Orpington, London Promoted from London 1 (champions)
Weston-super-Mare Recreation Ground 6,000 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset 9th

League table

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1999–00 National League 2 South table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Esher (C) 26 23 0 3 1013 355 +658 46 Promoted
2 Penzance & Newlyn 26 20 1 5 1045 481 +564 41
3 North Walsham 25 18 0 7 750 346 +404 36
4 Plymouth Albion 26 17 2 7 663 382 +281 36
5 Redruth 26 16 0 10 597 523 +74 32
6 Barking 26 15 0 11 628 533 +95 30
7 Clifton 26 12 1 13 575 549 +26 25
8 Tabard 26 11 1 14 552 627 −75 23
9 Westcombe Park 26 11 0 15 560 706 −146 22
10 Cheltenham 25 10 1 14 489 636 −147 21
11 Weston-super-Mare 26 11 0 15 512 598 −86 20[a]
12 Bridgwater & Albion (R) 26 8 0 18 523 729 −206 16 Relegated
13 Norwich (R) 26 6 0 20 321 685 −364 12
14 Metropolitan Police (R) 26 0 0 26 223 1301 −1078 0
Source: [1]
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
Notes:
  1. ^ 2 points deducted

Sponsorship

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National League 2 South is part of the Jewson National Leagues is sponsored by Jewson.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jewson National League 2 South 1999/00". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.