2002–03 National Division Two

2002–03 National Division Two
Countries	England
Champions	Penzance & Newlyn
Runners-up	Henley Hawks (also promoted)
Relegated	Fylde, Kendal, Launceston
Attendance	80,093 (average 480 per match)[a 1]
Highest attendance	2,200 Penzance & Newlyn at home to Henley Hawks on 18 January 2003
Lowest attendance	120 (x2) Bracknell against Nottingham 8 March 2003 & Sedgley Park on 15 March 2003
Top point scorer	Barry Reeves Henley Hawks 327 points
Top try scorer	Nnamdi Obi Henley Hawks 20 tries
← 2001-02 2003-04 →

The 2002–03 National Division Two was the third version (sixteenth overall) of the third division of the English domestic rugby union competition using the name National Division Two. New teams to the division included Henley Hawks and Bracknell who were relegated from the 2001–02 National Division One while promoted teams included Doncaster who were champions of the 2001–02 National Division Three North as well as Cornish teams Penzance & Newlyn (champions) and Launceston (playoffs) who came up from the 2001–02 National Division Three South.^[1][2][3][4] The league points system was 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

Penzance & Newlyn finished the season as champions with Henley Hawks six points behind as runners up, both sides being convincingly the best in the division and would be promoted to the 2003–04 National Division One for the next season.^[5][6] For Penzance & Newlyn it was their second successive promotion while Henley made an instant return having been relegated the following season. Fylde and Kendal were the first two sides to be relegated but the battle for the last relegation spot was very tight with just three points separating 12th from 8th in the division.^[7] Launceston went into their last game ahead of relegation rivals Nottingham and Wharfedale, but while those sides won their games, Launceston lost their home game against league champions and local rivals Penzance & Newlyn to condemn the Polson Bridge side to the drop – dead level with Nottingham but with a worse points difference.^[5][6] Fylde and Kendal would drop to the 2003–04 National Division Three North while Launceston returned to the 2003–04 National Division Three South.^[8][9]

Participating teams and locations[edit]

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
Bracknell	Lily Hill Park	1,250 (250 seats)	Bracknell, Berkshire
Doncaster	Castle Park	3,075	Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Esher	Molesey Road	3,000	Hersham, Surrey
Fylde	Woodlands Memorial Ground	9,000	Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire
Harrogate	Claro Road		Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Henley Hawks	Dry Leas	4,000	Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
Kendal	Mint Bridge	3,000 (300 stand)	Kendal, Cumbria
Launceston	Polson Bridge	3,000	Launceston, Cornwall
Newbury Blues	Monk's Lane	8,000	Newbury, Berkshire
Nottingham	Ireland Avenue	4,950	Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Penzance & Newlyn	Mennaye Field	3,500	Penzance, Cornwall
Sedgley Park	Park Lane	3,000	Whitefield, Greater Manchester
Stourbridge	Stourton Park	3,500 (499 seats)	Stourbridge, West Midlands
Wharfedale	The Avenue	2,000	Threshfield, Craven, North Yorkshire

Final league table[edit]

2002-03 National Division Two Table
Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points Diff	Points
1	Penzance & Newlyn (C)	26	22	1	3	849	442	407	45
2	Henley Hawks (P)	26	19	1	6	782	473	309	39
3	Esher	26	16	1	9	700	550	150	33
4	Harrogate	26	16	0	10	606	496	110	32
5	Bracknell	26	16	0	10	597	525	72	32
6	Sedgley Park	26	15	0	11	702	572	130	30
7	Doncaster	26	14	0	12	630	551	79	28
8	Stourbridge	26	11	1	14	628	783	-155	23
9	Newbury Blues	26	11	0	15	491	618	-127	22
10	Wharfedale	26	10	1	15	517	579	-62	21
11	Nottingham	26	10	0	16	530	629	-99	20
12	Launceston (R)	26	10	0	16	540	643	-103	20
13	Kendal (R)	26	6	1	19	446	840	-394	13
14	Fylde (R)	26	3	0	23	457	774	-317	6
Reference englandrugby.com: Updated 26-04-2003

Results[edit]

Round 1[edit]

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Round 2[edit]

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Round 3[edit]

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Round 4[edit]

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Round 5[edit]

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Round 6[edit]

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Round 7[edit]

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Round 8[edit]

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Round 9[edit]

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Round 10[edit]

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Round 11[edit]

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Round 12[edit]

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Round 13[edit]

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Round 14[edit]

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 28 December 2002.

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 28 December 2002.

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Round 14 (rescheduled games)[edit]

• Game rescheduled from 21 December 2002.

• Game rescheduled from 21 December 2002.

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Round 15[edit]

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 15 February 2003.

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Round 16[edit]

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 15 February 2003.

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 March 2003.

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 March 2003.

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 March 2003.

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 15 February 2003.

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Round 17[edit]

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Round 18[edit]

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Round 19[edit]

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 March 2003.

• Postponed. Game rescheduled to 8 March 2003.

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Round 20[edit]

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Rounds 15 & 16 (rescheduled games)[edit]

• Game rescheduled from 4 January 2003.

• Game rescheduled from 11 January 2003.

• Game rescheduled from 15 January 2003.

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Round 21[edit]

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Round 22[edit]

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Rounds 16 & 19 (rescheduled games)[edit]

• Game rescheduled from 1 February 2003.

• Game rescheduled from 11 January 2003.

• Game rescheduled from 11 January 2003.

• Game rescheduled from 1 February 2003.

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Round 23[edit]

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Round 16 (rescheduled game)[edit]

• Game rescheduled from 11 January 2003.

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Round 24[edit]

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Round 25[edit]

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Round 26[edit]

Total season attendances[edit]

Club	Home Games	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Bracknell	12[a 2]	2,775	231	350	120	18%
Doncaster	11[a 3]	7,600	691	850	500	22%
Esher	13	5,000	385	500	250	13%
Fylde	12[a 4]	3,800	317	450	200	4%
Harrogate	13	7,103	546	1,500	276
Henley Hawks	13	6,655	512	1,025	250	13%
Kendal	13	4,289	330	483	156	11%
Launceston	13	5,950	458	2,000	200	15%
Newbury Blues	13	6,575	506	1,055	300	6%
Nottingham	13	4,622	356	575	230	7%
Penzance & Newlyn	7[a 5]	11,300	1,614	2,200	1,000	46%
Sedgley Park	9[a 6]	4,370	486	750	250	16%
Stourbridge	13	4,100	315	400	200	9%
Wharfedale	13	5,954	458	800	304	23%

Individual statistics[edit]

• Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.

Season records[edit]

See also[edit]

• English Rugby Union Leagues
• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• NCA Rugby Archived 2015-07-01 at the Wayback Machine