1987–88 Courage League National Division One
Countries England
ChampionsLeicester Tigers (1st title)
Runners-upWasps
RelegatedCoventry
Sale
Matches played64

The 1987–88 Courage League National Division One was the first season of the first tier of the English rugby union league system. It was the first season of a truly national rugby union league, which is currently known as the Gallagher Premiership.

There was no fixture list; the teams arranged fixtures amongst themselves. One match would count between each of the twelve teams involved and the points scheme was such that a team received four points for a win, two for a draw and one point for a loss. Most teams played eleven games, although some played ten.

Leicester Tigers finished first in the league table and were crowned champions. Coventry and Sale were relegated to the 1988–89 Courage League National Division Two for next season, the latter side having lost all of its eleven matches. Rosslyn Park and Liverpool St Helens were promoted from the 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two for the following season.[1]

Participating teams

Locations of the 1987–88 Courage League National Division One teams
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area
Bath The Recreation Ground 8,200 Bath, Somerset
Bristol Memorial Stadium 12,100 Bristol, Avon
Coventry Coundon Road 9,000+ Coventry, West Midlands
Gloucester Kingsholm 11,000 Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Harlequins The Stoop 8,500 Twickenham, London
Leicester Tigers Welford Road 16,000 Leicester, Leicestershire
Moseley The Reddings 10,000 (est) Birmingham, West Midlands
Nottingham Ireland Avenue 4,950 Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Orrell Edge Hall Road 3,000 Orrell, Greater Manchester
Sale Heywood Road 5,400 Sale, Greater Manchester
Wasps Repton Avenue Sudbury, London
Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 Blundellsands, Merseyside

League table

1987–88 Courage League National Division One Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Points
1Leicester Tigers109012251339237
2Wasps118122181368236
3Harlequins1161426112813330
4Bath116141971564130
5Gloucester106132061218529
6Orrell115151921533927
7Moseley11506167170–326
8Nottingham11416146170–2424
9Bristol104151711452623
10Waterloo10406123208–8522
11Coventry11317139246–10721
12Sale11001195374–27911
  • Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 4 pts for a win
  2. 2 pt for a draw
  3. 1 pt for a loss
Red background are teams relegated.

Results

The home team is listed in the left column.

Clubs BAT BRI COV GLO HAR LEI MOS NOT ORR SAL WAS WAT
Bath Rugby 15–9 21–9 14–0 23–18 10–17
Bristol Rugby 16–21 21–10 37–3 12–12
Coventry 9–9 25–3 12–15 15–20 11–24 24–19 15–10
Gloucester RFC 9–16 39–3 18–12 17–9 61–7 13–24
Harlequins 28–22[2] 9–9 9–12 34–8 6–12 66–0 37–4
Leicester Tigers 24–13 15–10 32–16 42–15 12–9 39–15
Moseley 26–3 11–32 3–21 28–10 19–12 27–3
Nottingham 25–15 3–16 13–22 21-12 12–12
Orrell 13–25 9–13 30–6 19–0 30–6
Sale 17–46 15–19 0–17 6–14
Wasps 19–15 49–6 17–16 17–9 23–15
Waterloo 16–6 10–9 29–13 13–22
Home Win Draw Away Win

First match

5 September 1987
Nottingham21 – 12Moseley
Ireland Avenue

[3]

Sponsorship

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Courage League 1987–1988". Ipernews.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ↑ The 1988 final of the John Player Cup which took place on neutral ground at Twickenham also counts for the league.
  3. ↑ "Results". The Guardian. 7 September 1987. ProQuest 186753976.
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