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1998–99 National League 2 North

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1998–99 National League 2 North
Countries England
ChampionsPreston Grasshoppers (1st title)
Runners-upStourbridge (not promoted)
RelegatedWinnington Park, Lichfield, Hinckley
Matches played182

The 1998–99 National League 2 North was the twelfth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier (north) of the English league system. It is counterpart to National League 2 South, which covers the southern half of the country.

As with the previous season, the battle for the league was very competitive, with Preston Grasshoppers edging out Stourbridge by just 2 points to claim the title and only promotion spot to the 1999–00 National League 1. At the other end of the table Winnington Park, Lichfield, Hinckley were the three sides to be relegated, with newly promoted Hinckley being the most competitive of the three.[1] Winnington Park would drop to North 1 while Lichfield and Hinckley fell to Midlands 1. The reason National League 2 North had so many relegation places compared to National League 2 South (3 to 1) was that both of the two teams relegated from the division above were based in the north 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 League 1 while the bottom three sides dropped to either North 1 or Midlands depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

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Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season
Aspatria Bower Park Aspatria, Cumbria 9th
Hinckley Leicester Road 2,000 Hinckley, Leicestershire 12th
Kendal Mint Bridge 3,000 Kendal, Cumbria 3rd
Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire 14th
New Brighton Hartsfield 2,000 Moreton, Merseyside Promoted from North 1 (champions)
Nuneaton Harry Cleaver Ground Nuneaton, Warwickshire 7th
Preston Grasshoppers Lightfoot Green 5,000 Preston, Lancashire 4th
Sandal Milnthorpe Green Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire 8th
Sedgley Park Park Lane 3,000 Whitefield, Greater Manchester 5th
Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire 10th
Stourbridge Stourton Park 3,500 Stourbridge, West Midlands 6th
Walsall Broadway 1,150 Walsall, West Midlands 11th
Whitchurch Edgeley Park Whitchurch, Shropshire Promoted from Midlands 1 (champions)
Winnington Park Burrows Hill Northwich, Cheshire 13th

League table

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1998–99 National League 2 North table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Preston Grasshoppers (C) 26 23 0 3 822 341 +481 46 Promoted
2 Stourbridge 26 22 0 4 895 413 +482 44
3 New Brighton 26 20 0 6 703 329 +374 40
4 Kendal 26 18 0 8 635 347 +288 36
5 Nuneaton 26 14 2 10 597 533 +64 30
6 Sheffield 26 15 0 11 496 455 +41 30
7 Sandal 26 13 0 13 697 611 +86 26
8 Sedgley Park 26 12 1 13 710 553 +157 25
9 Walsall 26 10 1 15 515 720 −205 21
10 Aspatria 26 10 0 16 578 675 −97 20
11 Whitchurch 26 9 1 16 450 599 −149 19
12 Hinckley (R) 26 7 1 18 445 733 −288 15 Relegated
13 Lichfield (R) 26 3 0 23 371 950 −579 6
14 Winnington Park (R) 26 3 0 23 310 965 −655 6
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

Sponsorship

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

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jewson National League 2 North 1998/99". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.