1997–98 National League 2 North

1997–98 National League 2 North
Countries	England
Champions	Birmingham & Solihull (1st title)
Runners-up	Manchester (also promoted)
Relegated	No relegation
Matches played	182

The 1997–98 National League 2 North was the eleventh full season of rugby union within the fourth tier (north) of the English league system, previously known as Division 4 North, and was the first to be sponsored by Jewson who replaced former sponsor Courage. It is counterpart to National League 2 South, which covers the southern half of the country.

The title battle was keenly contested between Birmingham & Solihull and Manchester but in the end it was the West Midlands side that was triumphant, finishing two points clear to finish as champions. Both clubs would gain promotion to the 1998–99 National League 1. There was no relegation this season in order to prevent an imbalance of teams in the leagues due to RFU changes for the following season which would see tier 2 increased from 12 to 14 teams and tier 3 reduced from 16 to 14 teams.

Structure

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of twenty-six matches each. The league champions and runners up were promoted to National League 1. There was no relegation this season due to changes higher up in the English league system.

Participating teams and locations

Aspatria

B'ham & Solihull

Hinckley

Kendal

Lichfield

Manchester

Nuneaton

Preston

Sandal

Sedgley P

Sheffield

Stourbridge

Walsall

Winnington P

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1997–98 National League 2 North teams in England

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Aspatria	Bower Park		Aspatria, Cumbria	10th
Birmingham & Solihull	Sharmans Cross	2,500	Solihull, West Midlands	Runners up (not promoted)
Hinckley	Leicester Road	2,000	Hinckley, Leicestershire	Promoted from Midlands 1 (champions)
Kendal	Mint Bridge	3,000	Kendal, Cumbria	9th
Lichfield	Cooke Fields		Lichfield, Staffordshire	11th
Manchester	Grove Park	4,000	Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester	4th
Nuneaton	Harry Cleaver Ground		Nuneaton, Warwickshire	12th
Preston Grasshoppers	Lightfoot Green	5,000	Preston, Lancashire	3rd
Sandal	Milnthorpe Green		Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire	5th
Sedgley Park	Park Lane	3,000	Whitefield, Greater Manchester	Promoted from North 1 (champions)
Sheffield	Abbeydale Park	3,200	Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire	8th
Stourbridge	Stourton Park	3,500	Stourbridge, West Midlands	6th
Walsall	Broadway	1,150	Walsall, West Midlands	Relegated from National 3 (13th)
Winnington Park	Burrows Hill		Northwich, Cheshire	7th

League table

1997–98 National League 2 North table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Birmingham & Solihull (C, P)	26	23	0	3	805	334	+471	46	Promoted
2	Manchester (P)	26	21	2	3	1029	472	+557	44
3	Kendal	26	18	2	6	619	357	+262	38
4	Preston Grasshoppers	26	14	2	10	549	469	+80	30
5	Sedgley Park	26	14	2	10	655	595	+60	30
6	Stourbridge	26	14	0	12	685	605	+80	28
7	Nuneaton	26	13	0	13	453	570	−117	26
8	Sandal	26	13	1	12	485	547	−62	25
9	Aspatria	26	11	0	15	524	783	−259	22
10	Sheffield	26	10	2	14	557	539	+18	20
11	Walsall	26	9	1	16	539	723	−184	19
12	Hinckley	26	6	1	19	429	726	−297	13
13	Winnington Park	26	5	0	21	470	750	−280	10
14	Lichfield	26	4	1	21	365	694	−329	9

Source:
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; (P) Promoted
Notes:

Sponsorship

National League 2 North is part of the Jewson National Leagues is sponsored by Jewson. It was the first year they would sponsor the league.