2013–14 National League 1 Explained

The 2013–14 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1 is the fifth season of the third tier of the English domestic rugby union competitions, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was introduced. After being relegated last season, Doncaster Knights are the champions and became the first team to be promoted straight back to the RFU Championship for the 2014–15 season.^[1] The teams promoted last season from 2012–13 National League 2 South and 2012–13 National League 2 North, Henley Hawks, Hull Ionians and Worthing Raiders finished in the bottom three places with Henley and Worthing to join the 2014–15 National League 2 South and Ionians to the 2014–15 National League 2 North.

Participating teams and locations

After eight seasons in the second tier, Doncaster Knights find themselves playing in this league following their relegation from the RFU Championship. Henley Hawks and Hull Ionians were promoted as champions of their respected leagues National League 2 South and National League 2 North respectively. The third team to win promotion to the league was Worthing Raiders who beat Stourbridge in the promotion play-off 28–26.^[2] It is the first appearance at this level for both Hull Ionians and Worthing Raiders.

width=20%	Team	width=29%	Stadium	width=12%	Capacity	width=35%	City/Area
Blackheath	Rectory Field	6,000	Blackheath, London
Blaydon	Crow Trees	2,000 (400 seats)	Swalwell, Tyne and Wear
Cinderford	Dockham Road	2,500	Cinderford, Gloucestershire
Coventry	Butts Park Arena	4,000 (3,000 seats)	Coventry
Doncaster Knights	Castle Park	3,075	Doncaster
Esher	Molesey Road	3,000 (1,200 seats)	Hersham, Surrey
Fylde	Woodlands Memorial Ground	9,000	Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire
Henley Hawks	Dry Leas	4,000	Henley-on-Thames
Hull Ionians	Brantingham Park	1,500 (240 seats)	Brantingham, East Riding of Yorkshire
Loughborough Students	Loughborough University Stadium	3,000	Loughborough, Leicestershire
Old Albanian	Woollam Playing Fields	1,000	St Albans, Hertfordshire
Richmond	Athletic Ground	4,500 (1,000 seats)	Richmond, London
Rosslyn Park	The Rock	2,000	Roehampton, London
Tynedale	Tynedale Park	2,000 (400 seats)	Corbridge, Northumberland
Wharfedale	The Avenue	2,000	Threshfield, Craven, North Yorkshire
Worthing Raiders	Roundstone Lane	1,500 (100 seats)	Angmering, West Sussex

^[2]

Structure

The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one promotion place and three relegation places.

Fixtures

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Round 7

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Round 8

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Round 9

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Round 10

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Round 11

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Round 12

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Round 13

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Round 14

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Round 15

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Round 16

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Round 17

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Round 18

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Round 19

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Round 20

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Round 21

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Round 22

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Round 23

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Postponed matches (1)

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Round 24

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Round 25

• The above match was the 150th anniversary of rugby's oldest fixture.^[28]

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Postponed matches (2)

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Round 26

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Round 27

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Round 28

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Round 29

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Postponed match (3)

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Round 30

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Postponed match (4)

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Season records

Team

Largest home win — 53 pts67 – 14 Coventry v Hull Ionians on 26 April

Largest away win — 48 pts12 – 60 Rosslyn Park at Hull Ionians on 12 April

Most points scored — 67pts67 – 14 Coventry v Hull Ionians on 26 April

Most points scored away from home — 60 pts12 – 60 Rosslyn Park at Hull Ionians on 12 April

Most tries in a match — 1063 – 21 Coventry v Blackheath on 26 October
12 – 60 Rosslyn Park at Hull Ionians on 12 April
67 – 14 Coventry v Hull Ionians on 26 April

Most conversions in a match — 8Esher home to Tynedale on 9 November
Fylde home to Loughborough Students on 26 January

Most penalties in a match — 7Wharfdale v Loughborough Students on 21 September
Wharfdale at Tynedale on 28 September

Most drop goals in a match — 1N/A - multiple teams

Player

Most points in a match — 28 ptsClifford Hodgson for Coventry at home to Blackheath on 26 October

Most tries in a match — 4Ben Frankland for Tynedale home to Blackheath on 18 January
Howe for Rosslyn Park at Hull Ionians on 12 April

Most conversions in a match — 8Luke Daniels for Esher home to Tynedale on 9 November

Most penalties in a match — 7Tom Barrett for Wharfdale at home to Loughborough Students on 21 September
Tom Barrett for Wharfdale at Tynedale on 28 September
^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10] [11] [12] [14] [17] [18] [20] [21] [22] [23] [34] [37]}

Most drop goals in a match — 1N/A - multiple players

Fastest try from kick-off7.24 seconds by Tyson Lewis for Doncaster Knights at Old Albanians – the fastest ever try by a professional rugby union player. The try was originally timed at 8.13 seconds, but Guinness World Records recorded it as 7.24 seconds. The previous record was 8.28 seconds by Lee Blackett for Leeds Carnegie at home to Newcastle Falcons in the 2007–08 English Premiership.^{[38] [39]}

Attendances

Highest — 1,756Rosslyn Park at home to Doncaster Knights on 29 March 2014

Lowest — 100Loughborough Students at home to Hull Ionians on 22 March 2014

Highest Average Attendance — 1,198Coventry

Lowest Average Attendance — 283Hull Ionians

Total Season Attendances

Club	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Blackheath	11,088	739	1,352	427	12%
Blaydon	4,429	295	645	122	15%
Cinderford	4,794	320	700	189	13%
Coventry	17,969	1,198	1,601	917	30%
Doncaster Knights	16,648	1,110	1,588	772	36%
Esher	9,651	643	1,081	325	21%
Fylde	10,693	713	1,056	535	8%
Henley Hawks	7,823	522	745	245	13%
Hull Ionians	4,245	283	550	155	19%
Loughborough Students	5,160	344	1,100	100	11%
Old Albanian	4,848	323	420	190	32%
Richmond	9,398	627	1,537	275	14%
Rosslyn Park	9,851	657	1,756	657	33%
Tynedale	6,727	448	900	250	22%
Wharfedale	9,340	623	893	421	31%
Worthing Raiders	11,321	755	1,045	495	50%

Leading scorers

Leading points scorers

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1			374
2			343
3			281
4			272
5	Luke Daniels		267
6			243
7			238

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Top try scorers

Rank	Player	Team	Tries
1			22
2			20
	Fylde
	Doncaster Knights
5			18
	Worthing Raiders
	Loughborough Students

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External links

• NCA Rugby

Notes and References

1. News: Newcombe. Jon. Knights' workhorse may need to lighten his load. The RUGBYPaper. 4 May 2014. 24.
2. News: Talbot-Smith. Charlie. Park's new men have that winning know-how. The RUGBYPaper. 1 September 2013. 32–3.
3. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 8 September 2013. 30–1.
4. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 15 September 2013. 30–1.
5. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 22 September 2013. 30–1.
6. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 29 September 2013. 30–1.
7. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 6 October 2013. 30–1.
8. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 13 October 2013. 30–1.
9. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 20 October 2013. 32–3.
10. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 27 October 2013. 30–1.
11. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 3 November 2013. 30–1.
12. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 10 November 2013. 30–1.
13. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 17 November 2013. 30–1.
14. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 24 November 2013. 30–1.
15. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 1 December 2013. 30–1.
16. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 8 December 2013. 30–1.
17. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 15 December 2013. 30–1.
18. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 22 December 2013. 26–27.
19. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 5 January 2014. 30–1.
20. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 12 January 2014. 26–7.
21. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 19 January 2014. 26–27.
22. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 25 January 2014. 26 and 31.
23. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 2 February 2014. 28–29.
24. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 9 February 2014. 30–31.
25. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 16 February 2014. 30–31.
26. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 23 February 2014. 32–33.
27. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 2 March 2014. 30–31.
28. News: Horgan. Rob. Spoils shared on special occasion. The RUGBYPaper. 9 March 2014.
29. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 9 March 2014. 26–27.
30. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 15 March 2014. 29.
31. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 23 March 2014. 26–27.
32. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 30 March 2014. 34–35.
33. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 6 April 2014. 26–27.
34. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 13 April 2014. 26–27.
35. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 20 April 2014. 27.
36. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 27 April 2014. 24–25.
37. News: SSE National League 1. The RUGBYPaper. 4 May 2014. 33.
38. News: Newcombe. Jon. Tyson lands a knockout in just eight seconds. The RUGBYPaper. 1 December 2013. 22.
39. News: Verdier. Nick. Lightening Lewis fires Knights to promotion. The RUGBYPaper. 27 April 2014. 3.