Lancs/Cheshire Division Two Explained

Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire (formerly Lancs/Cheshire Division Two (usually referred to as Lancs/Cheshire 2)) is a regional English Rugby Union league for teams in Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester at level 9 of the English rugby union system.

The division was initially known as North-West West 2 when it was created in 1987, and had a number of different names with South Lancs/Cheshire 2 being the longest running. The division switched to its name for the 2018–19 season due to the restructuring of the northern leagues by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as a result of 19 Lancashire clubs withdrawing from RFU competitions to form their own competitions.^[1] Each season three teams from Lancs/Cheshire 2 were picked to take part in the RFU Junior Vase (a national competition for clubs at levels 9-12) - two clubs affiliated with the Cheshire RFU, the other with the Lancashire RFU.

The division had a break for the 2015-16 season as the RFU decided to restructure the South Lancs/Cheshire league into three zones - Merseyside (West), Cheshire (South) and Lancashire (North). This was short-lived and the division returned to its original format for the 2016-17 season with only Lancashire (North) remaining of the three zones.

After the introduction of North 2 West at tier 7 for the 2019–20 season, all Lancs/Cheshire leagues dropped one level, with Lancs/Cheshire Division Two ranked at level 9.

Following the cancellation of Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season ^[2] due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league was mothballed with teams transferred into the Lancashire Merit Table competitions, ADM Lancashire leagues or level transferred into other regional leagues.

After a hiatus for season 2021-22 the league returned in its new guise following the restructuring of the English rugby union system ahead of the 2022–23 season, with the league renamed to Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.

Promotion is to Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire and relegation to Lancashire RFU merit leagues.

Teams 2024-25

Departing were Wigan and Thornton-Cleveleys, promoted to Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.

Joining were Fleetwood and De La Salle (Salford) relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire together with Vagabonds, Ashton-under-Lyne, Colne & Nelson and Blackpool promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Ashton-under-Lyne	Gambrel Bank			Promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues
Blackpool	Fleetwood Road			Promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues
	Holden Road			5th
Bury	Bury Sports Club			4th
Clitheroe	Littlemore Road			7th
Colne & Nelson	Holt House			Promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues
De La Salle (Salford)	De La Salle Sports & Social Club			Relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
Dukinfield	Playing Fields			9th
Fleetwood	Melbourne Avenue			Relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
Garstang	Hudson Park			3rd
Old Bedians	Millgate Lane			10th
Ormskirk	Green Lane			8th
				6th
	Port-E-Chee			Promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues

Teams 2023-24

Departing were Hoylake and New Brighton, promoted to Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire. Vagabonds (9th) and Port Sunlight (10th) were relegated into the Lancashire RFU merit leagues. Ellesmere Port (6th) did not return for the new season.

Joining were Ormskirk, Orrell and Wigan relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire together with Burnley and Clitheroe promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Holden Road			Promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues
Bury	Bury Sports Club			8th
Clitheroe	Littlemore Road			Promoted from the Lancashire RFU merit leagues
Dukinfield	Playing Fields			5th
Garstang	Hudson Park			3rd
Old Bedians	Millgate Lane			7th
Ormskirk	Green Lane			Relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
				Relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
Thornton-Cleveleys	Thornton Sports Centre			4th
Wigan	Douglas Valley			Relegated from Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire

Teams 2022-23

This was the first season following the RFU Adult Competition Review with the league adopting its new name of Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Bury	Bury Sports Club
Dukinfield	Playing Fields
Ellesmere Port	Whitby Sports & Social Club
Garstang	Hudson Park
Hoylake	Carham Road
	Hartsfield
Old Bedians	Millgate Lane
Port Sunlight	Leverhulme Playing Fields
Thornton-Cleveleys	Thornton Sports Centre
	Port-E-Chee

Season 2021-22

Not contested as many of the Lancashire RFU affiliated clubs had joined the Lanacashire ADM splinter leagues.

Season 2020–21

On 30 October the RFU announced ^[3] that a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning the leagues was not contested.

Teams 2019–20

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Liverpool University	Wyncote Sports Ground			4th
Mossley Hill	Mossley Hill Athletic Club			6th
Newton-le-Willows	Newton-le-Willows Sports Club			9th
Old Bedians	Millgate Lane			3rd
Oswestry	Granville Park			Relegated from Lancs/Cheshire 1 (11th)
Oxton Parkonians	HM Curphey Memorial Ground			10th
Port Sunlight	Leverhulme Playing Fields			Relegated from Lancs/Cheshire 1 (10th)
Ruskin Park	Ruskin Drive Sports Ground			7th
	Port-E-Chee			8th

Teams 2018–19

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Aspull	Wood Lane			4th
Birchfield	Birchfield Road			Promoted from Lancs/Cheshire 3 (runners up)
Congleton	Congleton Park			8th
Dukinfield	Blocksages Playing Fields			9th
Eccles	Gorton Street			Transferred from North Lancashire/Cumbria (13th)
Garstang	Hudson Park			Promoted from Lancs/Cheshire 3 (champions)
Marple	Ridge Sports Pavilion			12th
	Hartsfield	2,000		Relegated from Lancs/Cheshire 1 (13th)
				6th
Oswestry	Granville Park			10th
Port Sunlight	Leverhulme Playing Fields			11th

Teams 2017–18

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Aspull	Wood Lane			Promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 3 (champions)
Congleton	Congleton Park			Promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 3 (runners up)
Didsbury Toc H	Ford Lane			Transferred from Lancashire (North) (3rd)
Dukinfield	Blocksages Playing Fields			8th
	Green Lane			5th
Liverpool Collegiate		3,000		3rd
Marple	Ridge Sports Pavilion			7th
Oldershaw	Belvidere Recreational Ground			10th
				Transferred from Lancashire (North) (4th)
Oswestry	Granville Park			Relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1 (14th)
Port Sunlight	Leverhulme Playing Fields			9th
	Port-E-Chee			11th
	Douglas Valley			Relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1 (13th)
	Burrows Hill			6th

Participating clubs 2016-17

• Dukinfield
• Eagle
• Heaton Moor
• Hoylake (relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1)
• Liverpool Collegiate
• Marple
• Moore
• Oldershaw
• Port Sunlight
• Ruskin Park (prompted from Merseyside (West))
• Tyldesley
• Vagabonds R.U.F.C.
• Winnington Park (relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1)

2015-16

For the 2015-16 season this league, and South Lancs/Cheshire 3, were replaced by three county-wide leagues - Cheshire (South), Merseyside (West) and Lancashire (North). However, with the exception of Lancashire North, the county leagues were axed after just one season and the South Lancs/Cheshire leagues were restored.

Participating clubs 2014-15

• Ashton-on-Mersey (relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1)
• Dukinfield
• Liverpool Collegiate
• Marple
• Moore
• Ormskirk
  • Orrell Oswestry
• Port Sunlight
• Prenton (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 3)
• Southport
• Trentham (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 3)
• Tyldesley (relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1)
• Vagabonds (I.O.M.)

Participating clubs 2013-14

• Bowdon (relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1)
• Dukinfield
• Liverpool Collegiate
• Manchester Medics (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 3)
• Marple
• Moore
• Ormskirk
• Orrell (relegated from South Lancs/Cheshire 1)
• Oswestry
• Port Sunlight (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 3)
  • Ramsey (IoM) Southport
• Vagabonds (I.O.M.)
• Wallasey

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams:

• Chester College
• Hightown
• Moore
• Old Instonians
• Port Sunlight
• Ruskin Park
• Sefton
• South Liverpool
• St. Mary's Old Boys
• Vulcan
• Wallasey

Lancs/Cheshire 2 honours

North-West West 2 (1987–1992)

The original incarnation of Lancs/Cheshire 2 was known as North-West West 2, and was a tier 10 league with promotion up to North-West West 1 and relegation down to North-West West 3.

<											----> North-West West 2
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1987–88	11	Old Instonians		Wallasey, Moore
1988–89	10	Oldershaw		Halton
1989–90	11	Vulcan		Birchfield
1990–91	11	Vagabonds		Wallasey
1991–92	11	St. Mary's Old Boys		No relegation
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Cheshire / Lancashire South (1992–1996)

Restructuring of north-west leagues saw North-West West 2 split into two new regional divisions named Cheshire and Lancashire South. Both regional divisions were initially at tier 10 but the creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that they both dropped to become tier 11 leagues. Promotion was to the newly named Cheshire/Lancs South (formerly North-West West 1), while the cancellation of North-West West 3 meant that there was no relegation until further league restructuring at the end of the 1995–96 season.

<											----> Cheshire / Lancashire South
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams	League Name
1992–93	11	Old Anselmians		No relegation	Cheshire
	10	Sefton		No relegation	Lancashire South
1993–94	10	Port Sunlight		No relegation	Cheshire
	9	Didsbury Toc H		No relegation	Lancashire South
1994–95	10	Congleton		No relegation	Cheshire
	10	Newton-le-Willows		No relegation	Lancashire South
1995–96	10	Old Anselmians		Multiple teams	Cheshire
	10	Birchfield		Multiple teams	Lancashire South
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

South Lancs/Cheshire 2 (1996–2000)

The league system was restructured from top to bottom by the Rugby Football Union for the start of the 1996–97 season. Firstly, as part of the reorganisation of the Cheshire and Lancashire leagues, the two regional divisions Cheshire and Lancashire were merged back into a single division called South/Lancs Cheshire 2. The cancellation of National 5 North and creation of North West 3 meant that South Lancs/Cheshire 2 was a tier 11 league, with promotion to South/Lancs Cheshire 1 (formerly Cheshire/Lancs South) and relegation to the newly formed South Lancs/Cheshire 3 (previously North-West West 3).

<											----> South Lancs/Cheshire 2
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1996–97	10	Southport		Port Sunlight, Hotlake
1997–98	10	Wallasley		Didsbury TOC, Old Parkonians
1998–99[4]	9	Dukinfield
1999–00[5]	10	Ellesmere Port
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

South Lancs/Cheshire 2 (2000–2015)

Northern league restructuring by the RFU at the end of the 1999-2000 season saw the cancellation of North West 1, North West 2 and North West 3 (tiers 7-9). This meant that South/Lancs Cheshire 2 became a tier 8 league. At the end of 2014–15 season South Lancs/Cheshire 2 and South Lancs/Cheshire 3 were discontinued and all teams were transferred into Cheshire (South), Lancashire (North) or Merseyside (West).

<											----> South Lancs/Cheshire 2
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2000–01[6]	12	Dukinfield		Newton-le-Willows
2001–02[7]	12	Wirral
2002–03[8]	12	Anselmians
2003–04[9]	12	Hoylake
2004–05[10]	11	Anselmians
2005–06[11]	12	Sale FC
2006–07[12]	11	Ruskin Park
2007–08[13]	12	Dukinfield
2008–09[14]	12	Anselmians		No relegation
2009–10[15]	13	Liverpool Collegiate
2010–11[16]	14	Orrell
2011–12[17]	14	Ruskin Park
2012–13[18]	14	Sefton
2013–14[19]	14	Manchester Medics
2014–15[20]	14	Liverpool Collegiate
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

South Lancs/Cheshire 2 (2016–2018)

After just one season Cheshire (South) and Merseyside (West) were discontinued and South Lancs/Cheshire 2 and South Lancs/Cheshire 3 reinstated for the 2016–17 seasons with all clubs transferred back into these divisions.

<											----> South Lancs/Cheshire 2
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2016–17[21]	12	Tyldesley		No relegation
2017–18[22]	12	Winnington Park
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Lancs/Cheshire 2 (2018–present)

A further restructure for the 2018–19 season saw South Lancs/Cheshire 2 renamed to Lancs/Cheshire 2. The cancellation of South Lancs/Cheshire 3 at the end of the 2019–20 season meant that there was no longer relegation, although promotion still continued to Lancs/Cheshire 1. The introduction of North 2 West for the 2019–20 season saw Lancs/Cheshire drop to become a tier 9 league.

<											----> South Lancs/Cheshire 2
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2018–19[23]	11	Aspull
2019–20[24]	9	Port Sunlight		No relegation
2020–21	9
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Number of league titles

• Anselmians (5)
• Dukinfield (3)
• Liverpool Collegiate (2)
• Port Sunlight (2)
• Ruskin Park (2)
• Sefton (2)
• Aspull (1)
• Birchfield (1)
• Congleton (1)
• Didsbury Toc H (1)
• Ellesmere Port (1)
• Hoylake (1)
• Manchester Medics (1)
• Newton-le-Willows (1)
• Old Instonians (1)
• Oldershaw (1)
• Orrell (1)
• Sale FC (1)
• Southport (1)
• St. Mary's Old Boys (1)
• Tyldesley (1)
• Vagabonds (1)
• Vulcan (1)
• Wallasley (1)
• Winnington Park (1)
• Wirral (1)

See also

• Cheshire RFU
• Lancashire RFU
• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

Notes and References

1. Web site: North West league restructuring (June 14 2018). RFU North. 14 June 2018. 16 November 2018. 27 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180727181349/http://www.rfunorth.com/news/newsarchive.htm. dead.
2. Web site: RFU Cancels Adult Competitive Leagues for the 2020/21 Season . RFU . 2020-10-20 . 2020-11-09.
3. Web site: RFU Cancels Adult Competitive Leagues for the 2020/21 Season . RFU . 2020-10-20 . 2020-11-09.
4. Web site: 1998-99 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
5. Web site: 1999-00 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
6. Web site: 2000-01 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
7. Web site: 2001-02 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
8. Web site: 2002-03 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
9. Web site: 2003-04 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
10. Web site: 2004-05 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
11. Web site: 2005-06 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
12. Web site: 2006-07 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
13. Web site: 2007-08 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
14. Web site: 2008-09 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
15. Web site: 2009-10 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
16. Web site: 2010-11 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
17. Web site: 2011-12 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
18. Web site: 2012-13 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
19. Web site: 2013-14 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
20. Web site: 2014-15 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
21. Web site: 2016-17 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
22. Web site: 2017-18 Northern Division. England Rugby. RFU. 28 April 2018.
23. Web site: 2018-19 Northern Division. England Rugby. RFU. 13 April 2019.
24. Web site: Men's North Level 8 and below leagues 2019–20. England Rugby. 25 April 2020.