2001–02 National Division One
The 2001–02 National Division One was the 15th full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams to the division included Rotherham who had been relegated from the Zurich Premiership 2000–01 while Bracknell and Rugby Lions had been promoted from the 2000–01 National Division Two.
For the first time the team finishing first, Rotherham, were denied promotion to the Zurich Premiership for season 2002–03 because their ground was not of the required standard - this was the first time a team had been denied entry to the top flight of English rugby since the leagues started in 1987 due to the introduction of the controversial 'minimum standards' rule for clubs seeking to join the Premiership. Worcester were runners-up for the second consecutive season, and Henley Hawks and Bracknell were relegated to the 2002–03 National Division Two with Bracknell spending just one season in the division.
Participating teams
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Bedford Blues | Goldington Road | 7,000 | Bedford, Bedfordshire |
| Birmingham & Solihull | Sharmans Cross | 2,500 | Solihull, West Midlands |
| Bracknell | Lily Hill Park | 1,250 | Bracknell, Berkshire |
| Coventry | Coundon Road | 9,000+ | Coventry, West Midlands |
| Exeter Chiefs | County Ground | 5,200 | Exeter, Devon |
| Henley Hawks | Dry Leas | 4,000 | Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire |
| London Welsh | Old Deer Park | 5,850 | Richmond, London |
| Manchester | Grove Park | 4,000 | Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester |
| Moseley | Bournbrook | Birmingham, West Midlands | |
| Otley | Cross Green | 5,000 | Otley, West Yorkshire |
| Rotherham | Clifton Lane | 2,500 | Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
| Rugby Lions | Webb Ellis Road | 1,000 | Rugby, Warwickshire |
| Wakefield | College Grove | 3,000 | Wakefield, West Yorkshire |
| Worcester | Sixways | 8,477 | Worcester, Worcestershire |
Table
Results
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Round 4
----Round 5
----Round 6
----Round 7
----Round 8
- Postponed. Rescheduled for 24 November 2001.
- Postponed. Rescheduled for 16 February 2002.
- Postponed. Rescheduled for 15 December 2001.
- Postponed. Rescheduled for 15 February 2002.
Round 9
----Round 10
----Round 8 (rescheduled game)
- Game rescheduled from 27 October 2001.
Round 11
----Round 12
----Round 8 (rescheduled game)
- Game rescheduled from 27 October 2001.
Round 13
----Round 14
- Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
- Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
- Game rescheduled to 17 February 2002.
- Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
- Game rescheduled to 16 February 2002.
- Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
- Game rescheduled to 2 March 2002.
Round 15
----Round 16
----Round 17
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 23 March 2002.
Round 18
----Round 19
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 23 March 2002.
Rounds 8 & 14 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 27 October 2001.
- Game rescheduled from 27 October 2001.
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
Round 20
----Round 14 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
- Game rescheduled from 5 January 2002.
Round 21
----Round 22
----Round 17 & 19 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 26 January 2002.
- Game rescheduled from 9 February 2002.
Round 23
----Round 24
----Round 25
----Round 26
Total season attendances
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Bedford Blues | 13 | 18,445 | 1,419 | 1,908 | 956 | 20% |
| Birmingham & Solihull | 13 | 6,350 | 488 | 1,000 | 200 | 20% |
| Bracknell | 13 | 4,805 | 370 | 750 | 150 | 30% |
| Coventry | 13 | 24,718 | 1,901 | 4,132 | 924 | 21% |
| Exeter Chiefs | 13 | 11,932 | 918 | 1,530 | 487 | 18% |
| Henley Hawks | 13 | 9,575 | 737 | 1,325 | 300 | 18% |
| London Welsh | 13 | 11,750 | 904 | 1,400 | 400 | 15% |
| Manchester | 13 | 6,685 | 514 | 828 | 225 | 13% |
| Moseley | 13 | 6,673 | 513 | 1,529 | 150 | |
| Otley | 13 | 9,300 | 715 | 1,500 | 430 | 14% |
| Rotherham | 13 | 18,451 | 1,419 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 57% |
| Rugby Lions | 13 | 6,491 | 499 | 836 | 300 | 50% |
| Wakefield | 13 | 4,800 | 369 | 1,100 | 250 | 12% |
| Worcester | 12 | 28,515 | 2,376 | 4,800 | 1,448 | 28% |
Individual statistics
- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Tries |
| 1 |  Chris Garrard | Worcester | 23 | 25 |
| 2 |  Ben Hinshelwood | Worcester | 26 | 21 |
| 3 |  Duncan Roke | Worcester | 20 | 16 |
| 3 | Richard Baxter | Exeter Chiefs | 26 | 16 |
| 4 | Nick Baxter | Birmingham & Solihull | 26 | 15 |
| 5 |  Oriol Ripol | Rotherham | 13 | 14 |
| 5 | Kurt Johnson | Coventry | 23 | 14 |
| 6 | Michael Wood | Rotherham | 19 | 13 |
| 6 |  Alfie To'oala | Rotherham | 22 | 13 |
| 7 | Chris Johnson | Rotherham | 21 | 12 |
| 7 | Phil Read | Rugby Lions | 25 | 12 |
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 73 pts73 - 0 Rotherham at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 13 April 2002
;Largest away win — 65 pts
72 - 7 Rotherham away to Manchester on 6 April 2002
;Most points scored — 73 pts
73 - 0 Rotherham at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 13 April 2002
;Most tries in a match — 12
Rotherham away to Manchester on 6 April 2002
;Most conversions in a match — 9
Worcester at home to Henley Hawks on 19 January 2002
;Most penalties in a match — 9
Manchester at home to Wakefield on 15 December 2001
;Most drop goals in a match — 3
Exeter Chiefs away to Rotherham on 10 November 2001
Player
;Most points in a match — 32Sateki Tuipulotu for Worcester at home to Henley Hawks on 19 January 2002
;Most tries in a match — 5
Chris Garrard for Worcester at home to Otley on 9 March 2002
Michael Wood for Rotherham at home to Birmingham & Solihull on 13 April 2002
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Tony Yapp for Worcester at home to Henley Hawks on 19 January 2002
Link Wilfley for Rotherham at home to Moseley on 30 March 2002
;Most penalties in a match — 9
Marcus Barrow for Manchester at home to Wakefield on 15 December 2001
;Most drop goals in a match — 3
Chris Malone for Exeter Chiefs away to Rotherham on 10 November 2001
Attendances
;Highest — 4,800Worcester at home to Rotherham on 22 September 2001
;Lowest — 150
Bracknell at home to Exeter Chiefs on 2 March 2002
Moseley at home to Rugby Lions on 23 March 2002
;Highest Average Attendance — 2,376
Worcester
;Lowest Average Attendance — 369
Wakefield