North Premier
North Premier is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of four leagues at this level, with its counterparts; London & South East Premier, South West Premier and Midlands Premier. The format of the league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following reorganisation by the Rugby Football Union when the league was originally known as North Division 1. A further name change from National League 3 to Premier was introduced for the 2017-18 season by the RFU in order to lessen confusion for what is a series of regional leagues. The fourteen teams in the division are drawn from across northern England and is the highest regional rugby union league in the north of England.
The champion club is automatically promoted to National League 2 North and the runner-up meets the second placed team of Midlands Premier in a play-off, with the winner also gaining promotion.
Format
The fourteen teams in this league are drawn from across northern England with the league champions being promoted to National League 2 North and the runner-up going into a play-off with the second placed team from Midlands Premier with the winner also being promoted. The league's bottom three teams are relegated to either North 1 East or North 1 West depending on their geographic location.The season runs from September to May and comprises twenty-six rounds of matches, with each club playing each of its rivals home and away. The results of the matches contribute points to the league table as follows:
- 4 points are awarded for a win
- 2 points are awarded for a draw
- 0 points are awarded for a loss, however
- 1 losing point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer
- 1 additional point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match
2019–20
Participating teams and locations
Team | Ground | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
Alnwick | Greensfield | 1,200 | Alnwick, Northumberland | 9th |
Billingham | Greenwood Road | 1,500 | Billingham, County Durham | 4th |
Blackburn | Ramsgreave Drive | Blackburn, Lancashire | Promoted from North 1 West | |
Blaydon | Crow Trees | 2,000 | Swalwell, Tyne and Wear | Runners up |
Carlisle | Rugby Ground, Warwick Road | 1,500 | Carlisle, Cumbria | Promoted from North 1 West |
Harrogate | Rudding Lane | Harrogate, North Yorkshire | 3rd | |
Ilkley | Stacks Field | 2,000 | Ilkley, West Yorkshire | 8th |
Kirkby Lonsdale | Underley Park | Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria | 10th | |
Lymm | Crouchley Lane | Lymm, Cheshire | 11th | |
Macclesfield | Priory Park | 1,250 | Macclesfield, Cheshire | Relegated from National 2 North |
Morpeth | Grange House Field | 1,000 | Morpeth, Northumberland | Promoted from North 1 East |
Rossendale | Marl Pits | Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire | 5th | |
Sandal | Milnthorpe Green | Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire | 6th | |
Wirral | The Memorial Ground | Clatterbridge, Wirral | 7th |
Original teams
When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams:- Hartlepool Rovers
- Harrogate
- Hull & ER
- Kendal
- Otley
- Tynedale
- Widnes
- Wigton
- Winnington Park (now playing in South Lancs/Cheshire 1
- West Park (now playing in Lancs/Cheshire Division 1
North Premier honours
North Division 1 (1987–1993)
The original North Division 1 was a tier 5 league with promotion up to Area League 2 North and relegation down to North Division 2.North Division 1 (1993–1996)
At the end of the 1992–93 season the top six teams from North Division 1 and the top six from Midland Division 1 were combined to create National 5 North. This meant that North Division 1 dropped from a tier 5 league to a tier 6 league for the years that National 5 North was active.North Division 1 (1996–2009)
For the end of the 1995–96 season National 5 North was discontinued and North Division One returned to being a tier 5 league. Promotion was up to National 4 North, while relegation continued to North Division 2 until 2000–01, and then into either North 2 East and North 2 West in subsequent seasons.National League 3 North
For the 2009–10 season North Division One was renamed as National League 3 North following a restructuring of the national leagues which led to changes at all levels.North Premier
The division was renamed North Premier for the 2017–18 season in order to make it more obvious that this was a regional division and the top one in the north.Promotion play-offs
Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the league runners-up of North Premier and Midlands Premier for the third and final promotion place to National League 2 North. The team with the superior league record has home advantage. As of the end of the 2019–20 season the northern teams have been stronger with twelve wins to the Midlands seven, while the home team has won thirteen times compared to the away teams six.Number of league titles
- Bradford & Bingley
- Darlington Mowden Park
- Huddersfield
- Kendal
- Morley
- Preston Grasshoppers
- Aspatria
- Blaydon
- Caldy
- Chester
- Darlington
- Doncaster
- Halifax
- Hull
- Manchester
- New Brighton
- Otley
- Rotherham
- Sale FC
- Sandal
- Sedgley Park
- Sheffield Tigers
- Stockport
- Tynedale
- Westoe
- Wharfedale
- Winnington Park