Current season or competition: 2023–24 National League 2 East | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2022 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Country |  England |
| Holders | Esher (2023–24) |
| Most titles | Blackheath, Esher (1 title) |
| Website | National League 2 East |
National League 2 East is a rugby union league at level four in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in London, South East England and the East of England. The remainder of England is covered by two other regional leagues; National League 2 North and National League 2 West.[1] The champion club is promoted to National One. The last two teams are relegated to either Regional 1 South Central or Regional 1 South East.
Blackheath became champions, with three matches to play, following their 93 – 17 defeat of Westcliff on 25 March 2023.[2] Rochford Hundred (13th) and Westcliff (14th) are relegated to Regional 1 South East.[3]
Prior to the 2022–23 season, National League 2 East and National League 2 West were part of a unified division known as National League 2 South.
Structure
The league consists of fourteen teams who play the others on a home and away basis, to make a total of 26 matches each. The champions are promoted to National League 1 and the bottom two teams are relegated to Regional 1 South Central or Regional 1 South East, depending on their location.[4]
The results of the matches contribute points to the league 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 (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer
- 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.
Current season
Participating teams and locations
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 Locations of the 2023–24 National League 2 East teams
|
League table
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| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esher (C) | 25 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 1084 | 572 | 512 | 21 | 3 | 112 | ||||||
| 2 | Barnes | 25 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 857 | 607 | 250 | 17 | 4 | 101 | ||||||
| 3 | Dorking | 25 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 945 | 657 | 288 | 22 | 3 | 99 | ||||||
| 4 | Henley Hawks | 25 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 742 | 656 | 86 | 18 | 2 | 84 | ||||||
| 5 | Tonbridge Juddians | 25 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 811 | 672 | 139 | 19 | 7 | 84 | ||||||
| 6 | Bury St Edmunds | 25 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 787 | 625 | 162 | 16 | 5 | 79 | ||||||
| 7 | Canterbury | 25 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 774 | 715 | 59 | 15 | 5 | 68 | ||||||
| 8 | Old Albanian | 25 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 774 | 802 | -28 | 16 | 4 | 64 | ||||||
| 9 | Westcombe Park | 25 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 693 | 708 | -15 | 15 | 9 | 64 | ||||||
| 10 | Guernsey Raiders | 25 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 661 | 814 | -153 | 15 | 2 | 61 | ||||||
| 11 | Sevenoaks | 25 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 584 | 690 | -106 | 10 | 4 | 60 | ||||||
| 12 | Worthing Raiders | 25 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 690 | 944 | -254 | 17 | 5 | 46 | ||||||
| 13 | Wimbledon | 25 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 667 | 873 | -206 | 13 | 4 | 43 | ||||||
| 14 | North Walsham (R) | 25 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 413 | 1147 | -734 | 6 | 0 | 12 | ||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are relegation places. Updated: 20 April 2024 Source: National League 2 East RFU [6] | |||||||||||||||||
National Two East honours
| ||||||||||||||
| Season | No of teams | Champions | Runner–up | Relegated teams | Ref | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | 14 | Blackheath | Barnes | Westcliff, Rochford Hundred | [7] | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | 14 | Esher | North Walsham | |||||||||||
| Green background is the promotion place. | ||||||||||||||
Number of league titles
- Blackheath (1)
- Esher (1)
See also
- English rugby union system
- History of the English rugby union system
- National League 2 North
- National League 2 West
References
- ^ "Update on Structural Changes to National League Rugby". National League Rugby. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Compton, Richard. "Crushing Club back into Level Three at a stroll". The RugbyPaper. No. 758. pp. 32–3.
- ^ "National League 2 East 2022/23 – Points Table". National League Rugby. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "How promotion and relegation will work for Men's National 1 and below and Women's Championship and below". England Rugby. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Wimbledon RFC". York RUFC. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "National League 2 East". England Rugby.
- ^ "National League 2 West". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 March 2023.