| 2007–08 National Division Three South | |
| Champions: | Mounts Bay |
| Runnersup: | Cinderford (also promoted) |
| Relegated: | Luton, North Walsham, Clifton |
| Highest Attendance: | 2,100 Cinderford v Lydney 8 September 2007 |
| Attendance: | 58,060 (average 348 per match) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 66 Clifton v Barking 2 February 2008 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Lee Jarvis (Mounts Bay) 266 points |
| Top Try Scorer: | Owen Bruynseels (Ealing Trailfinders) 20 tries |
| Prevseason: | 2006–07 |
| Nextseason: | 2008–09 |
The 2007–08 National Division Three South was the eighth season (21st overall) of the fourth division (south) of the English domestic rugby union competition using the name National Division Three South. New teams to the division included Barking who were relegated from the 2006–07 National Division Two while promoted sides included London Scottish (champions) and Ealing (playoffs) who came up from London Division 1, Mounts Bay who came up as champions of South West Division 1 and Luton who were Midlands Division 1 champions.[1] [2] [3] [4] In the case of Luton, Midlands league champions usually moved up to National Division Three North but due to number imbalances in that division, for this season, they would go into National Division Three South instead. The league system was 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and additional bonus points being awarded for scoring 4 or more tries and/or losing within 7 points of the victorious team. In terms of promotion the league champions would go straight up into National Division Two while the runners up would have a one-game playoff against the runners up from National Division Three North (at the home ground of the club with the superior league record) for the final promotion place.
In what was a very competitive league there were a number of teams tipped to go up but in the end it was Mounts Bay who came out on top as champions 12 points clear and sealing promotion to the 2008–09 National Division Two – part of an incredible sequence of six successive promotions stretching back to Cornwall 1 in 2003–04.[5] [6] The battle for the runner up spot was keenly contested between Cinderford and newly promoted Ealing Trailfinders but in the end the Gloucestershire side took second spot despite losing their final game to the west Londoners. Cinderford would join Mounts Bay in National Division Two after defeating 2007–08 National Division Three North runners up Darlington Mowden Park in a very close playoff game viewed by over 2,000 spectators at Dockham Road.[7] [8] At the other end of the table newly promoted Luton went straight back down as the worst side in the division followed by North Walsham. The third and final relegation spot was very closely contested but eventually Clifton went down just 1 point behind relegation rivals Barking and Havant – a last gasp away victory against relegation rivals Havant not being enough as Barking had a shock win against champions Mount Bays to keep them up instead.[5] Luton and North Walsham would drop to London Division 1 while Clifton would go into South West Division 1.[9] [10]
| width=20% | Team | width=20% | Stadium | width=20% | Capacity | width=25% | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking | Goresbrook | 1,000 | Barking, London | ||||
| Bridgwater & Albion | Bath Road | 5,000 | Bridgwater, Somerset | ||||
| Canterbury | Merton Lane | 1,000 | Canterbury, Kent | ||||
| Cinderford | Dockham Road | 2,500 | Cinderford, Gloucestershire | ||||
| Clifton | Station Road | 2,500 (400 seats) | Clifton, Bristol | ||||
| Dings Crusaders | Landseer Avenue | 1,500 | Lockleaze, Bristol | ||||
| Ealing Trailfinders | Trailfinders Sports Ground | 3,020 | Ealing, London | ||||
| Havant | Hook's Lane | 1,500 | Havant, Hampshire | ||||
| London Scottish | Athletic Ground | 4,500 | Richmond, London | ||||
| Luton | Newlands Road | Luton, Bedfordshire | |||||
| Lydney | Regentsholme | 1,500 | Lydney, Gloucestershire | ||||
| Mounts Bay | Mennaye Field | 3,500 | Penzance, Cornwall | ||||
| North Walsham | Norwich Road | 1,200 | Scottow, North Walsham, Norfolk | ||||
| Rosslyn Park | The Rock | 2,000 | Roehampton, London | ||||
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The league runners up of National Division Three South and North would meet in a playoff game for promotion to National Division Two. Cinderford were the southern division runners up and as they had a superior league record than northern runners-up, Darlington Mowden Park, they hosted the play-off match.
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking | 10 | 1,766 | 177 | 300 | 100 | 18% |
| Bridgwater & Albion | 13 | 8,109 | 624 | 973 | 375 | 12% |
| Canterbury | 13 | 3,049 | 254 | 436 | 164 | 25% |
| Cinderford | 13 | 5,918 | 455 | 2,100 | 200 | 18% |
| Clifton | 11 | 1,499 | 136 | 312 | 66 | 5% |
| Dings Crusaders | 13 | 1,920 | 148 | 276 | 105 | 10% |
| Ealing Trailfinders | 13 | 3,624 | 279 | 506 | 134 | 9% |
| Havant | 13 | 3,351 | 258 | 350 | 180 | 17% |
| London Scottish | 11 | 5,670 | 515 | 1,320 | 300 | 11% |
| Luton | 12 | 3,256 | 271 | 626 | 150 | |
| Lydney | 12 | 5,795 | 483 | 675 | 340 | 32% |
| Mounts Bay | 10 | 5,408 | 541 | 1,000 | 300 | 15% |
| North Walsham | 11 | 4,191 | 381 | 1,400 | 230 | 30% |
| Rosslyn Park | 12 | 4,504 | 375 | 560 | 170 | 19% |
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | 266 | ||
| 2 | 24 | 215 | ||
| 3 | 26 | 212 | ||
| 4 | 19 | 187 | ||
| 5 | 22 | 170 | ||
| 6 | 22 | 166 | ||
| 7 | Adam Westall | 14 | 127 | |
| 8 | 19 | 122 | ||
| 9 | 25 | 121 | ||
| 10 | 12 | 120 | ||
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | 20 | ||
| 2 | 22 | 19 | ||
| 3 | 19 | 15 | ||
| 25 | 15 | |||
| 4 | 18 | 14 | ||
| 22 | 14 | |||
| 25 | 14 | |||
| 26 | 14 | |||
| 5 | 25 | 13 | ||
| 6 | 19 | 12 | ||
| 20 | 12 | |||
| 23 | 12 | |||