| 2013–14 National League 2 North | |
| Champions: | Macclesfield |
| Runnersup: | Darlington Mowden Park (also promoted) |
| Relegated: | Dudley Kingswinford, Bromsgrove, Sheffield Tigers |
| Matches: | 240 |
| Highest Attendance: | 3,750 Darlington Mowden Park v Macclesfield 26 April 2014 |
| Attendance: | 79429 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 90 Hull v Otley 14 December 2013 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Stephen Collins (Sedgley Park) 298 points |
| Top Try Scorer: | Ryan Parkinson (Macclesfield) 32 tries |
| Prevseason: | 2012–13 |
The 2013–14 National League 2 North was the fourth season (27th overall) of the fourth tier (north) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced. 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 League 1 while the runners up would have a one-game playoff against the runners up from National League 2 South (at the home ground of the club with the superior league record) for the final promotion place.
The battle for the league title was as tight as it had ever been in the division with three teams - Darlington Mowden Park, Macclesfield and Stourbridge - looking to go up in a title race that went to the very last day of the season. Stourbridge won their final game away to Harrogate via a bonus point victory meaning that the winner of Darlington Mowden Park and Macclesfield was likely to go up. In a very close game in front of a record National 2 North crowd of 3,750 at The Northern Echo Arena, Mowden Park emerged as the victors 28 - 24 against Macclesfield only for the Cheshire side to gain 2 bonus points in defeat.[1] [2] These bonus points meant that it was Macclesfield that went up 1 point clear of their two title rivals, returning to their former league after just one season out. Despite the disappointment of losing out on the last day of the season, Darlington Mowden Park would follow Macclesfield up into the 2013–14 National League 1 by defeating Ampthill in the north-south promotion playoff in what was a very tight game that took extra time to be resolved.[3] [4] The move to The Northern Echo Arena saw quite a turnaround in fortunes for the north-east side, with large crowds turning up on a regular basis (an average of over 800 per game) particularly when considering that games held at the old ground of Yiewsley Drive a couple of seasons previously saw only around 200 hardcore fans watching games. You have to spare a thought for Stourbridge though, as the Midlands side would easily have achieved promotion on any other season but for the most competitive title battle in the divisions recent history.
While the fight for promotion had been extremely fierce the battle for relegation was far less so. Dudley Kingswinford ended a two-year stay in the division in what was a very poor season, failing to win any games at all and only having 6 points all season from try and losing bonuses (they were the first team to lose all 30 games in the division since Manchester in 2010-11, although bonus points gave them a better overall record).[5] Dudley Kingswinford would be followed in relegation by fellow Midlands side Bromsgrove whose 5 wins were not enough and finally by Sheffield Tigers who did better but not enough to catch 13th placed Hull.[6] [7] Dudley Kingswinford and Bromsgrove would drop to National League 3 Midlands while Sheffield Tigers fell to National League 3 North.[8] [9]
Twelve of the teams listed below participated in the 2012–13 National League 2 North season. Macclesfield and Sedgley Park were relegated from the 2012–13 National League 1; Chester (champions) and Harrogate (playoffs) were promoted from National League 3 North; Ampthill were promoted from National League 3 Midlands as champions and were then level transferred to the 2013–14 National League 2 South, due to an imbalance in the number of teams in the two fourth tier leagues.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham & Solihull | Portway | Portway, Birmingham, West Midlands | |
| Bromsgrove | Finstall Park | Bromsgrove, Worcestershire | |
| Caldy | Paton Field | 4,000 | Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside |
| Chester | Hare Lane | 2,000 (500 seats) | Chester, Cheshire |
| Darlington Mowden Park | The Northern Echo Arena | 25,000 | Darlington, County Durham |
| Dudley Kingswinford | Heathbrook | 2,260 (260 seats) | Kingswinford, Dudley, West Midlands |
| Harrogate | Claro Road | Harrogate, North Yorkshire | |
| Hull | Ferens Ground | 1,500 (288 seats) | Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Leicester Lions | Westleigh Park | 2,000 | Blaby, Leicestershire |
| Luctonians | Mortimer Park | 2,500 (300 seats) | Kingsland, Herefordshire |
| Macclesfield | Priory Park | 1,250 (250 seats) | Macclesfield, Cheshire |
| Otley | Cross Green | 5,000 | Otley, West Yorkshire |
| Preston Grasshoppers | Lightfoot Green | 5,000 | Preston, Lancashire |
| Sedgley Park | Park Lane | 3,000 | Whitefield, Bury, Greater Manchester |
| Sheffield Tigers | Dore Moor | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | |
| Stourbridge | Stourton Park | 3,500 (499 seats) | Stourbridge, West Midlands |
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Each season, the runners–up in the National League 2 South and National League 2 North participate in a play–off for promotion into National Division 1. Darlington Mowden Park were runners-up in the North and as they had a better record than the 2013–14 National League 2 South runners-up, Ampthill, they hosted the play–off match.[15] [16] [17] The game was played on 3 May 2014 at The Northern Echo Arena and finished 25 - 25 after normal time, so went to two 10-minute periods of extra time. The game was won with a try scored by DMP in the 3rd minute of added on time. As a result, they will play in National League 1 in the 2014–15 season for the first time.[18]
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham & Solihull | 15 | 3,775 | 252 | 540 | 166 | |
| Bromsgrove | 15 | 3,341 | 223 | 400 | 125 | |
| Caldy | 15 | 3,598 | 240 | 398 | 132 | 6% |
| Chester | 15 | 6,281 | 419 | 750 | 289 | 21% |
| Darlington Mowden Park | 15 | 13,693 | 913 | 3,750 | 510 | 4% |
| Dudley Kingswinford | 15 | 4,000 | 267 | 1,000 | 130 | 10% |
| Harrogate | 15 | 4,050 | 270 | 700 | 150 | |
| Hull | 15 | 2,207 | 147 | 192 | 90 | 10% |
| Leicester Lions | 15 | 1,825 | 122 | 141 | 105 | 6% |
| Luctonians | 15 | 5,745 | 383 | 608 | 240 | 15% |
| Macclesfield | 15 | 5,177 | 345 | 512 | 248 | 31% |
| Otley | 15 | 5,521 | 368 | 817 | 218 | 7% |
| Preston Grasshoppers | 15 | 5,200 | 347 | 507 | 203 | 7% |
| Sedgley Park | 15 | 3,846 | 256 | 453 | 175 | 9% |
| Sheffield Tigers | 15 | 1,879 | 125 | 159 | 97 | |
| Stourbridge | 15 | 9,291 | 619 | 1,200 | 370 | 18% |
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | 298 | ||
| 2 | 26 | 272 | ||
| 3 | 28 | 268 | ||
| 4 | 24 | 220 | ||
| 5 | 28 | 209 | ||
| 6 | 30 | 209 | ||
| 7 | 30 | 205 | ||
| 8 | 20 | 172 | ||
| 9 | 27 | 160 | ||
| 10 | 28 | 145 | ||
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | 32 | ||
| 2 | 26 | 23 | ||
| 3 | 22 | 22 | ||
| 4 | 27 | 21 | ||
| 29 | 21 | |||
| 5 | 27 | 20 | ||
| 6 | 25 | 17 | ||
| 27 | 17 | |||
| 7 | 21 | 16 | ||
| 28 | 16 | |||