Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland Explained

Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland
Current Season:	Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland#Participating clubs 2022–23 season2022–23
Sport:	Rugby union
Teams:	12
Country:	England
Champion:	Percy Park (3rd title)
Season:	2021-22
Most Champs:	Horden
Count:	4
Website:	Website
Related Comps:	Counties 1 Yorkshire
Promotion To:	Regional 2 North
Relegation To:	Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland

Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland, formerly known as Durham/Northumberland 1 is an English amateur rugby union competition. The league consists of twelve clubs, and is the seventh tier of the English rugby union system, as one of the 16 regional leagues, though is the highest level of local rugby in the North East of England. The champions are automatically promoted to Regional 2 North, a division with a wider geographical area that also encompasses the Yorkshire region. The runners-up participate in a play-off against the runners-up from the equivalent regional league, Counties 1 Yorkshire, for promotion. The bottom two are relegated to Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland.

Each season, two teams from the league are selected to take part in the RFU Intermediate Cup, a national competition for clubs in the seventh tier: one is affiliated with the Durham County RFU, the other is affiliated with the Northumberland RFU.

Clubs

Well known clubs have competed in Durham/Northumberland 1 throughout the league's history. Many of these clubs enjoyed successful histories, mainly during the amateur era of rugby. These include Gosforth RFC who in the '70s enjoyed great success, winning the John Player Cup in 1975/76 and 76/77; West Hartlepool who played in the Premiership in the 1990s; Northern who produced many international players; and Medicals, who have the rare distinction of having been the home club of two RFU Presidents. Clubs such as Alnwick RFC, Stockton RFC and Horden RFC have traditionally played in higher leagues and tend to finish towards the top of Durham/Northumberland 1.

2024–25

Leaving the league were Guisborough promoted to Regional 2 North while South Shields Westoe and Hartlepool Rovers were relegated to DN2. Joining in their place were Stockton (relegated), Darlington and Horden and Peterlee (both promoted).

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Acklam	Talbot Park			6th
Bishop Auckland	West Mills Playing Fields			7th
	Blackwell Meadows	3,000		Promoted from DN2 (runners-up)
Hartlepool	Mayfield Park			7th
	Eden Lane Park			Promoted from DN2 (champions)
	Cartington Terrace	1,000		4th
	Sutherland Park	1,150		3rd
Ponteland	Ponteland Leisure Centre			8th
Ryton	Main Road			5th
	The Grangefield Ground			Relegated from Regional 2 North (11h)
Sunderland	Ashbrooke Sports Club			2nd
	Lovaine Avenue			10th

2023–24

Leaving the league were West Hartlepool promoted to Regional 2 North while Darlington and Horden and Peterlee were relegated to DN2. Joining in their place were South Shields Westoe (relegated), Bishop Auckland and Ryton (both promoted).

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Acklam	Talbot Park			8th
Bishop Auckland	West Mills Playing Fields			Promoted from DN2 (runners-up)
Guisborough	Belmangate			5th
Hartlepool	Mayfield Park			7th
	New Friarage			9th
	Cartington Terrace	1,000		3rd
	Sutherland Park	1,150		10th
Ponteland	Ponteland Leisure Centre			4th
Ryton	Main Road			Promoted from DN2 (champions)
	Grosvenor Road			Relegated from Regional 2 North (11h)
Sunderland	Ashbrooke Sports Club			2nd
	Lovaine Avenue			6th

2022–23

Leaving the league were Percy Park, Northern, South Shields Westoe, Stockton and Aspatria who were all promoted to Regional 2 North. There was no relegation from the league.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Acklam	Talbot Park			13th
	Blackwell Meadows	3,000		Promoted from DN2 (3rd)
Guisborough	Belmangate			Promoted from DN2 (champions)
Hartlepool	Mayfield Park			Promoted from DN2 (runners-up)
	New Friarage			9th
	Eden Lane Park			14th
	Cartington Terrace	1,000		7th
	Sutherland Park	1,150		10th
Ponteland	Ponteland Leisure Centre			11th
Sunderland	Ashbrooke Sports Club			8th
	Brinkburn	1,000 (76 seats)		6th
	Lovaine Avenue			12th

2021–22

Middlesbrough RUFC finished runners-up in DN1 in 2019-20 but were level transferred to Yorkshire 1 for the current season, the space was taken by Aspatria RUFC who were level transferred from North 2 West.

The teams competing in 2021-22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019-20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020-21.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Acklam	Talbot Park			9th
	Bower Park			Level transfer from North 2 West (6th)
	New Friarage			10th
	Eden Lane Park			11th
	Cartington Terrace	1,000		7th
		1,000		3rd
	Sutherland Park	1,150		6th
	Preston Avenue			Relegated from North 1 East (12th)
Ponteland	Ponteland Leisure Centre			Promoted from DN2 (champions)
	Wood Terrace			4th
	The Grangefield Ground			5th
Sunderland	Ashbrooke Sports Club			Promoted from DN2 (runners-up)
	Brinkburn	1,000 (76 seats)		Relegated from North 1 East (13th)
	Lovaine Avenue			8th

2020–21

On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced ^[1] that due to the coronavirus pandemic a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning DN1 was not contested.

2019-20

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Acklam	Talbot Park			11th
Barnard Castle	Birch Road			9th
Consett	Amethyst Park			Relegated from North 1 East (14th)
Gateshead	Eastwood Gardens			8th
	New Friarage			7th
	Eden Lane Park			10th
	Cartington Terrace	1,000		12th
		5,000 (159 seats)		Level transfer from Yorkshire 1 (8th)
North Shields	Preston Playing Fields			Promoted from Durham/Northumberland 2 (runners up)
		1,000		3rd
	Sutherland Park	1,150		6th
	Wood Terrace			5th
	The Grangefield Ground			4th
	Lovaine Avenue			Promoted from Durham/Northumberland 2 (champions)

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams:

• Acklam
• Ashington
• Blyth
• Darlington
• Horden
• Percy Park
• Ponteland
• Redcar
• Rockcliff
• Seghill
• Winlanton Vulcans

Durham/Northumberland 1 honours

Durham/Northumberland 1 (1987–1993)

The original Durham/Northumberland 1 was a tier 9 league with promotion up to North East 2 and relegation down to Durham/Northumberland 2.

<											----> Durham/Northumberland 1
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1987–88	11	Blyth		Percy Park
1988–89	11	Rockcliff		Winlanton Vulcans
1989–90	11	Ashington	Horden	Ponteland, Hartlepool
1990–91	11	Redcar		Whitby
1991–92	11	Horden		No relegation
1992–93	13	Whitby	Darlington	Seghill, Hartlepool
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Durham/Northumberland 1 (1993–2000)

The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Durham/Northumberland 1 dropped to being a tier 10 league. A further restructure at the end of the 1995–96 season, which included the cancellation of National 5 North and the addition of North East 3 at tier 9, saw Durham/Northumberland 1 remain at tier 10 with promotion to the new North 3 East league.

<											----> Durham/Northumberland 1
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1993–94	13	Mowden Park		Consett, Seaham
1994–95	13	Percy Park	Sunderland	Wallsend, Guisborough
1995–96	12	Darlington	Sunderland	North Durham, Ponteland
1996–97	10	West Hartlepool TDSOB	Ryton
1997–98	10	Ryton	Acklam	North Durham, Bishop Auckland
1998–99^[2]	10	Medicals	Acklam	Blyth, North Shields
1999–00^[3]	10	Consett	Winlaton Vulcans	Seghill, Novocastrians, Whitley Bay Rockcliff
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Durham/Northumberland 1 (2000–2022)

Northern league restructuring by the RFU at the end of the 1999–2000 season saw the cancellation of North East 1, North East 2 and North East 3 (tiers 7–9). This meant that Durham/Northumberland 1 became a tier 7 league, with promotion to North 2 East (currently North 1 East).

<											----> Durham/Northumberland 1
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2000–01^[4]	12	Westoe
2001–02^[5]	12	Horden	Ashington	Winlaton Vulcans, Consett
2002–03^[6]	12	Northern
2003–04^[7]	12	Hartlepool Rovers		Houghton, Gateshead
2004–05^[8]	12	Percy Park		Ashington, Hartlepool
2005–06^[9]	12	Horden	Malton and Norton	Acklam, West Hartlepool T.D.S.O.B.
2006–07^[10]	12	Gateshead	Sunderland
2007–08^[11]	12	Billingham		West Hartlepool T.D.S.O.B., Ponteland
2008–09^[12]	12	Hartlepool Rovers		No relegation
2009–10^[13]	14	Northern		Consett, Hartlepool
2010–11^[14]	14	Gateshead
2011–12^[15]	14	Darlington		Novocastrians, Ashington
2012–13^[16]	14	Alnwick	Guisborough	Sunderland, Ryton
2013–14^[17]	14	Horden	Guisborough	Bishop Auckland, Ponteland
2014–15^[18]	14	Guisborough		Sunderland, Blyth
2015–16^[19]	14	Durham City		Darlington, Ponteland
2016–17^[20]	14	Northern		Ryton, Hartlepool
2017–18^[21]	14	Consett
2018–19^[22]	14	Durham City		Whitby, Ponteland
2019–20^[23]	14	Consett		Barnard Castle, North Shields, Gateshead
2020–21	14	N/A	N/A
2021–22^[24]	14	Percy Park		No relegation
Green backgrounds are promotion places.															-->

Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland (2022-)

<											----> Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2022-23^[25]	12	West Hartlepool		Darlington, Horden
2023-24^[26]	12	Guisborough	Sunderland	Hartlepool Rovers, South Shields Westoe

Promotion play-offs

Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of Durham/Northumberland 1 and Yorkshire 1 for the third and final promotion place to North 1 East. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season Yorkshire 1 teams have been the most successful with thirteen wins to the Durham/Northumberland 1 teams six; and the home side have won ten times to the away sides nine.

<						----> Durham/Northumberland 1 v Yorkshire 1 promotion play-off results
Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2000–01^[27]	Wheatley Hills (Y)	21-19	Percy Park (DN)
2001–02^[28]	Ashington (DN)	17-23	Scarborough (Y)
2002–03^[29]	York (Y)	29-15	Hartlepool Rovers (DN)
2003–04^[30]	Alnwick (DN)	25-18	Pontefract (Y)
2004–05^[31]	Durham City (DN)	26-13	Wheatley Hills (Y)
2005–06^[32]	Malton and Norton (DN)	19-39	Old Crossleyans (Y)
2006–07^[33]	Sunderland (DN)	16-18	York (Y)
2007–08^[34]	Northern (DN)	24-28	Ilkley (Y)
2008–09^[35]	Percy Park (DN)	36-3	Bridlington (Y)
2009–10^[36]	Team Northumbria (DN)	34-13	Sheffield (Y)
2010–11^[37]	Darlington (DN)	17-18	Sheffield (Y)
2011–12^[38]	Alnwick (DN)	16-18	Keighley (Y)
2012–13^[39]	Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. (Y)	33-12	Guisborough (DN)
2013–14^[40]	Dinnington (Y)	34-20 (aet)	Guisborough (DN)
2014–15^[41]	Morpeth (DN)	14-11	Malton and Norton (Y)
2015–16^[42]	Middlesbrough (DN)	17-25	Malton and Norton (Y)
2016–17^[43]	South Shields Westoe (DN)	14-19	West Leeds (Y)
2017–18^[44]	Durham City (DN)	AWO	Scarborough (Y)
2018–19^[45]	West Hartlepool (DN)	24-23	Heath (Y)
2019–20	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner up - Heath (Y) - promoted instead.
2020–21	N/A	N/A	N/A
2021–22	N/A	N/A	N/A	Uncontested due the RFU Adult Competition Review
Green background is the promoted team. DN = Durham/Northumberland 1 and Y = Yorkshire 1

Number of league titles

• Horden (4)
• Consett (3)
• Northern (3)
• Percy Park (3)
• Darlington (2)
• Durham City (2)
• Gateshead (2)
• Guisborough (2)
• Hartlepool Rovers (2)
• Alnwick (1)
• Ashington (1)
• Billingham (1)
• Blyth (1)
• Medicals (1)
• Mowden Park (1)
• Redcar (1)
• Ryton (1)
• Whitby (1)
• Rockcliff (1)
• West Hartlepool (1)
• West Hartlepool TDSOB (1)
• Westoe (1)

See also

• Durham RFU
• Northumberland RFU
• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

Notes and References

1. Web site: RFU Cancels Adult Competitive Leagues for the 2020/21 Season . RFU . 2020-10-20 . 2020-11-09.
2. Web site: 1998-99 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
3. Web site: 1999-00 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
4. Web site: 2000-01 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
5. Web site: 2001-02 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
6. Web site: 2002-03 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
7. Web site: 2003-04 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
8. Web site: 2004-05 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
9. Web site: 2005-06 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
10. Web site: 2006-07 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
11. Web site: 2007-08 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
12. Web site: 2008-09 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
13. Web site: 2009-10 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
14. Web site: 2010-11 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
15. Web site: 2011-12 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
16. Web site: 2012-13 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
17. Web site: 2013-14 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
18. Web site: 2014-15 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
19. Web site: 2015-16 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
20. Web site: 2016-17 Northern Division. England Rugby. 30 April 2017.
21. Web site: 2017-18 Northern Division. England Rugby. 28 April 2018.
22. Web site: 2018-19 Northern Division. England Rugby. RFU. 13 April 2019.
23. Web site: Men's level 5 - 7 leagues 2019–20. England Rugby. 25 April 2020.
24. Web site: Durham/Northumberland One table 2021-2022 . England Rugby . 2023-04-15.
25. Web site: 2022-23 Northern Division. England Rugby. 22 April 2024.
26. Web site: 2023-24 Northern Division. England Rugby. 22 April 2024.
27. Web site: 2000-01 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 5 May 2001.
28. Web site: 2001-02 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 18 May 2002.
29. Web site: 2002-03 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 26 April 2003.
30. Web site: 2003-04 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 24 April 2004.
31. Web site: 2004-05 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 30 April 2006.
32. Web site: 2005-06 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 29 April 2006.
33. Web site: 2006-07 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 28 April 2007.
34. Web site: 2007-08 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 26 April 2008.
35. Web site: 2008-09 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 25 April 2009.
36. Web site: 2009-10 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 1 May 2010.
37. Web site: 2010-11 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 7 May 2011.
38. Web site: 2011-12 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 28 April 2012.
39. Web site: 2012-13 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 27 April 2013.
40. Web site: 2013-14 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 26 April 2014.
41. Web site: 2014-15 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 25 April 2015.
42. Web site: 2015-16 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 30 April 2016.
43. Web site: 2016-17 North Playoffs. England Rugby. 29 April 2017.
44. Web site: Skipper Jones' delight at promotion success. The Scarborough News. 4 May 2018.
45. Web site: Play-offs: Heath sunk by West Hartlepool's late penalty. Halifax Courier. 28 April 2019.