1987–88 Courage League National Division One

The 1987–88 Courage League National Division One was the first season of the first tier of the English rugby union league system. It was the first season of a truly national rugby union league, which is currently known as the Gallagher Premiership.

1987–88 Courage League National Division One
Countries England
ChampionsLeicester Tigers (1st title)
Runners-upWasps
RelegatedCoventry
Sale
Matches played64

There was no fixture list; the teams arranged fixtures amongst themselves. One match would count between each of the twelve teams involved and the points scheme was such that a team received four points for a win, two for a draw and one point for a loss. Most teams played eleven games, although some played ten due to cancellations. There was also unequal home and away fixtures, with some sides (Coventry, Harlequins) playing up to seven games at home, while others (Waterloo) as little as four.

Leicester Tigers finished first in the league table and were crowned champions. Coventry and Sale were relegated to the 1988–89 Courage League National Division Two for next season, the latter side having lost all of its eleven matches. Rosslyn Park and Liverpool St Helens were promoted from the 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two for the following season.[1]

Participating teams
Locations of the 1987–88 Courage League National Division One teams
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area
Bath The Recreation Ground 8,200 Bath, Somerset
Bristol Memorial Stadium 12,100 Bristol, Avon
Coventry Coundon Road 9,000 Coventry, West Midlands
Gloucester Kingsholm 11,000 Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Harlequins The Stoop 8,500 Twickenham, London
Leicester Tigers Welford Road 16,000 Leicester, Leicestershire
Moseley The Reddings 10,000 Birmingham, West Midlands
Nottingham Ireland Avenue 4,950 Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Orrell Edge Hall Road 5,500 Orrell, Greater Manchester
Sale Heywood Road 5,400 Sale, Greater Manchester
Wasps Repton Avenue 3,000[2] Sudbury, London
Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 Blundellsands, Merseyside

League table
1987–88 Courage League National Division One Table[3]
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Points
1Leicester Tigers (C)109012251339237
2Wasps118122181368236
3Harlequins1161426112813330
4Bath116141971564130
5Gloucester106132061218529
6Orrell115151921533927
7Moseley11506167170–326
8Nottingham11416146170–2424
9Bristol104151711452623
10Waterloo10406123208–8522
11Coventry (R)11317139246–10721
12Sale (R)11001195374–27911
  • Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 4 pts for a win
  2. 2 pt for a draw
  3. 1 pt for a loss
Red background are teams relegated.

Results Table

The home team is listed in the left column.

Clubs BAT BRI COV GLO HAR LEI MOS NOT ORR SAL WAS WAT
Bath Rugby 15–9 21–9 14–0 23–18 10–17
Bristol Rugby 16–21 21–10 37–3 12–12
Coventry 9–9 25–3 12–15 15–20 11–24 24–19 15–10
Gloucester RFC 9–16 39–3 18–12 17–9 61–7 13–24
Harlequins 28–22[4] 9–9 9–12 34–8 6–12 66–0 37–4
Leicester Tigers 24–13 15–10 32–16 42–15 12–9 39–15
Moseley 26–3 11–32 3–21 28–10 19–12 27–3
Nottingham 25–15 3–16 13–22 21-12 12–12
Orrell 13–25 9–13 30–6 19–0 30–6
Sale 17–46 15–19 0–17 6–14
Wasps 19–15 49–6 17–16 17–9 23–15
Waterloo 16–6 10–9 29–13 13–22
Home Win Draw Away Win

Fixtures & results

Clubs had to organise their own fixtures so there was no organised round by round fixture lists and also no equal allocation of home and away matches. Dates of games and results are given below in date order.[5]

September 1987
5 September 1987
Nottingham21 – 12[6]Moseley
Ireland Avenue
12 September 1987
Gloucester30 – 3Coventry
Kingsholm
12 September 1987
Leicester Tigers23 – 13Bath
Welford Road
12 September 1987
Sale0 – 17Nottingham
Heywood Road
19 September 1987
Bath14 – 0Moseley
The Recreation Ground
26 September 1987
Bristol16 – 21Gloucester
Memorial Stadium
26 September 1987
Coventry24 – 19Sale
Coundon Road
26 September 1987
Harlequins9 – 12Leicester Tigers
The Stoop
26 September 1987
Nottingham12 – 12Orrell
Ireland Avenue
30 September 1987
Coventry15 – 20Nottingham
Coundon Road

October 1987
3 October 1987
Leicester Tigers32 – 16Coventry
Welford Road
3 October 1987
Sale15 – 19Moseley
Heywood Road
10 October 1987
Bristol12 – 12Wasps
Memorial Stadium
10 October 1987
Moseley28 – 10Orrell
The Reddings
10 October 1987
Nottingham25 – 15Bath
Ireland Avenue
17 October 1987
Bath15 – 9Bristol
The Recreation Ground
Attendance: 7,000[7]
17 October 1987
Waterloo10 – 9Nottingham
St Anthony's Road
24 October 1987
Bristol37 – 3Sale
Memorial Stadium
24 October 1987
Gloucester17 – 9Nottingham
Kingsholm
24 October 1987
Moseley26 – 3Coventry
The Reddings
31 October 1987
Nottingham3 – 16Bristol
Ireland Avenue
31 October 1987
Waterloo16 – 6Gloucester
St Anthony's Road

November 1987
7 November 1987
Orrell19 – 0Sale
Edge Hall Road
14 November 1987
Nottingham13 – 22Leicester Tigers
Ireland Avenue
14 November 1987
Orrell13 – 25Bristol
Edge Hall Road
14 November 1987
Wasps19 – 15Bath
Repton Avenue
21 November 1987
Coventry9 – 9Bath
Coundon Road
21 November 1987
Harlequins9 – 9Gloucester
The Stoop
21 November 1987
Leicester Tigers12 – 9Wasps
Welford Road
28 November 1987
Moseley3 – 21Leicester Tigers
The Reddings
28 November 1987
Wasps17 – 9Nottingham
Repton Avenue

December 1987
1 December 1987
Gloucester9 – 16Bath
Kingsholm
Attendance: 7,000[7]
12 December 1987
Bath10 – 17Waterloo
The Recreation Ground
12 December 1987
Bristol21 – 10Moseley
Memorial Stadium
19 December 1987
Leicester Tigers15 – 10Bristol
Welford Road

January 1988
1 January 1988
Gloucester18 – 12Moseley
Kingsholm
2 January 1988
Wasps17 – 16Harlequins
Repton Avenue
2 January 1988
Waterloo29 – 13Sale
St Anthony's Road
16 January 1988
Gloucester13 – 24Wasps
Kingsholm

February 1988
5 February 1988
Moseley19 – 12Wasps
The Reddings
6 February 1988
Coventry15 – 10Waterloo
Coundon Road
6 February 1988
Harlequins6 – 12Orrell
The Stoop
20 February 1988
Orrell30 – 6Leicester Tigers
Edge Hall Road
27 February 1988
Harlequins37 – 4Waterloo
The Stoop

March 1988
5 March 1988
Moseley11 – 32Harlequins
The Reddings
12 March 1988
Sale6 – 14Wasps
Heywood Road
19 March 1988
Coventry12 – 15Harlequins
Coundon Road
19 March 1988
Orrell9 – 13Gloucester
Edge Hall Road
26 March 1988
Bath23 – 18Orrell
The Recreation Ground
26 March 1988
Leicester Tigers42 – 15Sale
Welford Road

April 1988
1 April 1988
Harlequins34 – 8Nottingham
The Stoop
2 April 1988
Waterloo13 – 22Wasps
St Anthony's Road
4 April 1988
Leicester Tigers39 – 15Waterloo
Welford Road
9 April 1988
Bath21 – 9Harlequins
The Recreation Ground
13 April 1988
Wasps49 – 6Coventry
Repton Avenue
16 April 1988
Gloucester61 – 7Sale
Kingsholm
16 April 1988
Orrell30 – 6Waterloo
Edge Hall Road
23 April 1988
Harlequins66 – 0Sale
The Stoop
23 April 1988
Coventry25 – 3Bristol
Coundon Road
23 April 1988
Wasps23 – 15Orrell
Repton Avenue
26 April 1988
Moseley27 – 3Waterloo
The Reddings
30 April 1988
Coventry11 – 24Orrell
Coundon Road
30 April 1988
Harlequins28 – 22Bristol
Twickenham Stadium
Attendance: 37,000
Referee: Fred Howard
  • League and cup double header. The 1988 John Player Cup final would also count as Harlequins v Bristol Courage League game.[4]
30 April 1988
Sale17 – 46Bath
Heywood Road

Cancelled games
BristolC – CWaterloo
Memorial Stadium
Leicester TigersC – CGloucester
Welford Road

Sponsorship

National Division One is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery

See also
  • 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two
  • 1987–88 Courage League National Division Three
  • 1987–88 Courage Area League North
  • 1987–88 Courage Area League South

References
  1. "Courage League 1987–1988". Ipernews.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. "Dallaglio's turned into Nostradamus". The Rugby Paper. 21 May 2023.
  3. "England - National Championship 1987/88". Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  4. The 1988 final of the John Player Cup which took place on neutral ground at Twickenham also counts for the league.
  5. "Fixtures / Results (September 5, 1987 to April 30, 1988)". Rugby Archives. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  6. "Results". The Guardian. 7 September 1987. ProQuest 186753976.
  7. Peter Hall and Colin Gale (29 August 2014). "1987 to 1988". Bath Rugby Heritage.
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