Courage League Division 5

Courage Division 5 was a short lived English rugby union competition created as a tier 5 regional competition divided into Courage Division 5 North and Courage Division 5 South. In 1993 the RFU decided to change the whole league structure, with a new national league (Courage Division League 4) replacing the old North / South regional system which would become the aforementioned Courage Division 5. This led to twelve out of thirteen teams in both Courage Division 4 regions dropping into Courage Division 5 while the league winners joined Courage Division 4 along with eight teams from Courage Division 3. This system continued to the end of the 1995–96 season when the league was restructured once again – with Courage Division 4 being abolished as a national competition reverting to the old system only being renamed as National League 4 North and National League 4 South.

Courage League Division 5

Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1993
Ceased	1996
No. of teams	26 (13 North, 13 South)
Countries	England

Original league composition 1993–94

^[1]

Courage Division 4 – North

• Birmingham & Solihull (promoted from Midlands 1)
• Bradford & Bingley (promoted from North 1)
• Durham City (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Hereford (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Kendal (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Lichfield (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Nuneaton (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Preston Grasshoppers (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Rotherham (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Stoke-on-Trent (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Stourbridge (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Walsall (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)
• Winnington Park (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 North)

Courage Division 4 – South

• Basingstoke (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Berry Hill (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Camborne (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• High Wycombe (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• London Welsh (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Lydney (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Maidstone (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Metropolitan Police (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• North Walsham (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Reading (promoted from South West 1)
• Southend (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)
• Tabard (promoted from London 1)
• Weston-super-Mare (relegated from 1992–93 Courage National 4 South)

Courage Division 5 North honours

List of Courage Division 5 North Honours
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams	League Name
1993–94[2]	13	Rotherham	Preston Grasshoppers	Durham City and Bradford & Bingley	Courage Division 5 North
1994–95[3]	13	Walsall	Kendal	Barkers Butts and Hereford	Courage Division 5 North
1995–96[4]	13	Wharfedale	Worcester (and 11 others)[n 1]	Broughton Park	Courage Division 5 North
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Courage Division 5 South honours

List of Courage Division 5 South Honours
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams	League Name
1993–94[2]	13	Reading	Lydney	Maidstone and Southend	Courage Division 5 South
1994–95[3]	13	London Welsh	Lydney	Sudbury and Basingstoke	Courage Division 5 South
1995–96[4]	13	Lydney	Weston-super-Mare (and 11 others)[n 2]	Camborne	Courage Division 5 South
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Notes

1. By the end of this season there was another league restructure with Courage Division 4 being abolished and Courage Division 5 North reverting to a tier 4 regional competition named National League 4 North. 12 teams from Courage 5 North would join 2 teams from lower leagues (Hereford & Manchester) to form the new 14 team north division while the champions Wharfedale went into Division 3.^[5]
2. By the end of this season there was another league restructure with Courage Division 4 being abolished and Courage Division 5 South reverting to a tier 4 regional competition named National League 4 South. 12 teams from Courage 5 North South would join 2 teams from lower leagues (Charlton Park & Newbury) to form the new 14 team south division while the champions Lydney went into Division 3.^[5]

See also

• English rugby union system