North 1 West

North 1 West is a rugby union league at the sixth level within the English league system. The league is made up of teams from north west England and the Isle of Man; principally consisting of the English counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The league was known as North Division 2 when it was first created back in 1987 and was a single division. It has since split into two regional leagues, with North West 1 and its compatriot North 1 East being the longest running versions of the division.

North 1 West

Current season or competition: 2019–20 North 1 West
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1987; 38 years ago (1987)
Number of teams	14
Country	England,  Isle of Man
Holders	Burnage (1st title) (2019–20) (promoted to North Premier)
Most titles	Altrincham Kersal, Birkenhead Park, Vale of Lune (2 titles)
Website	England RFU

Promotion and relegation determine the makeup of the league each season, with the top team automatically moving into North Premier and the second-placed team entering into a play-off match with the second-placed team in North 1 East. Occasionally, depending on promotion and relegation, teams from either North 1 East and North 1 West may be required to compete in the opposite league to ensure that the number of teams in the east and west leagues remains at 14 teams each. Teams dropping from the league go into North 2 West.

Teams 2021–22

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 Altrincham Kersal Stelfox Avenue Timperley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester 3rd Birkenhead Park Upper Park Birkenhead, Wirral 6th Bowdon Clay Lane Timperley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester 12th Broughton Park Hough End Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester 11th Carlisle Rugby Ground, Warwick Road 1,500 (250 seats) Carlisle, Cumbria Relegated from North Premier (12th) Douglas Port-E-Chee Douglas, Isle of Man 8th Glossop Hargate Hill Lane Charlesworth, Glossop, Derbyshire Promoted from North 2 West (runners-up) Firwood Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 (200 seats) Blundellsands, Merseyside 4th Kendal Mint Bridge Stadium 3,500 (258 seats) Kendal, Cumbria Level transfer from North 1 East (5th) Manchester Grove Park 4,000 (250 seats) Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, Greater Manchester Promoted from North 2 West (champions) Penrith Winters Park Penrith, Cumbria 10th Stockport The Memorial Ground 500 Stockport, Greater Manchester 7th Vale of Lune Powder House Lane Lancaster, Lancashire 9th Wilmslow Memorial Ground Wilmslow, Cheshire 5th

Birkenhead Carlisle Douglas Glossop Waterloo Kendal Greater Manchester Penrith Vale of Lune Wilmslow Locations of the 2021–22 North 1 West teams in NW England Altrincham Bowdon Broughton Park Manchester Stockport Locations of the 2021–22 North 1 West teams in Greater Manchester

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 North 1 West was not contested.

Teams 2019–20

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Altrincham Kersal Stelfox Avenue Timperley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester Promoted from Lancs/Cheshire 1 (champions) Birkenhead Park Upper Park Birkenhead, Wirral 3rd Bowdon Clay Lane Timperley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester Promoted from Lancs/Cheshire 1 (playoff) Broughton Park Hough End Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester 5th Burnage Varley Park Stockport, Greater Manchester 11th Douglas Port-E-Chee Douglas, Isle of Man 6th Keswick Davidson Park Keswick, Cumbria Promoted from Cumbria 1 (champions) Firwood Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 (200 seats) Blundellsands, Merseyside 8th Northwich Moss Farm Northwich, Cheshire 4th Penrith Winters Park Penrith, Cumbria 10th Stockport The Memorial Ground 500 Stockport, Greater Manchester 7th Vale of Lune Powder House Lane Lancaster, Lancashire Relegated from North Premier (13th) Warrington The Fortress Walton, Warrington, Cheshire 9th Wilmslow Memorial Ground Wilmslow, Cheshire Relegated from North Premier (14th)

Birkenhead Douglas Keswick Waterloo Greater Manchester Northwich Penrith Stockport Vale of Lune Warrington Wilmslow Locations of the 2019–20 North 1 West teams outside Greater Manchester Altrincham Bowdon Broughton Park Burnage Locations of the 2019–20 North 1 West teams in Greater Manchester

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this was a single division containing the following teams from the north of England:

• Alnwick
• Aspatria
• Bradford & Bingley
• Davenport^[a]
• Halifax
• Huddersfield
• Lymm
• Manchester
• New Brighton
• Sandal
• Wilmslow

North 1 West honours

North Division 2 (1987–1993)

The original North Division 2 was a tier 6 league with promotion up to North Division 1 and relegation down to either North East 1 or North West 1.

North Division 2
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated teams
1987–88	11	Aspatria	Halifax	Wilmslow, Manchester
1988–89[3]	11	Bradford & Bingley	Middlesbrough	Davenport
1989–90[3]	11	Rotherham	Widnes	No relegation
1990–91[3]	11	Stockton	Sandal	New Brighton
1991–92[3]	11	Wharfedale	Lymm	No relegation
1992–93	13	Manchester	Huddersfield	Sandbach
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North Division 2 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season, meant that North Division 2 dropped from being a tier 6 league to a tier 7 league for the years that National 5 North was active.

North Division 2
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated teams
1993–94	13	York	West Park Bramhope	Carlise, Wigan, Lymm
1994–95	13	Macclesfield	Bridlington	Northwich
1995–96	13	New Brighton	Sedgley Park	Birkenhead Park, West Park St Helens, Old Crossleyeans, Hartlepool Rovers[b]
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North Division 2 (1996–2000)

The cancellation of National 5 North at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that North Division 2 reverted to being a tier 6 league.

North Division 2 honours
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated teams
1996–97	12	Doncaster	Middlesbrough	Durham City
1997–98	12	Northern	Blaydon	Halifax
1998–99[4]	12	Bradford & Bingley	Driffield	York, Percy Park
1999–00[5]	12	Darlington Mowden Park	Chester	No relegation
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North 2 West

For the 2000–01 season, North Division 2 was split into two regional divisions - North 2 East and North 2 West. While promotion continued up into North Division 1, the cancellation of the North West 1, North West 2 and North West 3 meant that relegation was to either North Lancashire/Cumbria or South Lancs/Cheshire 1.

North 2 West
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated teams
2000–01[6]	12	West Park St Helens	Aldwinians	Widnes, Penrith, Blackburn
2001–02[7]	12	Birkenhead Park	Vale of Lune	Caldy, Workington, Warrington
2002–03[8]	12	Vale of Lune	Rochdale	Wilmslow, Aldwinians
2003–04[9]	12	Altrincham Kersal	Caldy	Broughton Park, Rochdale, Wigton
2004–05[10]	12	Caldy	Stockport	Blackburn, Aspull, Oldham
2005–06[11]	12	Stockport	Winnington Park	Widnes, Rossendale, Fleetwood
2006–07[12]	12	Liverpool St Helens	Lymm	Stoke-on-Trent, Wilmslow, Bowdon
2007–08[13]	12	Chester	Stockport	Tyldesley, Winnington Park, Vale of Lune
2008–09[14]	12	Rochdale	Rossendale	No relegation due to league restructure[c]
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North 1 West

For the 2009–10 season the division would be renamed North 1 West as part of wholesale national restructure of the league system by the RFU leading to mass changes at all levels including in the north.

North 1 West
Season	No of teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated teams
2009–10[15]	14	Lymm	Northwich	Aspatria, Blackburn, Tyldesley
2010–11[16]	14	Altrincham Kersal	Burnage	West Park St Helens, Kirkby Lonsdale, New Brighton
2011–12[17]	14	Sandbach	Liverpool St Helens	Aspatria, Broughton Park, Wigton
2012–13[18]	14	Sale FC	Liverpool St Helens	Fleetwood, Manchester, Anselmians
2013–14[19]	14	Wirral	Birkenhead Park	Altrincham Kersal, Leigh, Liverpool St Helens
2014–15[20]	14	Birkenhead Park	Kirkby Lonsdale	Wigton, New Brighton, Bolton
2015–16[21]	14	Kendal	Kirkby Lonsdale	Broughton Park, Widnes, Carlisle
2016–17[22]	14	Kirkby Lonsdale	Birkenhead Park	Eccles, Leigh, West Park St Helens
2017–18[23]	13[d]	Vale of Lune	Wilmslow	Rochdale, Altrincham Kersal[e]
2018–19[25]	14	Carlisle	Blackburn	De La Salle, Anselmians, Manchester
2019–20[26]	14	Burnage	Northwich	Warrington, Keswick
2020–21	14
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Promotion play-offs

Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of North 1 East and North 1 West for the third and final promotion place to North Premier. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season the North 1 East have been the most successful with thirteen wins to the North 1 West teams six; and the home team has won promotion on fifteen occasions compared to the away teams five.

North 1 East v North 1 West promotion play-off results
Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2000–01[27]	Darlington (E)	49-0	Aldwinians (W)	Blackwell Meadowns, Darlington, County Durham
2001–02[28]	Huddersfield (E)	26-10	Vale of Lune (W)	Lockwood Park, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
2002–03[29]	Sheffield (E)	32-15	Rochdale (W)	Abbeydale Park, Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
2003–04[30]	Middlesbrough (E)	21-13	Caldy (W)	Acklam Park, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
2004–05[31]	Huddersfield (E)	22-13	Stockport (W)	Lockwood Park, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
2005–06[32]	Beverley (E)	21-16	Winnington Park (W)	Beaver Park, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire
2006–07[33]	Sheffield Tigers (E)	50-10	Lymm (W)	Dore Moor, Dore, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
2007–08[34]	Durham City (E)	13-18	Stockport (W)	Hollow Drift, Durham, County Durham
2008–09[35]	Old Crossleyans (E)	25-31	Rossendale (W)	Broomfield Avenue, Halifax, West Yorkshire
2009–10[36]	Sandal (E)	30-22	Northwich (W)	Milnthorpe Green, Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
2010–11[37]	Percy Park (E)	26-27	Burnage (W)	Preston Avenue, North Shields, Tyne and Wear
2011–12[38]	Percy Park (E)	18-12	Liverpool St Helens (W)	Preston Avenue, North Shields, Tyne and Wear	500
2012–13[39]	Liverpool St Helens (W)	17-28	Morley (E)	Moss Lane, St Helens, Merseyside
2013–14[40]	Birkenhead Park (W)	19-29	Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. (E)	Upper Park, Birkenhead, Merseyside
2014–15[41]	Kirkby Lonsdale (W)	29-35	Sheffield (E)	Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria	1,000
2015–16[42]	Kirkby Lonsdale (W)	33-38 (aet)	Morley (E)	Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
2016–17[43]	Birkenhead Park (W)	29-21	Penrith (E)	Upper Park, Birkenhead, Merseyside
2017–18[44]	Driffield (E)	21-24	Wilmslow (W)	Show Ground, Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire
2018–19[45]	Blackburn (W)	17-7	Scarborough (E)	Ramsgreave Drive, Blackburn, Lancashire
2019–20	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner up - Northwich (W) - promoted instead.
2020–21
Green background is the promoted team. E = North 1 East (formerly North 2 East) and W = North 1 West (formerly North 2 West)

Number of league titles

• Altrincham Kersal (2)
• Birkenhead Park (2)
• Vale of Lune (2)
• Aspatria (1)^[f]
• Bradford & Bingley (1)^[g]
• Burnage (1)
• Caldy (1)
• Carlisle (1)
• Chester (1)
• Darlington Mowden Park^[h]
• Doncaster (1)^[i]
• Kendal (1)
• Kirkby Lonsdale (1)
• Liverpool St Helens (1)
• Lymm (1)
• Macclesfield (1)^[j]
• Manchester (1)^[k]
• New Brighton (1)^[l]
• Northern (1)^[m]
• Rochdale (1)
• Rotherham (1)^[n]
• Sandbach (1)
• Sale FC (1)
• Stockport (1)
• Stockton (1)^[o]
• West Park St Helens (1)
• Wharfedale (1)^[p]
• Wirral (1)
• York (1)^[q]

See also

• Cheshire RFU
• Cumbria RU
• Lancashire RFU
• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

Notes

1. Davenport would be renamed as Stockport RUFC in 1992.^[2]
2. The introduction of a number of new leagues in the north for the 1996–97 season meant that more teams than normal were relegated between leagues to populate the new divisions.
3. The division would be renamed North Division 1 West for the next season and along with the whole national restructure of the league system by the RFU lead to mass changes at all levels.
4. The division started with 14 teams but St Benedicts decided to quit the league in April 2018 due to fixture buildup and issues with their home pitch. They would automatically be relegated.^[24]
5. St Benedicts also relegated due to quitting the league - all league results involving the club were wiped out.^[24]
6. Aspatria's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
7. Bradford & Bingley's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
8. Darlington Mowden Park's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
9. Doncaster's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
10. Manchester's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
11. Manchester's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
12. New Brighton's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
13. Northern's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
14. Rotherham's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
15. Stockton's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
16. Wharfedale's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
17. York's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.