North Lancashire/Cumbria

North Lancashire/Cumbria (usually referred to as North Lancs/Cumbria) was an English Rugby Union League at the seventh tier of club rugby union for teams from North Lancashire and Cumbria that ran until the end of 2017–18 season. Promotion from this division used to be into North 1 West with the champions going straight up and the league runners up facing the league runners up from South Lancs/Cheshire 1 for their place. Clubs at the bottom of the table were relegated either to North Lancashire 1, South Lancs/Cheshire 2 or the Cumbria League depending on their geographical location.

North Lancashire/Cumbria

Current season or competition: 2017–18 North Lancashire/Cumbria
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1987; 38 years ago (1987)
Ceased	2018; 7 years ago (2018)
Number of teams	14
Country	England
Holders	De La Salle (Salford) (1st title) (2017–18) (promoted to North 1 West)
Most titles	Fleetwood (3 titles)
Website	England RFU

The division was initially known as North-West East/North 1 when it was created in 1987, and had a number of different names since with North Lancs/Cumbria being the longest running. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the RFU had to cancel the division after 19 Lancashire clubs withdrew from RFU competitions across the leagues to form their own competitions. As a result, all Lancashire based teams in this division that wanted to remain in the RFU league structure were transferred into Lancs/Cheshire 1, while the Cumbria sides were transferred into Cumbria 1.^[1]

Teams 2017–18

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Aldwinians Audenshaw Park Audenshaw, Greater Manchester 9th Aspatria Bower Park Aspatria, Cumbria 3rd Bolton Avenue Street Bolton, Greater Manchester 6th Burnley Holden Road Burnley, Lancashire Promoted from Lancashire (North) (play-offs) De La Salle (Salford) De La Salle Sports & Social Club Salford, Greater Manchester 2nd (lost promotion play-off) Eccles Gorton Street Eccles, Greater Manchester Relegated from North 1 West (14th) Fleetwood Melbourne Avenue Fleetwood, Lancashire 8th Hawcoat Park Hawcoat Park Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria 7th Keswick Davidson Park Keswick, Cumbria Promoted from Cumbria League (champions) Littleborough Rakewood Road Littleborough, Greater Manchester 11th Oldham Manor Park Oldham, Greater Manchester 4th Tarleton Carr Lane Tarleton, Lancashire Promoted from Lancashire (North) (champions) Trafford MV MacPherson Park Trafford, Greater Manchester 10th Wigton Lowmoor Road Wigton, Cumbria 5th

Aldwinians Aspatria Bolton Burnley DLS Eccles Fleetwood Hawcoat Park Keswick Littleborough Oldham Tarleton Trafford Wigton Locations of the 2017–18 North Lancashire/Cumbria teams

Participating Clubs 2016-17

• Aldwinians
• Aspatria
• Bolton
• Carlisle (relegated from North 1 West)
• De La Salle (Salford)
• Fleetwood
• Hawcourt Park
• Littleborough (promoted from Lancashire (North))
• Oldham
• Silloth
• Trafford MV (promoted from Lancashire (North))
• Upper Eden
• Wigton
• Workington (promoted from Cumbria League)

Participating Clubs 2015-16

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Aldwinians Audenshaw Park Audenshaw, Greater Manchester 6th Ashton-under-Lyne Gambrel Bank Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester Promoted from North Lancashire 1 (playoffs) Aspatria Bower Park Wigton, Cumbria 4th Bolton Avenue Street Bolton, Greater Manchester Relegated from North 1 West (12th) De La Salle (Salford) De La Salle Sports & Social Club Salford, Greater Manchester 5th Fleetwood Melbourne Avenue Fleetwood, Lancashire 8th Hawcoat Park Hawcoat Lane Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria 9th Oldham Manor Park Oldham, Greater Manchester Promoted from North Lancashire 1 (champions) Silloth The Jim Brough Rugby Park Silloth, Cumbria Promoted from Cumbria League (champions) St Benedicts Newlands Avenue Mirehouse, Whitehaven, Cumbria 3rd Tyldesley St Georges Park Tyldesley, Greater Manchester Promoted & level transferred from South Lancs/Cheshire 2 (2nd) Upper Eden Pennine Park Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria 10th Whitehaven Richmond Terrace Whitehaven, Cumbria 11th Wigton Lowmoor Road Wigton, Cumbria Relegated from North 1 West (14th)

Aspatria Fleetwood Manchester Hawcoat Park Silloth St Benedicts Upper Eden Whitehaven Wigton Greater Manchester teamsAldwinians Ashton under Lyne Bolton De La Salle Oldham Tyldesley Locations of the 2015-16 North Lancashire/Cumbria teams Aldwinians Ashton-under-Lyne Bolton De La Salle Oldham Tyldesley 2015-16 North Lancashire/Cumbria teams in Greater Manchester

Participating Clubs 2014-15

• Aldwinians
• Aspatria
• Blackburn
• De La Salle (Salford) (promoted from North Lancashire 1)
• Fleetwood
• Furness (promoted from Cumbria League)
• Hawcoat Park
• Heaton Moor (promoted from North Lancashire 1)
• Leigh (relegated from North 1 West)
• St Benedicts
• Tarleton
• Upper Eden
• Whitehaven
• Wigan

Participating Clubs 2013-14

• Aldwinians
• Aspatria
• Blackburn
• Bolton (promoted from North Lancashire 1)
• Eccles
• Fleetwood (relegated from North 1 West)
• Hawcoat Park (promoted from Cumbria League)
• Keswick
• Littleborough
• St Benedicts
• Tarleton (promoted from North Lancashire 1)
• Upper Eden
• Whitehaven
• Workington

Participating clubs 2012−13

• Aldwinians
• Aspatria (relegated from North 1 West)
• Blackburn
• Didsbury Toc H
• Eccles
• Egremont
• Heaton Moor
• Keswick (promoted from Cumbria League)
• Littleborough
• St Benedicts
• Upper Eden
• Whitehaven (promoted from Cumbria League via Play-offs)
• Wigton (relegated from North 1 West)
• Workington

Original teams

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

• Calder Vale^[a]
• Colne & Nelson
• Eccles
• Fleetwood
• Furness
• Littleborough
• Moresby
• Old Aldwinians^[b]
• Oldham
• Toc H^[c]
• Vickers

North Lancashire/Cumbria Honours

North-West East/North 1 (1987–1992)

The original incarnation of North Lancashire/Cumbria was known as North-West East/North 1, and was a tier 9 league with promotion up to North West 2 and relegation down to either North-West East 1 or North-West North 1.

North-West East/North 1 Honours
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1987–88	11	Old Aldwinians	Vickers	Colne & Nelson, Calder Vale
1988–89	11	Moresby	Windermere	Littleborough, Toc H
1989–90	11	Ashton-on-Mersey	De La Salle (Salford)	Fleetwood, Heaton Moor
1990–91	11	Kirkby Lonsdale	Old Salians	Eccles, Burnage
1991–92	11	Old Salians	Rossendale	No relegation[d]
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Cumbria/Lancs North (1992–1996)

As part of the north-west league restructuring North-West East/North 1 was renamed as Cumbria/Lancs North for the 1992–93 season with promotion continuing up to North West 2 and relegation down to either Lancashire North 1 (formerly North-West East 1) or Cumbria. Initially a tier 9 league, the creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Cumbria/Lancs North dropped to become a tier 10 league.

Cumbria/Lancs North Honours
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1992–93	13	Penrith	Windermere	Keswick, De La Salle (Salford)
1993–94	13	Fleetwood	Tyldesley	Smith Brothers, Metrovick, Moresby
1994–95	13	Windermere	Workington	De La Salle (Salford)
1995–96	13	Workington	Calder Vale	Moresby, Carnforth, Furness
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North Lancs/Cumbria (1996–2000)

The league system was restructured from top to bottom by the Rugby Football Union for the start of the 1996–97 season. Cumbria/Lancs North was renamed as North Lancs/Cumbria, and the cancellation of National 5 North and creation of North West 3 meant that it remained a tier 10 league. Promotion was now to North West 3 while relegation was to either North Lancashire 1 or Cumbria.

North Lancs/Cumbria Honours
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
1996–97	10	St. Benedict's	Broughton	Ambleside
1997–98	10	Rochdale	Blackpool	Ashton-under-Lyme
1998–99[3]	10	Blackpool	Oldham	Keswick
1999–00[4]	10	Oldham[e]	De La Salle (Salford)[f]	Furness, Millom, Ambleside, Windermere, Hawcoat Park, Trafford MV, Tyldesley, Ormskirk[g]
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

North Lancs/Cumbria (2000–2018)

Northern league restructuring by the RFU at the end of the 1999–00 season saw the cancellation of North West 1, North West 2 and North West 3 (tiers 7-9). This meant that North Lancs/Cumbria became a tier 7 league, with promotion to North 2 West (currently North 1 West). Relegation continued to be to either North Lancashire 1 or Cumbria.

North Lancs/Cumbria Honours
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2000–01[5]	12	Workington	Carlisle	Egremont, Fleetwood, Burnley
2001–02[6]	12	Rochdale	Oldham	Cockermouth, Netherhall, St. Benedict's
2002–03[7]	12	Oldham	Penrith	Bury, De La Salle (Salford)
2003–04[8]	12	Fleetwood	Rossendale	Windermere, Blackpool, Hawcoat Park
2004–05[9]	12	Rossendale	Tyldesley	Egremont, Kirkby Lonsdale, Aldwinians
2005–06[10]	12	Carlisle	St. Benedict's	Netherhall, Workington, Heaton Moor
2006–07[11]	12	Aldwinians	Blackburn	Trafford MV, Whitehaven
2007–08[12]	11	Blackburn	Rossendale	St. Benedict's, Didsbury Toc H, De La Salle (Salford)
2008–09[13]	12	Tyldesley	Vale of Lune	No relegation[h]
2009–10[14]	14	Wigton	Kirkby Lonsdale	Netherhall, Burnley, Aldwinians
2010–11[15]	14	Aspatria	Fleetwood	Oldham, Keswick, Whitehaven
2011–12[16]	14	Fleetwood	Kirkby Lonsdale	Furness, Millom, De La Salle (Salford)
2012–13[17]	14	Wigton	Eccles	Egremont, Didsbury Toc H, Heaton Moor
2013–14[18]	14	Eccles	Bolton	Littleborough, Workington, Keswick
2014–15[19]	14	Blackburn	Leigh	Furness, Tarleton, Heaton Moor
2015–16[20]	14	St. Benedict's	Bolton	Ashton-under-Lyne, Whitehaven, Aldwinians
2016–17[21]	14	Carlisle	De La Salle (Salford)	Workington, Silloth, Upper Eden
2017–18[22]	14	De La Salle (Salford)	Aspatria	Burnley, Eccles, Hawcoat Park
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 Lancashire/Cumbria and South Lancs/Cheshire 1 for the third and final promotion place to North 1 West. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2017–18 season the North Lancashire/Cumbria and South Lancs/Cheshire 1 team sides have nine wins apiece; and the home team has won promotion on thirteen occasions compared to the away teams five.

North Lancs/Cumbria v South Lancs/Cheshire 1 promotion play-off results
Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2000–01[23]	Warrington (SLC)	HWO[i]	Carlisle (NLC)	The Fortress, Walton, Cheshire	N/A
2001–02[24]	Oldham (NLC)	15-24	Aspull (SLC)	Manor Park, Oldham, Greater Manchester
2002–03[25]	Penrith (NLC)	25-10	Widnes (SLC)	Winters Park, Penrith, Cumbria
2003–04[26]	Rossendale (NLC)	24-28	Bowdon (SLC)	Marl Pits, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire
2004–05[27]	Leigh (SLC)	13-15	Tyldesley (NLC)	Round Ash Park, Leigh, Greater Manchester
2005–06[28]	Wilmslow (SLC)	43-10	St Benedicts (NLC)	Memorial Ground, Wilmslow, Cheshire
2006–07[29]	Leigh (SLC)	40-15	Blackburn (NLC)	Round Ash Park, Leigh, Greater Manchester
2007–08[30]	Rossendale (NLC)	20-16	Burnage (SLC)	Marl Pits, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire
2008–09[31]	Widnes (SLC)	41-52	Vale of Lune (NLC)	Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire
2009–10[32]	Kirkby Lonsdale (NLC)	13-12	Widnes (SLC)	Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
2010–11[33]	Widnes (SLC)	26-19	Fleetwood (NLC)	Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire
2011–12[34]	Kirkby Lonsdale (NLC)	21-18 (aet)	New Brighton (SLC)	Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
2012–13[35]	Broughton Park (SLC)	32-13	Eccles (NLC)	Hough End, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
2013–14[36]	Bolton (NLC)	21-18	Northwich (SLC)	Avenue Street, Bolton, Greater Manchester	500
2014–15[37]	Leigh (NLC)	34-26	Liverpool St Helens (SLC)	Leigh, Greater Manchester
2015–16[38]	Bolton (NLC)	20-27	West Park St Helens (SLC)	Avenue Street, Bolton, Greater Manchester
2016–17[39]	Douglas (I.O.M.) (SLC)	15-14	De La Salle (Salford) (NLC)	Port-E-Chee, Douglas, Isle of Man	600
2017–18[40]	Anselmians (SLC)	65-14	Aspatria (NLC)	Malone Field, Eastham
Green background is the promoted team. NLC = North Lancashire/Cumbria and SLC = South Lancs/Cheshire 1

Number of league titles

• Fleetwood (3)
• Aldwinians (2)^[j]
• Blackburn (2)
• Carlisle (2)
• Oldham (2)
• Rochdale (2)
• St. Benedict's (2)
• Wigton (2)
• Workington (2)
• Ashton-on-Mersey (1)
• Aspatria (1)
• Blackpool (1)
• De La Salle (Salford) (1)
• Eccles (1)
• Kirkby Lonsdale (1)
• Moresby (1)
• Old Salians (1)
• Penrith (1)
• Rossendale (1)
• Tyldesley (1)
• Windermere (1)

See also

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

Notes

1. Calder Vale would be renamed as Burnley RUFC in 2002.
2. Old Aldwinians are currently known as Aldwinians RUFC.
3. Toc H would be renamed as Didsbury Toc H RFC in 1986.^[2]
4. Restructuring of the north-west leagues for the following season meant that there was no relegation.
5. Oldham were not promoted due to Northern League restructuring.
6. Despite finishing 2nd De La Salle (Salford) were demoted to North Lancs 1 due to league restructuring caused by the cancellation of North West 1, North West 2 and North West 3.
7. Due to restructuring of the Northern League all teams in the division aside from champions Oldham were relegated. Furness, Millom, Ambleside, Windermere and Hawcoat Park all joined the Cumbrian League, Trafford MV and Tyldesley joined North Lancashire 1 while Ormskirk joined South Lancs/Cheshire 2.
8. There was no relegation due to the division increasing from 12 to 14 teams for the next season.
9. Warrington won 2000-01 promotion playoff by default as Carlisle were unable to raise a team.
10. Aldwinians title victories includes one when the club was known as Old Aldwinians.