1988–89 Courage League National Division One

The 1988–89 Courage League National Division One was the second season of the first tier of the English league system, currently known as the Gallagher Premiership. Leicester Tigers were the defending champions while new sides Rosslyn Park and Liverpool St Helens were promoted from the 1987–88 Courage League National Division Two.

1988–89 Courage League National Division One
Countries England
ChampionsBath (1st title)
Runners-upGloucester
RelegatedLiverpool St.Helens
Waterloo
Matches played66

The fixture list was much more organised than with the previous season, where clubs had organised their own fixtures. Games were now played in rounds and home and away games were fairer, although as sides only played each other once, half the league had six home matches while the others had five. The points system was changed so that a win counted for 2 points, a draw 1 point and a loss no points (previously this had been 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw and 1 for a loss).

Bath became champions for the first time winning the league by a convincing margin from runners–up Gloucester. Waterloo and Liverpool St.Helens finished in the bottom two and were relegated to the 1989–90 Courage League National Division Two.[1]

Participating teams

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Locations of the 1988–89 Courage League National Division One teams
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area Previous season
Bath Recreation Ground 8,200 Bath, Somerset 4th
Bristol Memorial Stadium 12,100 Bristol, Avon 9th
Gloucester Kingsholm 11,000 Gloucester, Gloucestershire 5th
Harlequins The Stoop 14,800 Twickenham, London 3rd
Leicester Tigers Welford Road 16,000 Leicester, Leicestershire Champions
Liverpool St Helens Moss Lane 3,000[2] St Helens, Merseyside Promoted from Courage Division 2 (2nd)
Moseley The Reddings 10,000 Birmingham, West Midlands 7th
Nottingham Ireland Avenue 4,950 Beeston, Nottinghamshire 8th
Orrell Edge Hall Road 5,500 Orrell, Greater Manchester 6th
Rosslyn Park The Rock 2,000 Roehampton, London Promoted from Courage Division 2 (1st)
Wasps Repton Avenue 3,000 Sudbury, London 2nd
Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 Blundellsands, Merseyside 10th

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Bath (C) 11 10 0 1 263 98 +165 20 Champions
2 Gloucester 11 7 1 3 215 112 +103 15
3 Wasps 11 7 1 3 206 138 +68 15
4 Nottingham 11 6 1 4 142 122 +20 13
5 Orrell 11 6 1 4 148 157 −9 13
6 Leicester 11 6 1 4 189 199 −10 13
7 Bristol 11 6 0 5 188 117 +71 12
8 Harlequins 11 5 0 6 194 184 +10 10
9 Rosslyn Park 11 5 0 6 172 208 −36 10
10 Moseley 11 3 0 8 113 242 −129 6
11 Waterloo (R) 11 1 1 9 120 235 −115 3 Relegated
12 Liverpool St Helens (R) 11 1 0 10 116 254 −138 2
Source: [3]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows:
  1. 2 pts for a win
  2. 1 pt for a draw
  3. 0 pt for a loss
    (C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results table

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The home team is listed on the left column.

Home \ Away BAT BRI GLO HAR LEI LIV MOS NOT ORR ROS WAS WAT
Bath Rugby 16–9 19–9 22–16 36–12 16–6 38–9
Bristol 18–6 50–14 18–0 15–6 14–3
Gloucester RFC 10–11 28–0 37–9 13–6 19–3
Harlequins 9–26 26–11 15–6 38–15 23–24
Leicester Tigers 15–12 13–12 21–31 15–27 28–15 15–6
Liverpool St Helens 7–21 9–31 12–23 15–22 12–32
Moseley 0–38 22–13 18–15 10–12 7–13 13–6
Nottingham 10–6 12–0 12–12 13–9 9–15
Orrell 6–16 16–15 20–4 12–6 9–9 15–12
Rosslyn Park 6–19 18–16 8–26 12–16 9–18 19–13
Wasps 21–19 23–15 16–10 39–10 39–16
Waterloo 15–15 22–34 6–12 9–18 14–24 0–29
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fixtures & Results

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Round 1

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10 September 1988
Bristol15 – 6Orrell
Memorial Stadium
10 September 1988
Gloucester37 – 9Moseley
Kingsholm
Referee: Colin High
10 September 1988
Harlequins9 – 26Bath
The Stoop
10 September 1988
Leicester Tigers15 – 6Wasps
Welford Road
10 September 1988
Rosslyn Park9 – 18Nottingham
The Rock
10 September 1988
Waterloo6 – 12Liverpool St Helens
St Anthony's Road

[5]


Round 2

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24 September 1988
Bath19 – 9Gloucester
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000[6]
Referee: Steve Griffiths
24 September 1988
Liverpool St Helens12 – 23Leicester Tigers
Moss Lane
24 September 1988
Moseley7 – 13Rosslyn Park
The Reddings
24 September 1988
Nottingham10 – 6Bristol
Ireland Avenue
24 September 1988
Orrell15 – 12Waterloo
Edge Hall Road
24 September 1988
Wasps23 – 15Harlequins
Repton Avenue

[5]


Round 3

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8 October 1988
Bristol18 – 0Moseley
Memorial Stadium
8 October 1988
Gloucester19 – 3Wasps
Kingsholm
Referee: Daniel Salles
8 October 1988
Harlequins15 – 6Liverpool St Helens
The Stoop
8 October 1988
Leicester Tigers15 – 27Orrell
Welford Road
8 October 1988
Rosslyn Park6 – 19Bath
The Rock
8 October 1988
Waterloo8 – 18Nottingham
St Anthony's Road

[5]


Round 4

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22 October 1988
Bath16 – 9Bristol
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 9,000[6]
22 October 1988
Liverpool St Helens9 – 31Gloucester
Moss Lane
Referee: Laurie Prideaux
22 October 1988
Moseley13 – 6Waterloo
The Reddings
22 October 1988
Nottingham12 – 12Leicester Tigers
Ireland Avenue
22 October 1988
Orrell16 – 15Harlequins
Edge Hall Road
22 October 1988
Wasps39 – 16Rosslyn Park
Repton Avenue

[5]


Round 5

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12 November 1988
Bristol18 – 6Harlequins
Memorial Stadium
12 November 1988
Moseley0 – 38Bath
The Reddings
12 November 1988
Nottingham9 – 15Wasps
Ireland Avenue
12 November 1988
Orrell20 – 4Liverpool St Helens
Edge Hall Road
12 November 1988
Rosslyn Park8 – 26Gloucester
The Rock
Referee: S V Trevithick
12 November 1988
Waterloo22 – 34Leicester Tigers
St Anthony's Road

[5]


Round 6

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19 November 1988
Bath36 – 12Orrell
Recreation Ground
19 November 1988
Gloucester10 – 11Bristol
Kingsholm
Referee: Steve Griffiths
19 November 1988
Harlequins23 – 24Waterloo
The Stoop
19 November 1988
Leicester Tigers28 – 15Rosslyn Park
Welford Road
19 November 1988
Liverpool St Helens15 – 22Nottingham
Moss Lane
19 November 1988
Wasps39 – 10Moseley
Repton Avenue

[5]


Round 7

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26 November 1988
Bath16 – 6Wasps
Recreation Ground
26 November 1988
Leicester Tigers21 – 31Harlequins
Welford Road
26 November 1988
Moseley18 – 15Liverpool St Helens
The Reddings
26 November 1988
Orrell12 – 6Nottingham
Edge Hall Road
26 November 1988
Rosslyn Park18 – 16Bristol
The Rock
26 November 1988
Waterloo15 – 15Gloucester
St Anthony's Road

[5]


Round 8

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14 January 1989
Bristol14 – 3Waterloo
Memorial Stadium
14 January 1989
Gloucester28 – 0Leicester Tigers
Kingsholm
Referee: Roger Quittenton
14 January 1989
Liverpool St Helens7 – 21Bath
Moss Lane
Referee: D Hudson[6]
14 January 1989
Nottingham13 – 9Moseley
Ireland Avenue
14 January 1989
Orrell9 – 9Wasps
Edge Hall Road
14 January 1989
Rosslyn Park12 – 16Harlequins
The Rock

[5]


Round 9

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11 March 1989
Bath22 – 16Nottingham
Recreation Ground
Referee: D W Matthews[6]
  • Bath are champions.[6]
11 March 1989
Harlequins26 – 11Gloucester
The Stoop
Referee: Fred Howard
11 March 1989
Leicester Tigers13 – 12Bristol
Welford Road
11 March 1989
Moseley10 – 12Orrell
The Reddings
11 March 1989
Wasps16 – 10Liverpool St Helens
Repton Avenue
11 March 1989
Waterloo14 – 24Rosslyn Park
St Anthony's Road

[5]


Round 10

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8 April 1989
Bath38 – 9Waterloo
Recreation Ground
  • Waterloo are relegated.[6]
8 April 1989
Liverpool St Helens12 – 32Rosslyn Park
Moss Lane
  • Liverpool St Helens are relegated.
8 April 1989
Moseley22 – 13Leicester Tigers
The Reddings
8 April 1989
Nottingham12 – 0Harlequins
Ireland Avenue
8 April 1989
Orrell6 – 16Gloucester
Edge Hall Road
Referee: Tony Trigg
8 April 1989
Wasps21 – 19Bristol
Repton Avenue

[5]


Round 11

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22 April 1989
Bristol50 – 14Liverpool St Helens
Memorial Stadium
22 April 1989
Gloucester13 – 6Nottingham
Kingsholm
Referee: A L Mason
22 April 1989
Harlequins38 – 15Moseley
The Stoop
22 April 1989
Leicester Tigers15 – 12Bath
Welford Road
22 April 1989
Rosslyn Park19 – 3Orrell
The Rock
22 April 1989
Waterloo0 – 29Wasps
St Anthony's Road

[5]

Sponsorship

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Courage Club Championship 1988/89". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Liverpool St Helens". Rugby Journal. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  3. ^ "guinness 1988–1989". Ipernews.com. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  4. ^ Tony Williams and Bill Mitchell, ed. (1990). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1990–91 (3rd ed.). Windsor: Burlington Publishing Co. Ltd.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Fixtures / Results (September 10, 1988 to April 22, 1989)". Rugby Archives. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Peter Hall and Colin Gale. "1988 to 1989". Bath Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 2 June 2024.