1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two

1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two
Countries  England
Champions Bedford
Runners-up West Hartlepool
London Scottish (also promoted)
Relegated None
Matches played 132
Top point scorer Wales Mike Rayer
(Bedford) 289 points
Top try scorer England Ben Whetstone
(Bedford) 17 tries[1]

The 1997-98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two was the eleventh full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams to the division included West Hartlepoool and Orrell who had been relegated from the Courage Premiership 1996-97 while Exeter and Fylde were promoted from National League One. For the first time Premiership Two, along with the Premiership, was sponsored by the assurance company Allied Dunbar. For the previous ten seasons the league was known as the Courage Clubs Championship and sponsored by Courage Brewery.

Bedford, the champions, were promoted to the Allied Dunbar Premiership for season 1998–99, along with runners–up West Hartlepool. From next season, the top two divisions would consist of fourteen teams, an increase of two per division. The bottom two teams in the top tier played the third and fourth teams in Premiership Two for the final two places in the top division. Third place London Scottish won promotion by beating Bristol in a two legged play–off, while fourth placed Rotherham lost to London Irish. There was no relegation to Jewson National League 1 because of the increase in teams in the top two divisions.[2]

Participating teams

Locations of the 1997-1998 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two teams
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area
Bedford Goldington Road 7,000 Bedford, Bedfordshire
Blackheath Rectory Field 6,000 Greenwich, London
Coventry Coundon Road 9,000+ Coventry, West Midlands
Exeter County Ground 5,200 Exeter, Devon
Fylde Woodlands Memorial Ground 9,000 Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
London Scottish Athletic Ground, Richmond 4,500 Richmond, London
Moseley The Reddings 10,000 (est) Birmingham, West Midlands
Orrell Edge Hall Road 3,000 Orrell, Greater Manchester
Rotherham Clifton Lane 2,500 Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Wakefield College Grove 3,000 Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Waterloo St Anthony's Road 9,000 Blundellsands, Merseyside
West Hartlepool Victoria Park 7,856 Hartlepool, County Durham

Final table

1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Points
1 Bedford 22 20 0 2 791 365 436 38[a]
2 West Hartlepool 22 15 1 6 617 431 186 31
3 London Scottish 22 14 1 7 517 404 113 29
4 Rotherham 22 14 0 8 566 386 180 28
5 Orrell 22 12 0 10 533 400 133 24
6 Moseley 22 11 1 10 478 421 57 23
7 Coventry 22 11 1 10 444 532 –88 23
8 Waterloo 22 11 0 11 510 525 –15 22
9 Blackheath 22 8 0 14 472 621 –149 16
10 Wakefield 22 6 0 16 382 556 –174 12
11 Exeter 22 6 0 16 334 553 –219 12
12 Fylde 22 2 0 20 258 710 –452 4
  • Points are awarded as follows: two points for a win; one point for a draw; no points for a loss.
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: (1) difference between points for and against; (2) total number of points for.
Green background are promotion places. (There was no relegation this season).
  • Footnote
    a. ^ : two points deducted for fielding three overseas players.

Results

Round 1

30 August 1997
Bedford 18 - 11 Rotherham
Report
Goldington Road
30 August 1997
Coventry 20 - 12 Moseley
Report
Coundon Road
30 August 1997
London Scottish 35 - 9 Fylde
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
30 August 1997
Orrell 26 - 17 Blackheath
Report
Edge Hall Road
30 August 1997
Wakefield 15 - 19 Exeter
Report
College Grove
30 August 1997
West Hartlepool 19 - 21 Waterloo
Report
Victoria Park

Round 2

7 September 1997
Coventry 29 - 8 Exeter
Coundon Road
7 September 1997
London Scottish 34 - 6 Blackheath
Richmond Athletic Ground
7 September 1997
Moseley P - P Fylde

7 September 1997
Waterloo 30 - 18 Wakefield
St Anthony's Road


7 September 1997
West Hartlepool P - P Bedford

7 September 1997
Orrell P - P Rotherham

Round 3

13 September 1997
Blackheath 29 - 27 Wakefield
Report
Rectory Field
13 September 1997
Exeter 17 - 32 Bedford
Report
County Ground
13 September 1997
Fylde 15 - 23 Coventry
Report
Woodlands
13 September 1997
Moseley 16 - 21 West Hartlepool
Report
The Reddings
13 September 1997
Waterloo 17 - 36 London Scottish
Report
St Anthony's Road
14 September 1997
Rotherham 14 - 29 Orrell
Report
Clifton Lane

Round 4

20 September 1997
Bedford 45 - 33 London Scottish
Report
Goldington Road
20 September 1997
Blackheath 50 - 16 Fylde
Report
Rectory Field
20 September 1997
Exeter 24 - 20 Waterloo
Report
County Ground
20 September 1997
Orrell 30 - 19 Moseley
Report
Edge Hall Road
20 September 1997
Rotherham 33 - 21 West Hartlepool
Report
Clifton Lane
20 September 1997
Wakefield 6 - 17 Coventry
Report
College Grove

Round 5

27 September 1997
Coventry 15 - 22 Bedford
Report
Coundon Road
27 September 1997
Fylde 18 - 25 Rotherham
Report
Woodlands
27 September 1997
London Scottish 20 - 19 Orrell
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
27 September 1997
Moseley 23 - 22 Exeter
Report
The Reddings
27 September 1997
Waterloo 51 - 16 Blackheath
Report
St Anthony's Road
27 September 1997
West Hartlepool 31 - 20 Wakefield
Report
Victoria Park

Round 6

4 October 1997
Bedford 34 - 21 Waterloo
Report
Goldington Road
4 October 1997
Blackheath 28 - 27 Coventry
Report
Rectory Field
4 October 1997
Exeter 19 - 20 West Hartlepool
Report
County Ground
4 October 1997
Orrell 35 - 9 Fylde
Report
Edge Hall Road
4 October 1997
Rotherham 24 - 3 London Scottish
Report
Clifton Lane
4 October 1997
Wakefield 15 - 27 Moseley
Report
College Grove

Round 7

11 October 1997
Coventry 18 - 12 Rotherham
Report
Coundon Road
11 October 1997
Fylde 18 - 10 Exeter
Report
Woodlands
11 October 1997
London Scottish 30 - 13 Wakefield
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
11 October 1997
Moseley 16 - 35 Bedford
Report
The Reddings
11 October 1997
Waterloo 25 - 14 Orrell
Report
St Anthony's Road
11 October 1997
West Hartlepool 32 - 21 Blackheath
Report
Victoria Park

Round 8

18 October 1997
Bedford 22 - 9 West Hartlepool
Report
Goldington Road
18 October 1997
Blackheath 11 - 9 Moseley
Report
Rectory Field
18 October 1997
Exeter 16 - 22 London Scottish
Report
County Ground
18 October 1997
Orrell 38 - 13 Coventry
Report
Edge Hall Road
18 October 1997
Rotherham 16 - 26 Waterloo
Report
Clifton Lane
18 October 1997
Wakefield 35 - 17 Fylde
Report
College Grove

Round 9

25 October 1997
Coventry 24 - 17 Wakefield
Report
Coundon Road
25 October 1997
Fylde 6 - 31 Blackheath
Report
Woodlands
25 October 1997
London Scottish 15 - 22 Bedford
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
25 October 1997
Moseley 18 - 9 Orrell
Report
The Reddings
25 October 1997
Waterloo 44 - 13 Exeter
Report
St Anthony's Road
25 October 1997
West Hartlepool 22 - 21 Rotherham
Report
Victoria Park

Round 10

8 November 1997
Bedford 77 - 3 Coventry
Report
Goldington Road
8 November 1997
Blackheath 14 - 15 Waterloo
Report
Rectory Field
8 November 1997
Exeter 10 - 20 Moseley
Report
County Ground
8 November 1997
Orrell 13 - 27 London Scottish
Report
Edge Hall Road
8 November 1997
Rotherham 32 - 16 Fylde
Report
Clifton Lane
8 November 1997
Wakefield 12 - 28 West Hartlepool
Report
College Grove

Round 11

13 December 1997
Coventry 24 - 22 Blackheath
Report
Coundon Road
13 December 1997
Fylde 9 - 21 Orrell
Report
Woodlands
13 December 1997
London Scottish 35 - 29 Rotherham
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
13 December 1997
Moseley 28 - 10 Wakefield
Report

13 December 1997
Waterloo 14 - 28 Bedford
Report
St Anthony's Road
13 December 1997
West Hartlepool 34 - 14 Exeter
Report
Victoria Park

Round 12

20 December 1997
Bedford 32 - 16 Moseley
Report
Goldington Road
20 December 1997
Blackheath 25 - 22 West Hartlepool
Report
Rectory Field
20 December 1997
Exeter 24 - 15 Fylde
Report
County Ground
20 December 1997
Orrell 23 - 6 Waterloo
Report
Edge Hall Road
20 December 1997
Rotherham 46 - 8 Coventry
Report
Clifton Lane
20 December 1997
Wakefield 15 - 10 London Scottish
Report
College Grove

Round 13

27 December 1997
Coventry P - P Orrell

27 December 1997
Fylde 7 - 67 Bedford
Report
Woodlands
27 December 1997
London Scottish P - P Exeter

27 December 1997
Moseley 23 - 25 Rotherham
Report
The Reddings
27 December 1997
Wakefield P - P Blackheath

27 December 1997
Waterloo P - P West Hartlepool

Rescheduled game

10 January 1998
Waterloo 26 - 32 Rotherham
Report
St Anthony's Road

Round 14

17 January 1998
Bedford 50 - 14 Fylde
Report
Goldington Road
17 January 1998
Blackheath 34 - 25 London Scottish
Report
Rectory Field
17 January 1998
Exeter 18 - 14 Coventry
Report
County Ground
17 January 1998
Orrell 30 - 35 West Hartlepool
Report
Edge Hall Road
17 January 1998
Rotherham 10 - 16 Moseley
Report
Clifton Lane
17 January 1998
Wakefield 23 - 20 Waterloo
Report
College Grove

Round 13 (Rescheduled games)

24 January 1998
Coventry 21 - 30 Orrell
Report
Coundon Road
24 January 1998
London Scottish 22 - 10 Exeter
Report
Richmond Athletic

Round 15

31 January 1998
Bedford 47 - 22 Orrell
Report
Goldington Road
31 January 1998
Coventry 21 - 16 West Hartlepool
Report
Coundon Road
31 January 1998
Exeter 20 - 18 Blackheath
Report
County Ground
31 January 1998
Fylde 10 - 25 Waterloo
Report
Woodlands
31 January 1998
Moseley 18 - 29 London Scottish
Report
The Reddings
31 January 1998
Rotherham 41 - 9 Wakefield
Report

Round 16

14 February 1998
Blackheath 18 - 31 Rotherham
Report
Rectory Field
14 February 1998
London Scottish 18 - 18 Coventry
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
14 February 1998
Orrell 38 - 3 Exeter
Report
Edge Hall Road
14 February 1998
Wakefield 13 - 24 Bedford
Report
College Grove
14 February 1998
Waterloo 36 - 31 Moseley
Report
St Anthony's Road
14 February 1998
West Hartlepool 66 - 12 Fylde
Report
Victoria Park

Rescheduled game

21 February 1998
West Hartlepool 20 - 11 Orrell
Report
Edge Hall Road

Rescheduled games

28 February 1998
Fylde 10 - 30 Wakefield
Report
Woodlands
28 February 1998
Moseley 29 - 16 Blackheath
Report
The Reddings

Round 17

7 March 1998
Blackheath 13 - 37 Bedford
Report
Rectory Field
7 March 1998
Coventry 41 - 33 Waterloo
Report
Coundon Road
7 March 1998
Exeter 8 - 33 Rotherham
Report
County Ground
7 March 1998
Fylde P - P Moseley

7 March 1998
Wakefield 20 - 26 Orrell
Report
College Grove
8 March 1998
London Scottish 31 - 17 West Hartlepool
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground

Round 18

14 March 1998
Bedford 36 - 10 Wakefield
Report
Goldington Road
14 March 1998
Coventry 37 - 10 London Scottish
Report
Coundon Road
14 March 1998
Exeter 17 - 14 Orrell
Report
County Ground
14 March 1998
Fylde 8 - 34 West Hartlepool
Report
Woodlands
14 March 1998
Moseley 23 - 22 Waterloo
Report
The Reddings
14 March 1998
Rotherham 40 - 10 Blackheath
Report
Clifton Lane

Round 19

28 March 1998
Blackheath 26 - 15 Exeter
Report
Rectory Field
28 March 1998
London Scottish 24 - 18 Moseley
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
28 March 1998
Orrell 16 - 29 Bedford
Report
Edge Hall Road
28 March
Wakefield 15 - 14 Rotherham
Report
College Grove
28 March 1998
Waterloo 22 - 12 Fylde
Report
St Anthony's Road
28 March
West Hartlepool 42 - 31 Coventry
Report
Victoria Park

Round 17 (Rescheduled game)

4 April 1998
Fylde 14 - 13 Moseley
Report
Woodlands

Round 20 (includes postphoned game from Round 13)

11 April 1998
Blackheath 14 - 32 Orrell
Report
Rectory Field
11 April 1998
Exeter 17 - 30 Wakefield
Report
County Ground
11 April 1998
Fylde 7 - 22 London Scottish
Report
Woodlands
11 April 1998
Moseley P - P Coventry

11 April 1998
Rotherham 18 - 17 Bedford
Report
Clifton Lane
11 April 1998
Waterloo 6 - 51 West Hartlepool
Report
St Anthony's Road

Round 21 (includes postphoned games from Round 2 & 13)

April 18
Bedford 16 - 3 Exeter
Report
Goldington Road
April 18
Coventry 16 - 7 Fylde
Report
Coundon Road
April 18
London Scottish 26 - 6 Waterloo
Report
Richmond Athletic Ground
April 18
Orrell 3 - 9 Rotherham
Report
Edge Hall Road
April 18
Wakefield 21 - 24 Blackheath
Report
College Grove
April 18
West Hartlepool 18 - 18 Moseley
Report
Victoria Park

Round 20 (Rescheduled game)

April 22
Moseley 31 - 3 Coventry
Report
The Reddings

Round 22

25 April 1998
Bedford 72 - 31 Blackheath
Report
Goldington Road
25 April 1998
Moseley 44 - 9 Fylde
Report
The Reddings
25 April 1998
Orrell 54 - 8 Wakefield
Report
Edge Hall Road
25 April 1998
Rotherham 50 - 27 Exeter
Report
Clifton Lane
25 April 1998
Waterloo 24 - 21 Coventry
Report
St Anthony's Road
25 April 1998
West Hartlepool 11 - 10 London Scottish
Report
Victoria Park

Round 2 (Rescheduled game)

2 May 1998
West Hartlepool 48 - 29 Bedford
Report
Victoria Park

Individual Statistics

Top points scorers

Rank Player Team Appearances Points
1 Wales Mike Rayer Bedford 21 289
2 England Lyndon Griffiths Waterloo 22 263
3 England Simon Binns Rotherham 22 244
4 New Zealand Steven Vile West Hartlepool 17 238
5 England Matt Jones Moseley 17 176
6 England John Fabian Exeter 22 174
7 England Simon Verbickas Orrell 18 170
8 Scotland Derrick Lee London Scottish 15 154
9 England Greg Miller Wakefield 14 141
10 England Jez Harris Coventry 14 133

[3]

Top try scorers

Rank Player Team Appearances Tries
1 England Ben Whetstone Bedford 19 17
2 Ireland Darragh O'Mahony Moseley 20 17
3 Scotland Conan Sharman London Scottish 20 14
4 Wales Jason Forster Bedford 21 14
5 England Simon Verbickas Orrell 18 13
6 Samoa John Clarke Blackheath 14 13
7 Australia Greg Austin Rotherham 17 12
8 Ireland Emmet Farrell West Hartlepool 22 11
9 New Zealand Steven Vile West Hartlepool 17 8
10 England Simon Binns Rotherham 22 8

[4]

Season records

Team

Largest home win — 74 pts

77 - 3 Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997

Largest away win — 60 pts

67 - 7 Bedford away to Fylde on 27 December 1997

Most points scored — 151 pts

77 - 3 Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997

Most tries in a match — 11

Bedford Blues at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997

Most conversions in a match — 8 (x3)

Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997
Bedford away to Fylde on 27 December 1997
West Hartlepool at home to Fylde on 14 February 1998

Most penalties in a match — 6 (x9)

N/A - multiple teams

Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x4)

Exeter at home to Bedford on 13 September 1997
Moseley at home to Orrell on 25 October 1997
Coventry at home to West Hartlepool on 31 January 1998
Wakefield at home to Rotherham on 28 March 1998

[5][6][7][8]

Player

Most points in a match — 32

Wales Mike Rayer for Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997

Most tries in a match — 4 (x3)

Samoa John Clarke for Blackheath at home to Fylde on 20 September 1997
Wales Jason Forster for Bedford at home to Fylde on 17 January 1998
England Ben Wade for Rotherham at home to Exeter on 25 April 1998

Most conversions in a match — 8 (x3)

Wales Mike Rayer for Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997
Wales Mike Rayer for Bedford away to Fylde on 27 December 1997
Australia Steven Vile for West Hartlepool at home to Fylde on 14 February 1998

Most penalties in a match — 6 (x9)

N/A - multiple players

Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x3)

Zambia Meeku Patidar for Exeter at home to Bedford on 13 September 1997
England Matt Jones for Moseley at home to Orrell on 25 October 1997
England Greg Miller for Wakefield at home to Rotherham on 28 March 1998

[9][10][11][12][13]

Attendances

  • Note that attendances were very poorly documented this season and there is no information available
Highest — N/A

N/A

Lowest — N/A

N/A

Highest Average Attendance — N/A

N/A

Lowest Average Attendance — N/A

N/A

[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stephen McCormack, ed. (2000). The Official RFU Club Directory 2000–2001. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press.
  2. ↑ "Leagues 1997/98". Moseley Rugby Club. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Leading point scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  4. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Leading try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  5. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most tries in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  6. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most conversions in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  7. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most penalties in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  8. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most drop goals in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  9. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  10. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  11. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most conversions in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  12. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most penalties in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  13. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Most drop goals in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
  14. ↑ "AD Prem 2 97/98 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker. 2 May 1998.
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