National League 2 North
| National League 2 North | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition:: 2016–17 National League 2 North
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| Sport | Rugby union |
| Instituted | 1987 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Country |
 England
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| Holders | Caldy (2016–17) |
| Most titles | Macclesfield (3 titles) |
| Website | clubs.rfu.com |
National League 2 North, (which before September 2009 was known as National Division Three North) is a level four league in the English rugby union system and provides mostly amateur competition for teams in the northern half of England. From 2009–10 the RFU restructured the league system in England, and this league was expanded from fourteen to sixteen teams. Participating clubs are from the English Midlands and Northern England. Each team plays thirty league games on a home and away basis. The champion club is promoted to National League 1 and the runner-up participates in a one-off play-off with the runner-up of National League 2 South for promotion. Relegation is to either the National League 3 Midlands or National League 3 North leagues depending on where the teams are based.
Eleven of the teams listed below participated in the 2015–16 National League 2 North season;
Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the league runners-up of National League 2 North and National League 2 South for the third and final promotion place to National League 1. The team with the superior league record having home advantage in the tie. As of the end of the 2015–16 season the southern teams have been more successful with eleven wins to the northern teams four.
When club rugby began in 1987 this division was called Area 4 North and contained the following teams:
Note that all records are from 1996-97 season onwards as this is widely held as the dawn of professionalism across the English club game. It also offers a better comparison between seasons as the division team numbers are roughly equal (for example when league rugby union first started in 1987-88 the northern league had only 11 teams playing 10 games each, compared to 14 teams in 1996-97 playing 26 games (home & away), going up to 16 teams in 2009-10 playing 30 games each). Attendance records are from 2000 onwards unless otherwise specified. All records are up to date up till the end of the 2015-16 season.
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