English rugby union championship 1996/97

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The 1996/1997 season of the English Premiership was the tenth season of the top division of the English Rugby Union Championship. For sponsorship reasons it was named Courage League . It comprised 22 game days, each with a preliminary and a second round. The London Wasps won the championship title for the second time . At the end of the season, the West Hartlepool RFC and the Orrell RUFC were relegated .

Courage League

table
  • Champion and qualification for Heineken Cup
  • Qualification for Heineken Cup
  • Relegation to National Division One

    • M: Last year's champion
    P: Promotion (promoted) from National Division One

    team Games Victories Unent. Ndlg. Game
    points     		Diff. Table
    points
    01. London Wasps 22nd 18th 1 3 685: 406 + 279 37
    02. Bath Rugby (M) 22nd 15th 1 6th 836: 411 + 425 31
    03. Harlequins 22nd 15th 0 7th 745: 416 + 329 30th
    04th Leicester Tigers 22nd 14th 1 7th 600: 395 + 205 29
    05. Sale Sharks 22nd 13 2 7th 603: 525 + 78 28
    06th Gloucester RFC 22nd 12 1 9 568: 449 + 119 25th
    07th Saracens 22nd 11 1 10 476: 589 - 113 23
    08th. Northampton Saints (P) 22nd 10 0 12 515: 477 + 38 20th
    09. Bristol rugby 22nd 8th 1 13 432: 625 - 193 17th
    10. London Irish (P) 22nd 6th 0 16 502: 747 - 245 12
    11. West Hartlepool RFC 22nd 3 0 19th 382: 795 - 413 6th
    12. Orrell RUFC 22nd 3 0 19th 350: 886 - 536 6th

    The points were distributed as follows:

    • 2 points if you win
    • 1 point in case of a tie
    • 0 points if you lose

    National Division One

    The season of the second division ( National Division One ) comprised 22 game days, each with a preliminary and a second half . The top two teams, Richmond FC and Newcastle Falcons , went straight to the Premiership. The third and fourth placed wore a play-off with the tenth and ninth placed of the Premiership for promotion, but lost both. The Rugby Lions and the Nottingham RFC had to relegate to National Division Two.

    table
  • Promotion to the Premiership
  • Relegation to National Division Two

    • P: Promotion (promoted) from National Division Two

    team Games Victories Unent. Ndlg. Game
    points     		Diff. Table
    points
    01. Richmond FC (P) 22nd 19th 2 1 986: 410 + 576 40
    02. Newcastle Falcons 22nd 19th 1 2 1255: 346 + 909 39
    03. Coventry RFC (P) 22nd 16 1 5 738: 394 + 344 33
    04th Bedford Blues 22nd 15th 0 7th 720: 482 + 238 30th
    05. London Scottish 22nd 11 0 11 549: 568 - 19th 22nd
    06th Wakefield RFC 22nd 11 0 11 504: 557 - 53 22nd
    07th Rotherham RUFC (P) 22nd 10 0 12 525: 661 - 136 20th
    08th. Moseley RFC 22nd 9 0 13 492: 741 - 249 18th
    09. Waterloo RFC 22nd 8th 0 14th 506: 661 - 155 16
    10. Blackheath FC 22nd 7th 0 15th 412: 641 - 229 14th
    11. Rugby Lions (P) 22nd 3 0 19th 317: 1060 - 743 6th
    12. Nottingham RFC 22nd 2 0 20th 344: 827 - 483 4th

    * Deduction of 2 points

    The points were distributed as follows:

    • 2 points if you win
    • 1 point in case of a tie
    • 0 points if you lose

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