1990–91 Courage National 4 South

The 1990–91 Courage National 4 South was the fourth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, currently known as National League 2 South, and counterpart to the Courage National 4 North (now National League 2 North). It was the first season for the division using the name National 4 South, having been known as Area League South the previous year. In what was otherwise a very competitive league, Redruth were dominant, finishing as league champions with a perfect record of 12 wins from 12 games to gain promotion to the 1991–92 National Division 3 - 6 points clear of runners up Basingstoke.

1990–91 Courage National 4 South
Countries	England  Cornwall
Champions	Redruth (1st title)
Runners-up	Basingstoke
Relegated	Cheltenham, Maidenhead
Matches played	156
← 1989–90 1991–92 →

At the other end of the table Cheltenham and Maidenhead finished in the bottom two places and were relegated. It was especially tough on Maidenhead who finished level with 11th placed Maidstone on 9 points each but went down due to a worst for/against ratio. Both Cheltenham and Maidenhead would drop down to South West 1.^[1]

Structure

Each team played one match against each of the other teams, playing a total of twelve matches each. The champions are promoted to National Division 3 and the bottom two teams are relegated to either London Division 1 or South West 1 depending on their locality.

Participating teams and locations

Basingstoke

Camborne

Cheltenham

Ealing

Havant

L Welsh

Maidstone

Maidenhead

N Walsham

Redruth

Southend

Sudbury

Weston

Locations of the 1990–91 Courage National 4 South teams

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Basingstoke	Down Grange	2,500	Basingstoke, Hampshire	8th
Camborne	Recreation Ground	9,000	Camborne, Cornwall	4th
Cheltenham	Prince of Wales	2,000	Cheltenham, Gloucestershire	9th
Ealing	Horsenden Hill		Horsenden Hill, Ealing, London	Promoted from London 1 (runners up)
Havant	Hook's Lane	1,500	Havant, Hampshire	5th
London Welsh	Old Deer Park	5,850	Richmond, London	Relegated from National 3 (12th)
Maidenhead	Braywick Park	1,750	Maidenhead, Berkshire	Promoted from South West 1 (champions)
Maidstone	William Davey Memorial		Maidstone, Kent	10th
North Walsham	Norwich Road	1,200	Scottow, Norfolk	Promoted from London 1 (champions)
Redruth	Recreation Ground	12,000	Redruth, Cornwall	3rd
Southend	Warners Park		Southend, Essex	7th
Sudbury	Moorsfield		Sudbury, Suffolk	6th
Weston-super-Mare	Recreation Ground	3,000	Weston-super-Mare, Somerset	Promoted from South West 1 (runners up)

^[2]

League table

1990–91 Courage National League 4 South table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Redruth (C)	12	12	0	0	225	79	+146	24	Promotion place
2	Basingstoke	12	9	0	3	187	104	+83	18
3	London Welsh	12	7	0	5	235	165	+70	14
4	Camborne	12	6	0	6	204	179	+25	12
5	Weston-super-Mare	12	6	0	6	192	182	+10	12
6	North Walsham	12	5	2	5	170	180	−10	12
7	Sudbury	12	6	0	6	160	172	−12	12
8	Havant	12	5	0	7	157	173	−16	10
9	Southend	12	5	0	7	152	194	−42	10
10	Ealing	12	5	0	7	174	218	−44	10
11	Maidstone	12	4	1	7	122	164	−42	9
12	Maidenhead (R)	12	4	1	7	130	208	−78	9	Relegation place
13	Cheltenham (R)	12	2	0	10	150	240	−90	4

Source: ^[1]
Rules for classification: Points are awarded as follows:

1. 2 pts for a win
2. 1 pt for a draw
3. 0 pts for a loss
4. If teams are level at any stage, difference between points for and against applies
   (C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Sponsorship

National League 4 South is part of the Courage Clubs Championship and is sponsored by Courage Brewery.

See also

• 1990–91 Courage League National Division One
• 1990–91 Courage League National Division Two
• 1990–91 Courage League National Division Three
• 1990–91 Courage National 4 North

References

1. "Courage League - Division 4 1990/91". The Rugby Archive. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
2. Williams, Tony; Mitchell, Bill (eds.). Courage Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1991–92 (4th ed.). Taunton: Football Directories. ISBN 1 869833 15 5.