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Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire (formerly Lancs/Cheshire Division 1) is a regional English Rugby Union league for teams from Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, ranked at tier 8 of the English league system.
Current season or competition: 2024-25 Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1987 |
| Country |  England,  Isle of Man |
| Most titles | Altrincham Kersal, Warrington (3 titles) |
| Website | England RFU |
The division was initially known as North-West West 1 when it was created in 1987, and had a number of different names with South Lancs/Cheshire 1 being the longest running. The division switched to its final name for the 2018–19 season due to the restructuring of the northern leagues by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as a result of 19 Lancashire clubs withdrawing from RFU competitions across the leagues to form their own competitions. This would see the North Lancashire/Cumbria division abolished, with Lancashire-based sides from that league being transferred into Lancs/Cheshire 1, while the Cumbria sides were transferred into Cumbria 1.[1]
The introduction of North 2 West for the 2019–20 season at tier 7 of the north west leagues, meant that Lancs/Cheshire Division 1 dropped down to being a tier 8 league. Then after the cancellation of Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season[2] due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league was disbanded with teams transferred into the Lancashire Merit Table competitions or ADM Lancashire leagues.
After a hiatus for season 2021-22 the league returned in its new guise following the restructuring of the English rugby union system ahead of the 2022–23 season, with the league renamed to Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.
Promotion is to Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire and relegation to Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.
Joining were Bolton and Warrington, relegated from Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire. Wigan and Thornton-Cleveleys were promoted from Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
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  Leigh Oldham Tyldesley Locations of the 2024-25-Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire teams in Greater Manchester
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Joining were Southport, Sefton and Leigh, all relegated from Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire. New Brighton and Hoylake and were promoted from Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
At the end of the season, New Brighton and Trafford MV RFCC were promoted to Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire. Fleetwood and De La Salle (Salford) were relegated to Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.
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 Fleetwood Greater Manchester Hoylake Leigh Littleborough L Collegiate Tyldesley Locations of the 2023-24 Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire teams DLS Oldham Trafford MV Locations of the 2023-24 Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire teams in Greater Manchester
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This was the first season following the RFU Adult Competition Review with the league adopting its new name of Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire. At the end of the season, Eccles and Heaton Moor were promoted to Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire. Ormskirk (10th), Wigan (11th) and Orrell were relegated to Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.
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Locations of the 2022-23 Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire teams in Greater Manchester
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Not contested as many of the Lancashire RFU affiliated clubs had joined the Lanacashire ADM splinter leagues.
On 30 October the RFU announced [3] that a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning the league was not contested.
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Locations of the 2019–20 Lancs/Cheshire Division 1 teams
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Bowdon Fleetwood Glossop Hoylake Leigh L Collegiate Tarleton Locations of the 2018–19 Lancs/Cheshire 1 teams
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Locations of the 2017–18 South Lancs/Cheshire 1 teams in Merseyside & Cheshire Locations of the 2017–18 South Lancs/Cheshire 1 teams in Greater Manchester & Derbyshire
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- Anselmians
- Bowdon
- Broughton Park
- Douglas (I.O.M.)
- Glossop
- Liverpool St Helens
- Manchester
- Manchester Medics (promoted from Cheshire (South))
- New Brighton
- Oswestry (promoted from Cheshire (South))
- Sefton
- Southport (promoted from Merseyside (West))
- Widnes
- Wigan
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2015-16 Merseyside South Lancs/Cheshire 1 teams Locations of the 2015-16 South Lancs/Cheshire 1 teams
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- Altrincham Kersal (relegated from North 1 West)
- Anselmians
- Bowdon (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 2)
- Douglas (I.O.M.)
- Glossop
- Hoylake
- Liverpool St Helens (relegated from North 1 West)
- Manchester
- Manchester Medics (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 2)
- Northwich
- Ruskin Park
- Sefton
- West Park St Helens
- Winnington Park
- Anselmians
- Ashton-on-Mersey
- Douglas (I.O.M.) (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 2)
- Glossop
- Hoylake
- Manchester (relegated from North 1 West)
- New Brighton
- Northwich
- Ruskin Park
- Sefton (promoted from South Lancs/Cheshire 2)
- Tyldesley
- West Park St Helens
- Wigan
- Winnington Park
- Ashton-on-Mersey
- Bowdon
- Broughton Park (relegated from North 1 West)
- Crewe & Nantwich
- Glossop
- Hoylake
- New Brighton
- Orrell
- Ruskin Park
- Tyldesley
- Warrington
- West Park St Helens
- Wigan
- Winnington Park
When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams:
- Aspull
- Birchfield
- Douglas
- Eagle
- Liverpool College
- Mersey Police
- Old Anselmians[a]
- Old Parkonians
- Oldershaw
- Ormskirk
- St. Edward's Old Boys
North-West West 1 (1987–1992)
The original incarnation of Lancs/Cheshire 1 was known as North-West West 1, and was a tier 9 league with promotion up to North West 2 and relegation down to North-West West 2.
| ||||||||||||||
| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | 11 | Mersey Police | Liverpool College | Old Anselmians, Oldershaw | ||||||||||
| 1988–89 | 11 | Warrington | Old Parkonians | Birchfield, Aspull | ||||||||||
| 1989–90 | 11 | St. Edward's Old Boys | Oldershaw | Old Parkonians | ||||||||||
| 1990–91 | 11 | South Liverpool | Ruskin Park | Vulcan | ||||||||||
| 1991–92 | 11 | Ormskirk | Oldershaw[b] | No relegation[c] | ||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
Cheshire/Lancs South (1992–1996)
Restructuring of north-west leagues saw North-West West 1 renamed as Cheshire/Lancs South for the 1993–94 season. Promotion continued to be up to North West 2, while relegation was to either Cheshire or Lancashire South (new regional divisions of what was North-West West 2). The division was initially at tier 9 but the creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Cheshire/Lancs South dropped to become a tier 10 league.
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| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 12 | Ruskin Park | Kersal | Douglas | ||||||||||
| 1993–94 | 13 | Leigh | Aspull | Newton-le-Willows, St Mark's Old Boy, Liverpool College | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | 13 | Aspull | Eagle | Vulcan, Old Anselmians, Southport | ||||||||||
| 1995–96 | 13 | Ruskin Park | Newton-le-Willows | Port Sunlight, Sefton, Congelton, Crewe & Nantwich[d] | ||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
South Lancs/Cheshire 1 (1996–2000)
The league system was restructured from top to bottom by the Rugby Football Union for the start of the 1996–97 season. Firstly, as part of the reorganisation of the Cheshire and Lancashire leagues, Cheshire/Lancs South was renamed South Lancs/Cheshire 1. The cancellation of National 5 North and creation of North West 3 meant that South/Lancs Cheshire 1 remained a tier 10 league, with promotion to North West 3 and relegation to the newly named South/Lancs Cheshire 2 - now back to being a single division. From the 1998–99 season onward the league was known as EuroManx South Lancs/Cheshire 1 after its sponsor EuroManx.
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| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 10 | Altrincham Kersal | Wirral | Old Parkonians, Birchfield | ||||||||||
| 1997–98 | 9 | Warrington | Southport | Newton-le-Willows, South Liverpool | ||||||||||
| 1998–99[6] | 10 | St. Edward's Old Boys | Wallasey | Anselmians, Ruskin Park | ||||||||||
| 1999–00[7] | 9 | Birchfield | Dukinfield | Old Salians, Eagle, Crewe & Nantwich | ||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
South Lancs/Cheshire 1 (2000–2018)
Northern league restructuring by the RFU at the end of the 1999–2000 season saw the cancellation of North West 1, North West 2 and North West 3 (tiers 7-9). This meant that South/Lancs Cheshire 1 became a tier 7 league, with promotion to North 2 West (currently North 1 West). The division would continue to be known as EuroManx South Lancs/Cheshire 1 until the 2007–08 season when EuroManx ceased operations. Relegation during this time continued to be to South Lancs/Cheshire 2 except for one season (2015–16) where teams dropped to Cheshire (South), Lancashire (North) or Merseyside (West).
| ||||||||||||||
| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01[8] | 12 | Birkenhead Park | Warrington | Ashton-on-Mersey | ||||||||||
| 2001–02[8] | 12 | Wilmslow | Aspull | St Edward's Old Boys, Dukinfield | ||||||||||
| 2002–03[9] | 12 | Caldy | Widnes | Ormskirk, Oldershaw | ||||||||||
| 2003–04[10] | 12 | Widnes | Bowdon | Birchfield, Anselmians | ||||||||||
| 2004–05[11] | 12 | Rochdale | Leigh | Southport, Wigan | ||||||||||
| 2005–06[12] | 12 | Broughton Park | Wilmslow | Warrington | ||||||||||
| 2006–07[13] | 12 | Northwich | Leigh | Oldershaw, Dukinfield | ||||||||||
| 2007–08[14] | 12 | Wilmslow | Burnage | Ruskin Park, Anselmians, Aspull | ||||||||||
| 2008–09[15] | 11 | Burnage | Widnes | No relegation[e] | ||||||||||
| 2009–10[16] | 14 | Wirral | Widnes | Dukinfield, Warrington | ||||||||||
| 2010–11[17] | 14 | Anselmians | Widnes | Oswestry, Vagabonds | ||||||||||
| 2011–12[18] | 14 | Sale FC | New Brighton | Ormskirk, Liverpool Collegiate | ||||||||||
| 2012–13[19] | 14 | Warrington | Broughton Park | Orrell, Bowdon | ||||||||||
| 2013–14[20] | 14 | New Brighton | Northwich | Ashton-on-Mersey, Tyldesley | ||||||||||
| 2014–15[21] | 14 | Altrincham Kersal | Liverpool St Helens | Ruskin Park, Manchester Medics | ||||||||||
| 2015–16[22] | 14 | Northwich | West Park St Helens | Winnington Park, Hoylake | ||||||||||
| 2016–17[23] | 14 | Manchester | Douglas | Oswestry, Wigan | ||||||||||
| 2017–18[24] | 14 | Broughton Park | Anselmians | New Brighton[f] | ||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
Lancs/Cheshire 1 (2018-present)
South Lancs/Cheshire 1 was renamed as Lancs/Cheshire 1 for the 2018–19 season continuing as a tier 7 league with promotion to North 1 West. The creation of North 2 West for the 2019–20 season meant that Lancs/Cheshire 1 dropped to being a tier 8 league with promotion into this new division. Relegation continued to Lancs/Cheshire 2 (formerly South Lancs/Cheshire 2).
For the 2018–19 season there was play-off between the runners-up of Lancashire/Cheshire 1 and Cumbria 1 and for the third and final promotion place to North 1 West. Previously Lancs/Cheshire sides had faced teams from North Lancashire/Cumbria (see following subsection). As of 2019–20 Lancashire/Cheshire 1 sides have one win to Cumbria's zero; and the home side has one win to the away side's zero. The introduction of North 2 West for the 2019–20 and the subsequent demotion of both Lancashire/Cheshire 1 and Cumbria 1 to tier 8 divisions, means that if the playoff continues it will be in place in the newly introduced division.
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| Season | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19[28] | Bowdon (NW) | HWO[30] | Aspatria (C) | Clay Lane, Timperley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester | N/A | |||
| Green background is the promoted team. C = Cumbria 1 and NW = North 2 West | ||||||||
Discontinued promotion play-offs
Between the 2000–01 and 2017–18 seasons there was a play-off between the runners-up of North Lancashire/Cumbria and South Lancs/Cheshire 1 for the third and final promotion place to North 1 West. The team with the superior league record had home advantage in the tie. This continued until the North Lancashire/Cumbria division was abolished due to RFU restructuring of the leagues.[1] At the end of the 2017–18 season the North Lancashire/Cumbria and South Lancs/Cheshire 1 team sides had nine wins apiece; and the home team had won promotion on thirteen occasions compared to the away teams five.
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| Season | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01[31] | Warrington (SLC) | HWO[h] | Carlisle (NLC) | The Fortress, Walton, Cheshire | N/A | |||
| 2001–02[32] | Oldham (NLC) | 15-24 | Aspull (SLC) | Manor Park, Oldham, Greater Manchester | ||||
| 2002–03[33] | Penrith (NLC) | 25-10 | Widnes (SLC) | Winters Park, Penrith, Cumbria | ||||
| 2003–04[34] | Rossendale (NLC) | 24-28 | Bowdon (SLC) | Marl Pits, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire | ||||
| 2004–05[35] | Leigh (SLC) | 13-15 | Tyldesley (NLC) | Round Ash Park, Leigh, Greater Manchester | ||||
| 2005–06[36] | Wilmslow (SLC) | 43-10 | St Benedicts (NLC) | Memorial Ground, Wilmslow, Cheshire | ||||
| 2006–07[37] | Leigh (SLC) | 40-15 | Blackburn (NLC) | Round Ash Park, Leigh, Greater Manchester | ||||
| 2007–08[38] | Rossendale (NLC) | 20-16 | Burnage (SLC) | Marl Pits, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire | ||||
| 2008–09[39] | Widnes (SLC) | 41-52 | Vale of Lune (NLC) | Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire | ||||
| 2009–10[40] | Kirkby Lonsdale (NLC) | 13-12 | Widnes (SLC) | Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria | ||||
| 2010–11[41] | Widnes (SLC) | 26-19 | Fleetwood (NLC) | Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire | ||||
| 2011–12[42] | Kirkby Lonsdale (NLC) | 21-18 (aet) | New Brighton (SLC) | Underley Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria | ||||
| 2012–13[43] | Broughton Park (SLC) | 32-13 | Eccles (NLC) | Hough End, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester | ||||
| 2013–14[44] | Bolton (NLC) | 21-18 | Northwich (SLC) | Avenue Street, Bolton, Greater Manchester | 500 | |||
| 2014–15[45] | Leigh (NLC) | 34-26 | Liverpool St Helens (SLC) | Leigh, Greater Manchester | ||||
| 2015–16[46] | Bolton (NLC) | 20-27 | West Park St Helens (SLC) | Avenue Street, Bolton, Greater Manchester | ||||
| 2016–17[47] | Douglas (I.O.M.) (SLC) | 15-14 | De La Salle (Salford) (NLC) | Port-E-Chee, Douglas, Isle of Man | 600 | |||
| 2017–18[48] | Anselmians (SLC) | 65-14 | Aspatria (NLC) | Malone Field, Eastham | ||||
| Green background is the promoted team. NLC = North Lancashire/Cumbria and SLC = South Lancs/Cheshire 1 | ||||||||
- Altrincham Kersal (3)
- Warrington (3)
- Broughton Park (2)
- Northwich (2)
- Ruskin Park (2)
- St. Edward's Old Boys (2)
- Wilmslow (2)
- Anselmians (1)
- Aspull (1)
- Birchfield (1)
- Birkenhead Park (1)
- Burnage (1)
- Caldy (1)
- Leigh (1)
- Manchester (1)
- Mersey Police (1)
- New Brighton (1)
- Ormskirk (1)
- Orrell (1)
- Rochdale (1)
- Sale FC (1)
- South Liverpool (1)
- Widnes (1)
- Wirral (1)
- Now known as Anselmians.
- 3rd place Vagabonds were also promoted.
- The restructure of the North-West leagues for the following season with North-West West 3 being discontinued and North-West West 2 splitting into two regional leagues - Cheshire and Lancashire South - meant that there was no relegation, although bottom side Old Intonians would merge with Old Rockferrians to form Prenton RUFC and would enter the Cheshire league for the 1992–93 season.
- Reorganisation of the Lancashire and Cheshire leagues for the 1996–97 season meant that four teams instead of three were relegated into the new look South/Lancs Cheshire 2 - now back to being a single division.
- Only one team relegated from division as Manchester Medics dropped out of the league.[25]
- Warrington won 2000-01 promotion playoff by default as Carlisle were unable to raise a team.
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