Regional 1 Midlands

Regional 1 Midlands (until 2021–22 known as Midlands Premier and up until 2016–17 known as National League 3 Midlands) is a level five semi-professional league in the English rugby union system.^[1] It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as Midlands Division 1. The format of the league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following a reorganisation by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and the name change from National League 3 to Premier was introduced for the 2017–18 season by the RFU in order to lessen confusion for what is a series of regional leagues.^[1] Regional 1 Midlands is the highest regional rugby union league in the English Midlands.

Regional 1 Midlands

Current season or competition: 2023–24 Regional 1 Midlands
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1987; 38 years ago (1987) (as Midlands 1)
Number of teams	12
Country	England
Holders	Oxford Harlequins (1st title) (2023–24 (promoted to National League 2 West))
Most titles	Broadstreet (4 titles)
Website	clubs.rfu.com

Oxford Harlequins are the current champions and are promoted to National League 2 West. Old Halesonians (11th) and Broadstreet (12th) are relegated.

Format

The club that finishes as champions is automatically promoted to National League 2 West. Relegated teams drop down to either, Regional 2 East Midlands, Regional 2 North Midlands or Regional 2 West Midlands, depending on their location, and other factors such as the location of relegated and promoted teams in other divisions.

The season runs from September to April and comprises twenty-two rounds of matches, with each club playing each of its rivals home and away. The results of the matches contribute points to the league table as follows:

• 4 points are awarded for a win
• 2 points are awarded for a draw
• 0 points are awarded for a loss, however
• 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer
• 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match

2024–25

Departing were Stoke-on-Trent who finished fifth in 2023-24 and were level transferred to Regional 1 North West for the new season, Oxford Harlequins who were promoted to National League 2 East, while Old Halesonians and Broadstreet were relegated.

Participating teams and locations

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Banbury Bodicote Park 2,500 (250 seats) Banbury, Oxfordshire 8th Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 6th Bromsgrove Finstall Park Bromsgrove, Worcestershire 3rd Burton Battlestead Croft, Tatenhill[2] 5,500 (600 seats Burton, Staffordshire 4th Derby Haslams Lane Derby, Derbyshire 7th Dudley Kingswinford Heathbrook 2,260 (260 seats) Kingswinford, Dudley, West Midlands Relegated from Nat 2 West (14th) Kenilworth Glasshouse Lane Kenilworth, Warwickshire 10th Long Eaton West Park 1,000 Long Eaton, Derbyshire Promoted from Regional 2 Midlands North (champions) Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire Promoted from Regional 2 Midlands East (champions) Silhillians The Memorial Ground Solihull, West Midlands Promoted from Regional 2 Midlands West (champions) Stourbridge Stourton Park 3,500 (499 seats) Stourbridge, West Midlands 2nd Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire 9th

Banbury Bridgnorth Bromsgrove Burton Derby Dudley K Kenilworth Long Eaton Nuneaton Silhillians Stourbridge Syston Locations of the 2024-25 Regional 1 Midlands teams

2023–24

Participating teams and locations

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Banbury Bodicote Park 2,500 (250 seats) Banbury, Oxfordshire Transferred from Regional 1 South Central (10th) Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 2nd Broadstreet Ivor Preece Field 1,500 (250 seats) Binley Woods, Coventry, West Midlands 10th Bromsgrove Finstall Park Bromsgrove, Worcestershire 4th Burton Battlestead Croft, Tatenhill[3] 5,500 (600 seats Burton, Staffordshire 6th Derby Haslams Lane Derby, Derbyshire 8th Kenilworth Glasshouse Lane Kenilworth, Warwickshire 5th Old Halesonians Wassell Grove Hagley, Stourbridge, Worcestershire Promoted from Regional 2 West Midlands (1st) Oxford Harlequins Horspath Sports Ground 1,000 Oxford, Oxfordshire Transferred from Regional 1 South Central (4th) Stoke-on-Trent Hartwell Lane Barlaston, Staffordshire 9th Stourbridge Stourton Park 3,500 (499 seats) Stourbridge, West Midlands Relegated from National 2 West (14th) Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire 3rd

Banbury Bridgnorth Broadstreet Bromsgrove Burton Derby Kenilworth Halesonians Oxford Harlequins Stoke Stourbridge Syston Locations of the 2023–24 Regional 1 Midlands teams

League table

2023–24 Regional 1 Midlands
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points	Adj
P	Oxford Harlequins	22	19	0	3	905	372	+533	19	1	96
2	Stourbridge	22	17	1	4	831	467	+364	16	3	89
3	Bromsgrove	22	15	0	7	671	449	+222	11	4	75
4	Burton	22	13	0	9	553	528	+25	11	5	69
5	Stoke-on-Trent	22	12	0	10	623	596	+27	15	4	67
6	Bridgnorth	22	12	0	10	628	574	+54	13	5	66
7	Derby	22	11	0	11	670	638	+32	14	4	62
8	Banbury	22	10	1	11	623	676	–53	14	2	58
9	Syston	22	11	0	11	589	524	+65	8	4	56
10	Kenilworth	22	7	1	14	595	704	−109	11	6	42	–5
R	Old Halesonians	22	2	1	19	416	728	−312	5	4	19
R	Broadstreet	22	1	0	21	260	1108	−848	1	2	7
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Team with most draws Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are the relegation places Updated: 12 May 2024 Source: "Regional 1 Midlands". England Rugby.

Results

Home \ Away	BAN	BRI	BRD	BRM	BUR	DER	KEN	OLH	OXF	STK	STB	SYS
Banbury	—	43–26	38–12	25–23	12–18	24–32	39–17	54–29	7–54	36–32	13–13	45–15
Bridgnorth	41–33	—	57–12	22–23	16–25	50–33	31–24	25–5	34–25	27–29	26–21	40–23
Broadstreet	27–30	19–36	—	10–62	11–36	17–58	10–59	30–25	12–66	12–55	19–64	7–49
Bromsgrove	35–26	11–16	53–0	—	33–26	42–20	49–7	17–10	34–25	23–33	27–11	31–7
Burton	20–7	43–19	71–0	30–22	—	43–34	28–0	33–14	3–43	28–22	31–32	19–13
Derby	34–22	26–24	31–8	13–17	27–26	—	22–17	51–14	27–32	41–26	21–41	23–17
Kenilworth	28–34	29–51	24–19	36–41	29–22	37–31	—	36–36	16–38	24–25	35–52	32–23
Old Halesonians	21–41	5–14	36–7	17–26	28–34	22–45	25–42	—	14–47	31–15	7–41	10–14
Oxford Harlequins	47–25	50–5	97–7	38–26	34–10	37–25	53–17	36–17	—	41–21	18–13	40–19
Stoke-on-Trent	50–45	36–17	48–10	36–34	24–20	41–10	33–38	31–19	10–7	—	24–32	5–21
Stourbridge	66–12	32–29	60–8	31–28	57–10	42–33	36–16	36–16	22–27	60–10	—	34–25
Syston	36–12	27–22	53–3	10–14	51–5	39–33	34–32	53–15	8–50	20–17	32–35	—

Updated to match(es) played on 6 April 2024. Source: Regional 1 Midlands
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

2022–23

Dudley Kingswinford won the league and were promoted to National League 2 West. Lichfield (11th) and Nuneaton (12th) were relegated to Regional 2 North Midlands and Regional 2 East Midlands respectively.^[4]

Participating teams and locations

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 4th Broadstreet Ivor Preece Field 1,500 (250 seats) Binley Woods, Coventry, West Midlands 9th Bromsgrove Finstall Park Bromsgrove, Worcestershire 6th Burton Battlestead Croft, Tatenhill[5] 5,500 (600 seats Burton, Staffordshire 7th Derby Haslams Lane Derby, Derbyshire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (3rd) Dudley Kingswinford Heathbrook 2,260 (260 seats) Kingswinford, Dudley, West Midlands 10th Kenilworth Glasshouse Lane Kenilworth, Warwickshire Promoted from Midlands 1 West (2nd) Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire Promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 11h Oundale Occupation Road Oundle, Northamptonshire 14th Stoke-on-Trent Hartwell Lane Barlaston, Staffordshire Promoted from Midlands 1 East 3rd Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire 3rd

Bridgnorth Broadstreet Bromsgrove Burton Derby D Kingswinford Kenilworth Lichfield Nuneaton Oundle Stoke Syston Locations of the 2022–23 Regional 1 Midlands teams

Final league table

Regional 1 Midlands 2022–23
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
P	Dudley Kingswinford	22	17	0	5	671	372	299	13	4	85
2	Bridgnorth	22	16	0	6	631	499	132	13	5	82
3	Syston	22	16	0	6	761	414	347	13	2	79
4	Bromsgrove	22	13	1	8	666	480	186	14	7	75
5	Kenilworth	22	14	0	8	621	507	114	11	4	71
6	Burton	22	9	0	13	560	595	−35	12	7	55
7	Oundle	22	9	0	13	481	617	−136	12	6	54
8	Derby	22	10	1	11	562	691	129	9	2	53
9	Stoke-on-Trent	22	8	0	14	607	699	−92	13	6	51
10	Broadstreet	22	8	0	14	504	698	−194	9	5	46
R	Lichfield	22	6	0	16	544	836	−292	10	3	37
R	Nuneaton	22	5	0	17	485	685	−200	8	7	35
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are the relegation places Updated: 12 April 2023 Source: "Regional 1 Midlands". England Rugby.

Results

Home \ Away	BRI	BRD	BRM	BUR	DER	DUD	KEN	LCH	NUN	OUN	STO	SYS
Bridgnorth	—	26–19	43–37	20–14	27–23	29–17	31–28	41–12	47–40	40–17	29–23	14–12
Broadstreet	14–25	—	14–22	49–36	29–15	26–29	22–37	17–22	25–22	32–27	38–25	17–90
Bromsgrove	25–19	43–21	—	38–7	40–15	25–27	31–19	22–27	37–13	67–7	45–26	8–10
Burton	12–18	26–24	27–21	—	31–33	3–27	20–29	47–19	20–21	27–10	36–29	19–45
Derby	10–36	28–24	26–26	31–30	—	28–41	24–47	23–27	20–17	38–35	66–29	36–48
Dudley Kingswinford	44–10	41–5	11–16	20–14	46–14	—	19–14	38–14	53–7	45–0	26–13	19–20
Kenilworth	35–45	25–27	50–28	20–19	38–8	27–21	—	57–21	24–19	22–17	27–17	15–16
Lichfield	14–50	30–32	28–36	50–38	26–32	22–42	39–22	—	21–34	33–36	22–34	14–51
Nuneaton	20–13	26–31	24–37	27–32	15–27	17–36	37–15	39–50	—	6–12	31–52	14–35
Oundale	18–14	38–24	24–22	12–31	21–23	22–25	12–20	24–10	29–32	—	63–12	28–19
Stoke-on-Trent	45–40	21–7	28–31	26–37	31–14	22–27	23–25	45–15	27–19	21–24	—	37–27
Syston	20–14	44–7	14–9	26–34	27–28	24–17	11–25	76–28	42–5	54–5	50–21	—

Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2023. Source: Regional 1 Midlands
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

2021–22

Participating teams and locations

Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by one relegated side, Scunthorpe (from National League 2 North), while the three teams promoted into the division are Dudley Kingswinford (from Midlands 1 West, Oundle and Syston (both from Midlands 1 East. Last season's champions, Bournville were promoted into National League 2 North. Teams relegated from the division were Kettering and Peterborough (who drop to Midlands 1 East). Also not returning are South Leicester who withdrew from the league during the 2019–20 season^[6] and drop to Midlands 4 East (South) for the coming season.

The teams competing in 2021–22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019–20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020–21.

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 4th Broadstreet Ivor Preece Field 1,500 (250 seats) Binley Woods, Coventry, West Midlands 11th Bromsgrove Finstall Park Bromsgrove, Worcestershire 6th Burton Peel Croft 5,500 (600 seats) Burton, Staffordshire 9th Doncaster Phoenix Castle Park 5,000 Doncaster, South Yorkshire 7th Dudley Kingswinford Heathbrook 2,260 (260 seats) Kingswinford, Dudley, West Midlands Promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Newport (Salop) The Old Showground Newport, Shropshire 2nd Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 8th Oundale Occupation Road Oundle, Northamptonshire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (runners-up) Paviors The Ron Rossin Ground Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 10th Sandbach Bradwall Road Sandbach, Cheshire 5th Scunthorpe Heslam Park Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire Relegated from National League 2 South (14th) Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 (100 seats) Sheffield, South Yorkshire 3rd Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (champions)

Bridgnorth Broadstreet Bromsgrove Burton Doncaster Phoenix D Kingswinford Newport Nuneaton Oundle Paviors Sandbach Scunthorpe Sheffield Syston Locations of the 2021–22 Midlands Premier teams

Final league table

Midlands Premier 2021–22
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
1	Newport (Salop)	26	23	0	3	1008	464	544	21	1	114
2	Sheffield	26	21	0	5	742	340	402	14	3	101
3	Syston	26	17	0	9	741	423	318	14	7	89
4	Bridgnorth	26	16	2	8	742	655	87	16	3	87
5	Sandbach	26	16	1	9	733	537	196	12	4	82
6	Bromsgrove	26	15	0	11	774	582	192	15	4	79
7	Burton	26	12	1	13	721	695	26	18	5	73
8	Scunthorpe	26	14	1	11	627	786	−159	11	2	71
9	Broadstreet	26	10	0	16	565	698	−133	8	3	51
10	Dudley Kingswinford	26	10	0	16	509	674	−165	5	4	49
11	Nuneaton	26	9	0	17	559	754	−195	10	2	48
12	Doncaster Phoenix	26	7	0	19	465	763	−298	7	4	39
13	Paviors	26	5	2	19	438	860	−422	5	3	32
14	Oundale	26	3	1	22	470	863	−393	6	9	29
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion places. Pink background No relegation due to league reorganisation Updated: 5 June 2022 Source: "Midlands Premier". England Rugby.

2020–21

On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning Midlands Premier was not contested.^[7]

2019–20

Participating teams and locations

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by two relegated sides; Peterborough Lions and South Leicester (relegated from National League 2 North), while the three teams promoted into the division are Bromsgrove, Kettering and Paviors.^{[8][9][10][11][12]} In order to address an imbalance of teams at level 5, Bedford Athletic have been level transferred into the division from London & South East Premier. Birmingham & Solihull were initially relegated into the division from National League 2 South but decided to drop out of the league system altogether (joining the Greater Birmingham Merit Leagues) as they became an amateur club.^[13][14]

Last season's champions, Scunthorpe were promoted into National League 2 North, along with Luctonians who won their play-off game against North Premier runners up Blaydon. Teams relegated from the division included Derby and Syston (who drop to Midlands 1 East) and Lichfield (who fall to Midlands 1 West).

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Bournville Avery Fields Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands 10th Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 5th Broadstreet Ivor Preece Field 1,500 (250 seats) Binley Woods, Coventry, West Midlands 4th Bromsgrove Finstall Park Bromsgrove, Worcestershire Promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Burton Peel Croft 5,500 (600 seats) Burton, Staffordshire 8th Doncaster Phoenix Castle Park 5,000 Doncaster, South Yorkshire 11th Kettering Waverley Road 2,000 Kettering, Northamptonshire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (champions) Newport (Salop) The Old Showground Newport, Shropshire 3rd Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 7th Paviors The Ron Rossin Ground Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (play-off) Peterborough Lions Bretton Woods Bretton, Cambridgeshire Relegated from National 2 North (14th) Sandbach Bradwall Road Sandbach, Cheshire 9th Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 (100 seats) Sheffield, South Yorkshire 6th South Leicester Welford Road Ground Leicester, Leicestershire Relegated from National 2 North (15th)

Bournville Bridgnorth Broadstreet Bromsgrove Burton Doncaster Phoenix Kettering Newport Nuneaton Paviors Peterborough Lions Sandbach Sheffield South Leicester Locations of the 2019–20 Midlands Premier teams

2018–19

Participating teams and locations

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by Luctonians and Sheffield (relegated from National League 2 North), Broadstreet (relegated from National League 2 South), while the two teams promoted into the division are Burton and Syston.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} Last season's champions Birmingham & Solihull were promoted into National League 2 South following a level transfer, while runners up Peterborough Lions RFC were promoted into National League 2 North after winning their play-off game against Hull. Teams relegated from the division included Old Halesonians, Longton and Newbold-on-Avon who all drop to Midlands 1 West.

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Bournville Avery Fields Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands 10th Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 5th Broadstreet Ivor Preece Field 1,500 (250 seats) Binley Woods, Coventry, West Midlands Relegated from National 2 South (16th) Burton Peel Croft 5,500 (600 seats) Burton, Staffordshire Promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Derby Haslams Lane Derby, Derbyshire 8th Doncaster Phoenix Castle Park 5,000 Doncaster, South Yorkshire 6th Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire 11th Luctonians Mortimer Park 2,500 (300 seats) Kingsland, Herefordshire Relegated from National 2 North (14th) Newport (Salop) The Old Showground Newport, Shropshire 3rd Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 9th Sandbach Bradwall Road Sandbach, Cheshire 7th Scunthorpe Heslam Park Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire 4th Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 (100 seats) Sheffield, South Yorkshire Relegated from National 2 North (16th) Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (playoff)

Bournville Bridgnorth Broadstreet Burton Derby Doncaster Phoenix Lichfield Luctonians Newport Nuneaton Sandbach Scunthorpe Sheffield Syston Locations of the 2018–19 Midlands Premier teams

2017–18

Participating teams and locations

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. Scunthorpe were relegated from National League 2 North while the three teams promoted into the division included Newbold-on-Avon, Newport (Salop) and Bournville.^{[20][21][22][23][24]} Last season's champions, Broadstreet, were promoted into National League 2 South following a level transfer, while runners-up Sheffield went into National League 2 North, having won their playoff game.^[25][26] Teams relegated from the league included Bedford Athletic and Syston, with Sandbach given a reprieve by the RFU in light of the London Welsh liquidation, by virtue of being the best ranked third bottom side in tier 5 for 2016–17.^[27][28] Finally Towcestrians were level transferred from Midlands Premier into London & South East Premier, while Doncaster Phoenix were level transferred into Midlands Premier from North Premier to address an imbalance of teams in the three divisions.^[29] Birmingham & Solihull won the title on 7 April.

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Birmingham & Solihull Portway Portway, Birmingham, West Midlands 5th Bournville Bournbrook / Metchley Park Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands Promoted from Midlands 1 West (playoffs) Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire 6th Derby Haslams Lane Derby, Derbyshire 9th Doncaster Phoenix Castle Park 5,000 Doncaster, South Yorkshire Level transfer from North Premier (11th) Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire 7th Longton Trentham Fields Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 11th Newbold-on-Avon Parkfield Road Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby, Warwickshire Promoted from Midlands 1 East (champions) Newport (Salop) The Old Showground Newport, Shropshire Promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 3rd Old Halesonians Wassell Grove Hagley, Stourbridge, Worcestershire 8th Peterborough Lions Bretton Woods Bretton, Cambridgeshire 4th Sandbach Bradwall Road Sandbach, Cheshire 12th (reprieve from RFU) Scunthorpe Heslam Park Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire Relegated from National 2 North (15th)

Birmingham & Solihull Bournville Bridgnorth Derby Doncaster Phoenix Lichfield Longton Newbold-on-Avon Newport Nuneaton Old Halesonians Peterborough Lions Sandbach Scunthorpe Locations of the 2017–18 Midlands Premier teams

2016–17

Participating teams and locations

Eight of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by Broadstreet who were relegated from National 2 North while four teams were promoted into the league – Bedford Athletic, Bridgnorth, Derby and Towcestrians (who were level transferred from the south-west league on promotion) – as well as Sheffield who were level transferred from National League 3 North having finished 7th the previous season. Scunthorpe (champions) and Hinckley (play-off) were promoted into National League 2 North while Old Northamptonians were relegated to Midlands 1 East and Sutton Coldfield and Newport (Salop) both dropped to Midlands 1 West. In order to address a league imbalance due to only one team coming down from National League 2 South, Bromsgrove (who had finished 11th), were level transferred to National League 3 South West.^[30]

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Bedford Athletic Putnoe Woods 500 Bedford, Bedfordshire promoted from Midlands 1 East (champions) Birmingham & Solihull Portway Portway, Birmingham, West Midlands 7th Bridgnorth Edgar Davies Ground Bridgnorth, Shropshire promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Broadstreet Ivor Preece Field 250 (seats) Coventry, West Midlands relegated from 2015–16 National League 2 North (15th) Derby Haslams Lane Derby, Derbyshire promoted from Midlands 1 East (play-off) Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire 11th Longton Trentham Fields Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 8th Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 5th Old Halesonians Wassell Grove Hagley, Stourbridge, Worcestershire 3rd Peterborough Lions Bretton Woods Bretton, Cambridgeshire 4th Sandbach Bradwell Road Sandbach, Cheshire 10th Sheffield Abbeydale Park 3,200 (100 seats) Sheffield, South Yorkshire level transfer from National League 3 North (7th) Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire 6th Towcestrians Greens Norton Road Towcester, Northamptonshire promoted from South West 1 East (champions)

Birmingham & Solihull Bedford Athletic Bridgnorth Broadstreet Derby Lichfield Longton Nuneaton Old Halesonians Peterborough Lions Sandbach Sheffield Syston Towcestrians Locations of the 2016–17 Midlands Premier teams

Final league table

National League 3 Midlands 2016–17
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
1	Broadstreet (P)	26	20	1	5	759	412	347	13	3	98
2	Sheffield (P)	26	19	0	7	717	434	283	16	4	96
3	Nuneaton	26	19	1	6	737	441	296	12	4	94
4	Peterborough Lions	26	16	2	8	627	515	112	11	4	83
5	Birmingham & Solihull	26	17	1	8	545	445	100	7	0	77
6	Bridgnorth	26	13	0	13	511	485	26	5	6	63
7	Lichfield	26	11	1	14	593	775	−182	11	6	63
8	Old Halesonians	26	12	0	14	590	638	−48	11	3	62
9	Derby	26	10	0	16	646	715	−69	12	7	59
10	Towcestrians	26	10	1	15	526	625	−99	11	5	58
11	Longton	26	10	0	16	632	789	−157	11	3	54
12	Sandbach	26	9	2	15	564	678	−114	5	7	52
13	Bedford Athletic (R)	26	5	1	20	606	704	−98	12	12	46
14	Syston (R)	26	5	2	19	381	778	−397	2	3	29
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Blue background is the play-off place. Pink background are relegation places. Updated: 29 April 2017 Source: "National League 3 Midlands". England Rugby. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 Midlands, and National League 3 North participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 2 North. The team with the best playing record, in this case Rossendale, hosted the match and lost to their opponents Sheffield, 31 – 32.

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
Rossendale	26	21	0	5	852	443	409	14	1	99
Sheffield (P)	26	19	0	7	717	434	283	16	4	96

29 April 2017 15:00

Rossendale	31 – 32	Sheffield

Marl Pits

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2015–16

Participating teams and locations

Despite leading the table for most of the season Hinckley lost 13 – 23 on the final week-end of the season to Scunthorpe, to finish in second place for the second season in a row. Scunthorpe started the day four points behind and finished top due to winning one more match over the season.^[31] Two of last seasons promoted teams were relegated; Newport (Salop) to Midland 1 West and Old Northamptonians to Midland 1 East. The third relegated team is Sutton Coldfield.

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Birmingham & Solihull Portway Portway, Birmingham, West Midlands Relegated from National 2 North (15th) Bromsgrove Finstall Park Bromsgrove, Worcestershire 6th Hinckley Leicester Road Hinckley, Leicestershire 2nd (lost play-off) Lichfield Cooke Fields Lichfield, Staffordshire 9th Longton Trentham Fields Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 10th Newport (Salop) The Old Showground Newport, Shropshire promoted from Midlands 1 West (champions) Nuneaton Liberty Way 4,314 (514 seats) Nuneaton, Warwickshire 4th Old Halesonians Wassell Grove Hagley, Stourbridge, Worcestershire 5th Old Northamptonians Sir Humphrey Cripps Pavilion Northampton, Northamptonshire promoted from Midlands 1 East (play-off) Peterborough Lions Bretton Woods Bretton, Cambridgeshire 3rd Sandbach Bradwell Road Sandbach, Cheshire 8th Scunthorpe Heslam Park Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire 7th Sutton Coldfield Roger Smoldon Ground Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands 11th Syston Barkby Road Queniborough, Leicestershire promoted from Midlands 1 East (champions)

Birmingham & Solihull Bromsgrove Hinckley Lichfield Longton Newport Nuneaton Old Halesonians Old Northamptonians Peterborough Lions Sandbach Scunthorpe Sutton Coldfield Syston Locations of the 2015–16 Midlands Premier teams

Final league table

See also: 2015–16 National League 3 Midlands

National League 3 Midlands 2015–16
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
1	Scunthorpe (C)	26	23	0	3	766	343	423	14	2	108
2	Hinckley (P)	26	22	1	3	790	343	447	16	2	108
3	Old Halesonians	26	18	0	8	630	408	222	13	6	91
4	Peterborough Lions	26	15	0	11	593	464	129	10	4	69
5	Nuneaton	26	14	0	12	573	463	110	8	5	69
6	Syston	26	13	0	13	538	562	−24	11	4	67
7	Birmingham & Solihull	26	13	0	13	500	475	25	8	6	66
8	Longton	26	11	1	14	530	577	−47	12	3	61
9	Bromsgrove	26	12	0	14	559	670	–111	8	3	59
10	Sandbach	26	11	0	15	546	591	−45	9	4	57
11	Lichfield	26	9	0	17	600	683	−83	12	7	55
12	Old Northamptonians (R)	26	9	0	17	498	702	−204	6	7	49
13	Newport (Salop) (R)	26	8	0	18	451	738	–287	6	0	38
14	Sutton Coldfield (R)	26	3	0	23	412	967	–555	2	4	18
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Blue background is the play-off place. Pink background are relegation places. Updated: 27 April 2016 Source: "National League 3 Midlands". England Rugby. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 Midland, and National League 3 North participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 2 North. The team with the best playing record, in this case Hinckley, host the match and they beat their opponents Wirral 33 – 20.

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
Hinckley (P)	26	22	1	3	790	343	447	16	2	108
Wirral Rugby Club	26	19	0	7	677	486	191	13	4	93

---

30 April 2016 15:00

Hinckley	33 – 20	Wirral
	Report

Leicester Road Attendance: 650

---

2014–15

• Bournville
• Bromsgrove (relegated from National 2 North)
• Burton (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Dudley Kingswinford (relegated from National 2 North)
• Hinckley
• Lichfield (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Longton
• Nuneaton
• Old Halesonians
• Peterborough Lions (promoted from Midlands 1 East)
• Sandbach
• Scunthorpe
• South Leicester
• Sutton Coldfield

2013–14

• Bedford Athletic (promoted from Midlands 1 East)
• Bournville
• Broadstreet RFC
• Hinckley
• Longton
• Lymm (transferred from National League 3 North)
• Newport (Salop) RFC
• Nuneaton
• Old Halesonians (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Sandbach
• Scunthorpe
• South Leicester
• Sutton Coldfield
• Syston

2012–13

• Ampthill (transferred from National League 3 London/South East)
• Bournville (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Broadstreet RFC
• Derby (promoted from Midlands 1 East)
• Hinckley
• Longton
• Mansfield
• Newport (Salop) RFC
• Nuneaton (relegated from National Division 2 North)
• Sandbach (promoted from North 1 West)
• Scunthorpe
• South Leicester
• Sutton Coldfield (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Syston

2011–12

• Broadstreet
• Dudley Kingswinford (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Hereford (relegated)
• Hinckley
• Longton
• Manchester (relegated from National League 2 North)
• Mansfield (promoted from Midlands 1 East)
• Newport (Salop)
• Old Northamptonians
• Rugby Lions
• Scunthorpe
• South Leicester
• Syston (promoted from Midlands 1 East)

2010–11

• Broadstreet
• Bromsgrove
• Burton (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Hereford
• Kenilworth
• Longton
• Luton
• Malvern
• Newport (Salop)
• Old Northamptonians (promoted from Midlands 1 West)
• Peterborough
• Scunthorpe (promoted from Midlands 1 East)
• Sheffield Tigers
• South Leicester

2009–10

First season as National 3 Midlands.

• Ampthill (promoted from Midlands 1 East)
• Bedford Athletic
• Bromsgrove
• Hereford
• Hinckley
• Kenilworth
• Kettering
• Longton
• Luctonians
• Luton
• Malvern
• Newport RUFC
• Peterborough
• South Leicester

2007–08

• Bedford Athletic
• Broadstreet
• Dudley Kingswinford
• Dunstablians
• Kenilworth
• Kingswinford
• Longton
• Loughborough Students
• Luctonians
• Newport (Salop)
• Peterborough
• Scunthorpe
• South Leicester

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division (known as Midlands 1) contained the following teams:

• Barkers Butts
• Hinckley
• Mansfield
• Paviors
• Peterborough
• Stafford
• Stockwood Park
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Walsall
• Westleigh^[a]
• Wolverhampton

Midlands Premier honours

Midlands 1 (1987–1992)

The original Midlands 1 was a tier 5 league with promotion to Area League North and relegation to either Midlands 2 East or Midlands 2 West.

Midlands Division 1

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
1987–88	11	10	Stoke-on-Trent	Barkers Butts	Peterborough, Hinckley, Stafford	[34]
1988–89	11	10	Walsall	Hereford	Wolverhampton	[34]
1989–90	11	10	Hereford	Birmingham & Solihull	No relegation	[34]
1990–91	11	10	Towcestrians	Barkers Butts	Sutton Coldfield, Stockwood Park, Paviors	[35]
1991–92	11	10	Stoke-on-Trent	Syston	No relegation[b]	[36]
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

Midlands 1 (1992–1993)

For the 1991–92 season Midlands 1 remained a tier 5 league with promotion to Area League North. However, restructuring of the Midlands leagues meant that relegation was now to Midlands 2 (formerly Midlands 2 East and Midlands 2 West).

Midlands 1

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
1992–93	14	13	Birmingham & Solihull	Barkers Butts	Vipers, Paviors, Newark	[37]
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

Midlands 1 (1993–1996)

The top six teams from Midlands 1 and the top six from North 1 were combined to create National 5 North. Midlands 1 dropped to become a tier 6 league and was one of two feeder leagues for National 5 North. Relegation continued to Midlands 2 (currently Midlands 1 East and Midlands 1 West)

Midlands Division 1

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
1993–94	13	12	Barkers Butts	Worcester	Leighton Buzzard	[38]
1994–95	13	12	Worcester	Burton	Derby, Towcestrians, Bedworth	[39]
1995–96	13	12	Hereford	Burton	No relegation[c]	[40]
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

Midlands 1 (1996–2000)

At the end of the 1995–96 season National 5 North was discontinued and Midlands 1 returned to being a tier 5 league. Promotion was now to National 4 North (currently National League 2 North), while relegation continued to Midlands 2 (currently split into Midlands 1 East and Midlands 1 West).

Midlands 1

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
1996–97	17	16	Hinckley	Burton	Stockwood Park, Leamington, Stafford	[41]
1997–98	17	16	Whitchurch	Banbury	Derby	[42]
1998–99	17	16	Bedford Athletic	Scunthorpe	Leighton Buzzard, Mansfield, Wolverhampton	[43]
1999–00	17	16	Dudley Kingswinford	Scunthorpe	Belgrave, Lichfield, Hinckley, Syston	[44]
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

Midlands 1 (2000–2009)

Restructuring ahead of the 2000–01 season saw Midlands 1 remain a tier 5 league but promotion was now to National 3 North (formerly National 4 North) and relegation to either Midlands 2 East or Midlands 2 West (both formerly Midlands 2).

Midlands 1

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
2000–01	12	22	Scunthorpe	Leicester Lions	Stoke-on-Trent, Burton, Newbold-on-Avon	[45]
2001–02	12	22	Broadstreet	Walsall	Banbury, Camp Hill, Hereford	[46]
2002–03	12	22	Longton	Luctonians	Barkers Butts, Kenilworth, Hinckley, Malvern	[47]
2003–04	12	22	Bedford Athletic	Kettering	Luton, Old Laurentians, Spalding	[48]
2004–05	12	22	Leicester Lions	Kettering	Mansfield, Broadstreet, Derby	[49]
2005–06	12	22	Rugby Lions	Bedford Athletic	Bromsgrove, Burton, Kettering	[50]
2006–07	12	22	Luton	Dudley Kingswinford	Market Bosworth, Walsall	[51]
2007–08	12	22	Loughborough Students	Luctonians	Dudley Kingswinford, Scunthorpe, Dunstablians	[52]
2008–09	12	22	Broadstreet	Chester	No relegation[d]	[53]
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

National League 3 Midlands (2009–2017)

The division was renamed National League 3 Midlands following a restructuring of the national leagues which led to changes at all levels. It remained a tier 5 league with promotion to National League 2 North (formerly National League 3 North) and relegation to either Midlands 1 East or Midlands 1 West (formerly Midlands 2 East / Midlands 2 West).

National League 3 Midlands

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
2009–10	14	26	No champion [e]	Luctonians, Hinckley	Bedford Athletic, Malvern	[56]
2010–11	14	26	Bromsgrove	Sheffield Tigers	Burton, Kenilworth, Peterborough Lions	[57]
2011–12	14	26	Rugby Lions[f]	Dudley Kingswinford	Manchester, Old Northamptonians, Hereford	[59]
2012–13	14	26	Ampthill	Sutton Coldfield	Derby, Mansfield	[60]
2013–14	14	26	Broadstreet	Sutton Coldfield	Bedford Athletic, Syston, Newport (Salop)	[61]
2014–15	14	26	South Leicester	Hinckley	Dudley Kingswinford, Burton, Bournville	[62]
2015–16	14	26	Scunthorpe	Hinckley	Sutton Coldfield, Newport (Salop), Old Northamptonians	[63]
2016–17	14	26	Broadstreet	Sheffield	Syston, Bedford Athletic	[64]
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

Midlands Premier (2017–2022)

For the 2017–18 season, all the divisions at tier 5 were renamed from National League 3 to Premier resulting in National League 3 Midlands now named the Midlands Premier. Promotion continued to National League 2 North and relegation to either Midlands 1 East or Midlands 1 West.

Midlands Premier

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner-up	Relegated teams	Reference
2017–18	14	26	Birmingham & Solihull	Peterborough Lions	Old Halesonians, Longton, Newbold-on-Avon	[65]
2018–19	14	26	Scunthorpe	Luctonians	Derby, Lichfield, Syston	[66]
2019–20	13[g]	20[h]	Bournville	Newport (Salop)	Peterborough Lions, Kettering	[70]
2020–21	14	26	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
2021–22	14	26	Newport (Salop)	Sheffield	No relegation due to league reorganisation.
Green backgrounds are the promotion places.

Regional 1 Midlands (2022– )

Regional 1 Midlands

Season	No of teams	No of matches	Champions	Runner–up	Relegated teams	Ref
2022–23	12	22	Dudley Kingswinford	Bridgnorth	Lichfield (11th) and Nuneaton (12th)
2023–24	12	22	Oxford Harlequins	Stourbridge	Old Halesonians (11th) and Broadstreet (12th)	[71]
Green background is the promotion place.

Promotion play-offs

Between 2000–01 and 2019–20 there was a play-off between the league runners-up of Midlands Premier and North Premier for the third and final promotion place to National League 2 North. The team with the superior league record had home advantage. At the end of the 2019–20 season, the northern teams have been stronger with twelve wins to the Midlands seven, while the home team has won thirteen times compared to the away teams six.

Midlands Premier v North Premier promotion play-off results

Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance	Reference
2000–01	Blaydon (N)	31–12	Leicester Lions (M)	Crow Trees, Swalwell, County Durham		[72]
2001–02	Hull Ionians (N)	35–22	Walsall (M)	Brantingham Park, Brantingham, East Riding of Yorkshire		[73][74]
2002–03	Luctonians (M)	3–17	Macclesfield (N)	Mortimer Park, Kingsland, Herefordshire	1,000	[75][76]
2003–04	Cleckheaton (N)	23–10	Kettering (M)	Cleckheaton Sports Club, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire	900	[77][78]
2004–05	Hull Ionians (N)	19–18	Kettering (M)	Brantingham Park, Brantingham, East Riding of Yorkshire		[79][80]
2005–06	Bedford Athletic (M)	17–24	West Park St Helens (N)	Putnoe Woods, Bedford, Bedfordshire		[81][82][83]
2006–07	Beverley (N)	7–3	Dudley Kingswinford (M)	Beaver Park, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire		[84][85]
2007–08	Huddersfield (N)	22–7	Luctonians (M)	Lockwood Park, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire		[86][87]
2008–09	Hull (N)	40–15	Chester (M)	Ferens Ground, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire		[88][89]
2009–10	Stockport (N)	10–18	Luctonians (M)	The Memorial Ground, Stockport, Greater Manchester	350	[90][91]
2010–11	Sheffield Tigers (M)	16–14	Chester (N)	Dore Moor, Sheffield, South Yorkshire		[92][93]
2011–12	Dudley Kingswinford (M)	36–27	Rossendale (N)	Heath Brook, Kingswinford, West Midlands	1,000	[94][95]
2012–13	Sutton Coldfield (M)	13–28	Harrogate (N)	Roger Smoldon Ground, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands	650	[96][97][98]
2013–14	Stockport (N)	52–22	Sutton Coldfield (M)	The Memorial Ground, Stockport, Greater Manchester		[99][100]
2014–15	Sandal (N)	20–10	Hinckley (M)	Milnthorpe Green, Sandal Magna, Wakefield, West Yorkshire	200	[101][102]
2015–16	Hinckley (M)	33–20	Wirral (N)	Leicester Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire	650	[103][104]
2016–17	Rossendale (N)	31–32	Sheffield (M)	Marl Pits, Rawtenstall, Lancashire	413	[26]
2017–18	Hull (N)	22–31	Peterborough Lions (M)	Ferens Ground, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire		[105]
2018–19	Luctonians (M)	33–17	Blaydon (N)	Mortimer Park, Kingsland, Herefordshire	1,757	[106]
2019–20	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner up - Harrogate (N) - promoted instead.
2020–21	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
2021–22	No play-off due to league reorganisation
Green background represent the promoted teams. (M) stands for the Midlands teams while (N) stands for the Northern teams.

Number of league titles

• Broadstreet (4)
• Scunthorpe (3)
• Bedford Athletic (2)
• Birmingham & Solihull (2)
• Dudley Kingswinford (2)
• Hereford (2)
• Rugby Lions (2)
• Stoke-on-Trent (2)
• Ampthill (1)
• Barkers Butts (1)
• Bournville (1)
• Bromsgrove (1)
• Hinckley (1)
• Leicester Lions (1)
• Longton (1)
• Loughborough Students (1)
• Luton (1)
• Oxford Harlequins (1)
• Newport (Salop) (1)
• Rotherham (1)
• South Leicester (1)
• Towcestrians (1)
• Walsall (1)
• Whitchurch (1)

See also

• Midlands RFU
• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

Notes

1. Westleigh RFC would later merge with Wigston RFC in 1998 to form Leicester Lions RFC.^[32][33]
2. Due to the merging of Midlands 2 East and Midlands 2 West into Midlands 2 for the 1992–93 season, there was no relegation.
3. Widespread restructuring of the national leagues for the following season meant there was no relegation.
4. No relegation due to nationwide league restructuring.
5. A breach of regulations by Ampthill during the Luctonians game on 1 May 2010 led to Ampthill being denied promotion and transferred to National League 3 London & SE. By the time of the ruling Luctonians had already won their play-off against the runner-up of National 3 North so Hinckley were also promoted, despite finishing third.^[54][55]
6. Rugby Lions went into liquidation during the summer due to unpaid debts. The club was thrown out of the league, rejoining the league system in 2013–14 in Midlands 5 West (South).^[58]
7. League reduced to 13 teams part way through the season after South Leicester decide to drop out of the league due to a lack of suitable playing strength and shortage of front row players.^[67]
8. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom the RFU cancelled all rugby below the Premiership with most clubs in Midlands Premier having played 20 games, and a best playing record formula was used to decide the final table.^[68][69]