1987–88 Courage League
Encyclopedia
The 1987/88 Courage League was the first season for a truly national league in English rugby union, and served as the predecessor to what is now known as the Aviva Premiership. It was sponsored by Courage Bitter.
The teams were left to organise the league games between themselves—there was no fixture list. One match would count between each of the 12 teams involved. The points scheme was such that a team received 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 point for a loss. Most teams played 11 games, though some played 10.
Leicester Tigers
finished first in the league table and were crowned champions. Coventry and Sale were relegated, the latter side having lost all of its 11 matches. Rosslyn Park
and Liverpool St Helens
were promoted from the 2nd division for the 1988–89 Courage League
season.
The teams were left to organise the league games between themselves—there was no fixture list. One match would count between each of the 12 teams involved. The points scheme was such that a team received 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 point for a loss. Most teams played 11 games, though some played 10.
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
finished first in the league table and were crowned champions. Coventry and Sale were relegated, the latter side having lost all of its 11 matches. Rosslyn Park
Rosslyn Park F.C.
Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union team. Founded in 1879, the club became the first club based in England to play rugby internationally when it faced Stade Francais in Paris on 18 April 1892. In 1912, the club played in Prague, Budapest and Vienna in the first rugby matches ever played in...
and Liverpool St Helens
Liverpool St Helens F.C.
Liverpool St Helens Football Club are a rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The club currently plays in North 1 West....
were promoted from the 2nd division for the 1988–89 Courage League
1988–89 Courage League
The 1988/89 season was only the second ever season of competitive league rugby union in England. The Champions were Bath, their first title, who won the league by a convincing margin from perennial runners up Gloucester.-Results:...
season.
Teams and stadia
- BristolBristol RugbyBristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
— The Memorial GroundMemorial Stadium (Bristol)The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of The Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, dedicated to the memory of the rugby union players of the city killed during World War I...
, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, AvonAvon-Rivers:*River Avon or Avon River , various rivers*Avon Water, a river in Scotland*Afon, the Welsh word for river, often anglicised to 'avon'-Canada:*Avon, New Brunswick, in the province of New Brunswick... - BathBath RugbyBath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
— The Recreation GroundRecreation Ground (Bath)The Recreation Ground is a large open space in the centre of Bath, England, next to the River Avon, used for recreational purposes by Bath residents and the public generally....
, Bath, SomersetSomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the... - CoventryCoventry R.F.C.Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....
— Coundon Road StadiumCoundon Road StadiumThe Coundon Road Stadium in Coventry was the home ground for Coventry R.F.C. from 1921 to 2004. The stadium has now been demolished.The first game at the ground was against United Services, Portsmouth, with Coventry R.F.C...
, CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The... - Gloucester — KingsholmKingsholm StadiumKingsholm Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Gloucester, England, and is the home stadium of Gloucester Rugby. The stadium has a capacity of 16,500. It is sometimes nicknamed 'Castle Grim' after the estate where the stadium is built and also in reference to Gloucester's admirable home form...
, GloucesterGloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, GloucestershireGloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.... - HarlequinsHarlequin F.C.The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
— The Stoop Memorial GroundThe StoopTwickenham Stoop is a sports stadium located in the western suburbs of London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Aviva Premiership, and tenants London Broncos, who play in the Super League...
, TwickenhamTwickenhamTwickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, Greater LondonGreater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London... - Leicester TigersLeicester TigersLeicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
— Welford RoadWelford Road StadiumWelford Road is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England and is the home ground for Leicester Tigers. It is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the edge of the city centre...
, LeicesterLeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, LeicestershireLeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire... - Moseley — The Reddings, MoseleyMoseleyMoseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
, West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The... - NottinghamNottingham R.F.C.Nottingham Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby....
— Ireland Avenue, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, NottinghamshireNottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west... - OrrellOrrell R.U.F.C.Orrell Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union team from the Orrell area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.The club were founded in 1927, holding a place in the top-tier of rugby union from 1986 to 1997.-1927–1939:...
— Edge Hall RoadEdge Hall RoadThe Co-operative Community Stadium is the Wigan Warriors Rugby League club's high performance training complex and the home ground of the Wigan Warriors Senior Academy and Junior Academy teams and the former home ground of Orrell R.U.F.C.. The ground is located in the Orrell district of the...
, OrrellOrrell, Greater ManchesterOrrell is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The area is contiguous to the town of Wigan itself and the centre of the district is situated to the west of the town centre...
, Greater ManchesterGreater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the... - SaleSale SharksSale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
— Heywood RoadHeywood RoadHeywood Road is a rugby union stadium in Sale, Greater Manchester. It has been the home ground of Sale F.C. since 1905. It was the home ground of spin-off professional club Sale Sharks until 2003, when the club moved it's matches to Edgeley Park, Stockport. It's capacity was 5,400 in 2003. Sale...
, SaleSale, Greater ManchesterSale is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, the town lies on flat ground on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of the city of Manchester...
, Greater ManchesterGreater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the... - WaterlooWaterloo R.F.C.Waterloo Football Club is an English Rugby Union team based at St Anthonys Road, Blundellsands, Merseyside. It celebrated its 125th season in 2007/08, having been founded in 1882 by brothers Sidney and Harry Hall and George Abercrombie. From 1882 until 1884 the club was known as Serpentine after...
— BlundellsandsBlundellsandsBlundellsands or Blundell Sands is an area of Merseyside, England in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, and a Sefton council electoral ward...
, MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool... - WaspsLondon WaspsLondon Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
— SudburySudbury, LondonSudbury is a suburb in the London Boroughs of Brent and Harrow, located in northwest London, UK.Sudbury is an historical area having once extended from the 'South Manor- Sudbury' to the area that is now known as Wembley Central...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Results
The Home Team is listed in the left column.| Clubs | BAT | BRI | COV | GLO | HAR | LEI | MOS | NOT | ORR | SAL | WAS | WAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath Rugby Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... |
15-9 | 21-9 | 14-0 | 23-18 | 10-17 | |||||||
| Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'... |
16-21 | 21-10 | 37-3 | 12-12 | ||||||||
| Coventry | 9-9 | 25-3 | 12-15 | 15-20 | 11-24 | 24-19 | 15-10 | |||||
| Gloucester RFC | 9-16 | 39-3 | 18-12 | 17-9 | 61-7 | 13-24 | ||||||
| Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
28-22 | 9-9 | 9-12 | 34-8 | 6-12 | 66-0 | 37-4 | |||||
| Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010... |
24-13 | 15-10 | 32-16 | 42-15 | 12-9 | 39-15 | ||||||
| Moseley | 26-3 | 11-32 | 3-21 | 28-10 | 19-12 | 27-3 | ||||||
| Nottingham | 25-15 | 3-16 | 13-22 | 3-21 | 12-12 | |||||||
| Orrell | 13-25 | 9-13 | 30-6 | 19-0 | 30-6 | |||||||
| Sale Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... |
17-46 | 15-19 | 0-17 | 6-14 | ||||||||
| Wasps London Wasps London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999... |
19-15 | 49-6 | 17-16 | 17-9 | 23-15 | |||||||
| Waterloo | 16-6 | 10-9 | 29-13 | 13-22 |
| Home Win | Draw | Away Win |
League table
| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010... (C) |
10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 225 | 133 | +142 | 37 |
| 2 | Wasps London Wasps London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999... |
11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 218 | 136 | 37 | |
| 3 | Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 261 | 128 | +133 | 30 |
| 4 | Bath Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... |
11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 197 | 156 | 30 | |
| 5 | Gloucester | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 206 | 121 | +85 | 29 |
| 6 | Orrell Orrell R.U.F.C. Orrell Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union team from the Orrell area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.The club were founded in 1927, holding a place in the top-tier of rugby union from 1986 to 1997.-1927–1939:... |
11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 192 | 153 | +39 | 27 |
| 7 | Moseley | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 167 | 170 | -3 | 26 |
| 8 | Nottingham Nottingham R.F.C. Nottingham Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby.... |
11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 146 | +170 | -24 | 24 |
| 9 | Bristol Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'... |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 171 | 145 | +26 | 23 |
| 10 | Waterloo Waterloo R.F.C. Waterloo Football Club is an English Rugby Union team based at St Anthonys Road, Blundellsands, Merseyside. It celebrated its 125th season in 2007/08, having been founded in 1882 by brothers Sidney and Harry Hall and George Abercrombie. From 1882 until 1884 the club was known as Serpentine after... |
10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 123 | 208 | -85 | 22 |
| 11 | Coventry Coventry R.F.C. Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries.... (R) |
11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 139 | 246 | -107 | 21 |
| 12 | Sale Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... (R) |
11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 95 | 374 | -279 | 11 |