Current season or competition: 2022–23 Counties 4 Yorkshire | |
Sport | Rugby union |
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Instituted | 1987 |
Number of teams | 15 7 (North-West Division) 7 (South-East Division) |
Country | England |
Holders | Bramley Phoenix (1st title) (2019–20) (promoted to Yorkshire 3) |
Most titles | Hessle, Hullensians, Old Rishworthians, Rotherham Phoenix, Stocksbridge, Wibsey (2 titles) |
Website | England RFU |
Counties 4 Yorkshire is an English rugby union league at the tenth tier of the domestic competition for teams from Yorkshire. Club rugby in Yorkshire operates without promotion play-offs meaning that the top two teams are automatically promoted to Yorkshire 3 and the bottom two teams were relegated to Yorkshire 5 until the RFU made changes to the Yorkshire league structure. Each season a team from Counties 3 Yorkshire or Yorkshire 4 may be picked to take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a national competition for clubs at levels 9-12.
For the 2017-18 season, Yorkshire 4 was broken up into two regional leagues - Yorkshire 4 (North West) and Yorkshire 4 (South East) - while Yorkshire 5 ceased to exist. Teams from both Yorkshire 4 and 5 were transferred into the regional divisions depending on location. [1] After the teams have played each other home and away, in February the clubs are reallocated into a Premier league and a Shield league for one further round of fixtures. The top four teams from each league play in the Premier and the other teams play in the Shield. The top two teams in the Premier league are promoted to Counties 3 Yorkshire.
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.
York RI and Nestle Rowntree were level transferred from Yorkshire 4 South East for the current season.
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On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced [2] 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 Yorkshire 4 was not contested.
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In February, after the teams have played each other home and away, the clubs in both Yorkshire 4 leagues are reallocated into a Premier league and a Shield league for one further round of fixtures. The top four teams from each league play in the Premier and the other teams play in the Shield.
Rossington Hornets did not participate in the Shield competition.
When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams:
The original Yorkshire 4 was a tier 12 league with promotion up to Yorkshire 3 and relegation down to Yorkshire 5.
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Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
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1987–88 | 11 | Wibsey | Old Modernians | Skipton, Burley | ||||||||||
1988–89 | 11 | Hessle | West Leeds | Wetherby, Yorkshire CW | ||||||||||
1989–90 | 11 | Bradford Salem | Sheffield Oaks | Phoenix Park | ||||||||||
1990–91 | 11 | Northallerton | Dinnington | Yorkshire CW | ||||||||||
1991–92 | 11 | Hullensians | Halifax Vandals [lower-alpha 1] | No relegation [lower-alpha 2] | ||||||||||
1992–93 | 13 | Ossett | Leeds YMCA | Yorkshire CW | ||||||||||
Green backgrounds are promotion places. |
The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Yorkshire 4 dropped to become a tier 13 league. A further restructure at the end of the 1995–96 season, which included the cancellation of National 5 North and the addition of North East 3 at tier 9, saw Yorkshire 4 remain at tier 13.
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Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
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1993–94 | 13 | Phoenix Park | Skipton | No relegation | ||||||||||
1994–95 | 13 | Mosborough | Baildon | Knaresborough | ||||||||||
1995–96 | 13 | Stocksbridge | Hornsea [lower-alpha 3] | Multiple teams [lower-alpha 4] | ||||||||||
1996–97 | 9 | York Railway Institute | Leeds Corinthians [lower-alpha 5] | No relegation [lower-alpha 6] | ||||||||||
1997–98 | 9 | Heath | Baildon | Knaresborough | ||||||||||
1998–99 [3] | 10 | Old Rishworthians | Knottingley | Nestle Rowntree, Ossett, Garforth | ||||||||||
1999–00 [4] | 9 | Old Modernians [lower-alpha 7] | Mosborough | Marist, Hornsea, Rotherham Clifton | ||||||||||
Green backgrounds are promotion places. |
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