South Shields is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman times as Arbeia and as Caer Urfa by the Early Middle Ages. In 2021 it had a population of 75,337. It is the fourth largest settlement in Tyne and Wear, after Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland and Gateshead.
Morley Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Morley, West Yorkshire. England. The club are famous for playing in a maroon kit and thus are nicknamed "The Maroons". They currently play in Regional 2 North East, a level six league in the English rugby union league system, following their relegation at the end of the 2017-18 season.
South Tyneside College is a large further education college in South Tyneside in North East England. Its main site is in the town of South Shields. The college offers part-time and full-time courses for young students and adults. It was formed in 1984 by the merger of Hebburn Technical College and the Marine and Technical College, the latter founded in 1861 by a trust created by Dr Thomas Winterbottom, a former surgeon-general in Sierra Leone.
Tynedale RFC is a rugby union team based in Corbridge, Northumberland in North East England. The club was relegated from National League 1 in 2015, the third tier of the English rugby union system and have played in National League 2 North since.
Westoe was originally a village near South Shields, in the South Tyneside district, in Tyne and Wear, England, but has since become part of the town and is now used to refer to the area of the town where the village once was. It is also an electoral ward for local political purposes.
North 1 East was a sixth tier league in the English rugby union domestic competition, formed in 1987 using the name North Division 2, involving clubs from the north of the country. There was also a division known as North East 1 that began in 1987 for clubs based in the north-east but this was a seventh tier league. North Division 2 would later split into two regional divisions, known as North 1 East and North 1 West. North 1 East was made up of teams from around the North East and Yorkshire, playing home and away matches throughout a winter season.
Northern Football Club are a rugby union club that was founded in 1875, and is based in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. Their strip is coloured navy blue, red and white. They currently play in Regional 2 North, the sixth tier of the English rugby union system, having been promoted from Durham Northumberland One at the end of the 2021–22 season. Northern field three senior teams. These are the first team, Northern Wanderers and Northern Panthers. Northern have a large and successful mini and youth rugby set-up.
North Premier was a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the fourteen teams drawn from across Northern England. The other leagues at this level were London & South East Premier, Midlands Premier and South West Premier. The RFU reorganised the level five leagues for season 2022–23, with an increase from four to six and reducing the teams in each from fourteen to twelve. The teams in this league now play in either Regional 1 North East or Regional 1 North West.
Medicals RFC is a rugby union club in Newcastle Upon Tyne who have been in existence since 1898. They currently play in the Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland league having been promoted from Durham/Northumberland 2 in the 2009-10 season.
Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland, formerly known as Durham/Northumberland 1 is an English amateur rugby union competition. The league consists of twelve clubs, and is the seventh tier of the English rugby union system, as one of the 16 regional leagues, though is the highest level of local rugby in the North East of England. The champions are automatically promoted to Regional 2 North, a division with a wider geographical area that also encompasses the Yorkshire region. The runners-up participate in a play-off against the runners-up from the equivalent regional league, Counties 1 Yorkshire, for promotion. The bottom two are relegated to Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland.
Mark Bedworth, known locally as Bedders, is a rugby union Footballer who is currently player Coach at Westoe RFC. Mark Bedworth was born in Durham City in 1982 and attended Bow Preparatory School before moving onto Durham School where he is now a teacher of Physical Education. Having completed his A-levels, he continued to university in York. An excellent points kicker he became one of the all-time top scorers in National League 2 North and National League 1 with over 2,000 points scored between the two divisions.
Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland, previously known as Durham/Northumberland 3, is an English rugby union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and is currently the basement league of club rugby in North East England. Any club in the north east wishing to join the rugby union club hierarchy must begin at the bottom so all new teams from the north east start in this division - although until 2005-06 there was relegation to the now defunct Durham/Northumberland 4. The champions and runner-up are promoted to Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland.
Alnwick RFC is an amateur rugby union club based in the town of Alnwick, Northumberland in north-east England. The club play in Regional 1 North East, a level five league in the English rugby union system and are the most northerly rugby union club in English league rugby,. Alnwick regularly field three senior sides, all of which play competitive league and cup rugby. The club also has a junior section running teams from under 7's through to under 18's and a girls section.
Wallsend Rugby Football Club is a rugby union side based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear. The club runs senior adult and junior teams for all ages. The 1st XV senior side compete in Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland and the 2nd XV play in the Northumberland Rugby Union River Coquet league. Senior games are played on Saturday afternoons. The junior boys and girls teams train and play on Sunday mornings with ages 4+ catered for.
The Northumberland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the historic county of Northumberland, England and one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1880. In addition, the county has won the county championship on two occasions, and finished runners-up on a further five occasions.
The Durham County Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the historic county of Durham in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Durham County, it administers and organises rugby union clubs, competitions and Durham county rugby representative teams.
The Northumberland Senior Plate is an annual rugby union competition held among the clubs of the Northumberland RFU. It was first played during the 2001-2002 season and serves as the second tier county cup for the Northumberland Rugby Union, which encompasses Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland.
The RFU Junior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since 1990. It is mostly contested by 1st XV teams at level 9 of the English rugby union system, although sides as low as level 12 or even outside the league system can sometimes enter. The competition is a national one, but split into regions until the national semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. Presently, the RFU Junior Vase is the fifth most important club cup competition in England, behind the Premiership Rugby Cup, RFU Championship Cup, RFU Intermediate Cup and RFU Senior Vase.
The Durham County RFU Senior Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Durham County Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1880-81 season, with the inaugural winners being Sunderland Rovers who defeated Houghton 3 tries to 0 in the final.
Regional 2 North is a level six league in the English rugby union system, with the twelve teams drawn from across North East England and Cumbria. The other level six leagues in the Northern Division are Regional 2 North East for teams in Yorkshire, Regional 2 North West for teams in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It was created as a product of the 2022 Adult Competition Review. The current champions are Percy Park.
