2003–04_National_Division_Three_South
The 2003–04 National Division Three South was the fourth season (17th overall) of the fourth division (south) of the English domestic rugby union competition using the name National Division Three South. New teams to the division included Launceston who were relegated from the 2002–03 National Division Two while promoted clubs included Southend (champions) and Haywards Heath (playoffs) coming up from London Division 1 and Dings Crusaders as champions of South West Division 1.[1][2][3] The league system was 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw with the league champions going straight up into National Division Two and the runners up playing a playoff against the runners up from National Division Three North for the final promotion place.
| 2003–04 National Division Three South | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  |
| Champions | Blackheath |
| Runners-up | Launceston (also promoted) |
| Relegated | Old Colfeians, Basingstoke |
| Attendance | N/A[a 1] |
| Top point scorer | Derek Coates (Blackheath) 368 points |
| Top try scorer |  Gert De Kock (Westcombe Park)19 tries |
The season saw an incredibly tight title race between Blackheath and Launceston. Both sides would finish dead level on 44 points each but Blackheath finished as champions thanks to a better for and against record.[4] Launceston would join the London side in the 2004–05 National Division Two, making an instant return by defeating 2003–04 National Division Three North runners up Halifax in their promotion playoff in what was a very tight game played at the Yorkshire-based club.[5][6] At the other end of the table the relegation battle was much less close with Old Colfeians and Basingstoke being the two sides to be relegated.[4] Both Old Colfeians and Basingstoke would be demoted to London Division 1 for the next season.[7]
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barking | Goresbrook | 1,000 | Becontree, Dagenham, London |
| Basingstoke | Down Grange | 2,500 (250 seats) | Basingstoke, Hampshire |
| Blackheath | Rectory Field | 6,000 | Blackheath, London |
| Dings Crusaders | Landseer Avenue | 1,500 | Lockleaze, Bristol |
| Haywards Heath | Whitemans Green | Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex | |
| Launceston | Polson Bridge | 3,000 | Launceston, Cornwall |
| North Walsham | Norwich Road | 1,200 | Scottow, North Walsham, Norfolk |
| Old Colfeians | Horn Park | Lee, London | |
| Old Patesians | Everest Road | Cheltenham, Gloucestershire | |
| Redruth | The Recreation Ground | 3,500 (580 seats) | Redruth, Cornwall |
| Southend | Warners Bridge Park | Southend, Essex | |
| Tabard | Cobden Hill | Radlett, Hertfordshire | |
| Westcombe Park | Goddington Dene | 3,200 | Orpington, London |
| Weston-super-Mare | Recreation Ground | 6,000 | Weston-super-Mare, Somerset |
| |||||||||||||
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points Diff | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackheath (C) | 26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 839 | 350 | 489 | 44 | ||||
| 2 | Launceston (P) | 26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 832 | 371 | 461 | 44 | ||||
| 3 | North Walsham | 26 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 674 | 435 | 239 | 38 | ||||
| 4 | Redruth | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 581 | 473 | 108 | 32 | ||||
| 5 | Barking | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 648 | 522 | 126 | 30 | ||||
| 6 | Southend | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 702 | 703 | -1 | 26 | ||||
| 7 | Old Patesians | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 614 | 659 | -45 | 26 | ||||
| 8 | Weston-super-Mare | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 555 | 570 | -15 | 24 | ||||
| 9 | Westcombe Park | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 639 | 584 | 55 | 23 | ||||
| 10 | Haywards Heath | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 491 | 578 | -87 | 20 | ||||
| 11 | Tabard | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 537 | 676 | -139 | 20 | ||||
| 12 | Dings Crusaders | 26 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 386 | 624 | -238 | 17 | ||||
| 13 | Basingstoke (R) | 26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 456 | 940 | -484 | 12 | ||||
| 14 | Old Colfeians (R) | 26 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 469 | 938 | -469 | 8 | ||||
| Reference Rugby Statbunker: Updated 17-04-2004 | |||||||||||||
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
| 18 October 2003 |
| Dings Crusaders | P - P | Launceston |
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 21 February 2004.
Round 5
Round 6
| 1 November 2003 |
| Haywards Heath | 43 - 16 | Old Patesians |
| Report |
| Whitemans Green Referee: Richard Parker-Sedgmore |
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
| 20 December 2003 |
| Dings Crusaders | 8 - 12 | Old Patesians |
| Report |
| Landseer Avenue Referee: Richard Parker-Sedgmore |
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
| 17 January 2004 |
| North Walsham | 27 - 19 | Westcombe Park |
| Report |
| Norwich Road Attendance: 450 Referee: Rob Sawyer |
| 17 January 2004 |
| Weston-super-Mare | 15 - 16 | Dings Crusaders |
| Report |
| Recreation Ground Attendance: 300 Referee: Guy Steel Bodger |
Round 17
Round 18
| 31 January 2004 |
| North Walsham | P - P | Old Patesians |
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 21 February 2004.
| 31 January 2004 |
| Tabard | P - P | Launceston |
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 March 2004.
Round 19
Round 20
Rounds 4 & 18 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 18 October 2003.
- Game rescheduled from 31 January 2004.
Round 21
| 28 February 2004 |
| North Walsham | P - P | Blackheath |
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 6 March 2004.
Rounds 18 & 21 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 28 February 2004.
- Game rescheduled from 31 January 2004.
Round 22
Round 23
| 20 March 2004 |
| Old Patesians | P - P | Old Colfeians |
- Postponed. Game rescheduled to 27 March 2004.
Round 23 (rescheduled game)
- Game rescheduled from 20 March 2004.
Round 24
Round 25
Round 26
Promotion play-off
The league runners up of National Division Three South and North would meet in a playoff game for promotion to National Division Two. Halifax were the northern divisions runners up and as they had a superior league record than southern runners-up, Launceston, they hosted the play-off match.
| Club | Home Games |
Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Basingstoke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Blackheath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Dings Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Haywards Heath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Launceston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| North Walsham | 1 | 450 | 450 | 450 | 450 | 38% |
| Old Colfeians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Old Patesians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Redruth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Southend | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tabard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Westcombe Park | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Weston-super-Mare | 1 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 3% |
- Due to extremely poor coverage and reporting by the media for this season there is almost no attendance figures.
- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.
Top points scorers
|
Top try scorers
|
Team
76 - 10 Westcombe Park at home to Dings Crusaders on 20 March 2004
60 - 6 Westcombe Park away to Basingstoke on 20 December 2003
80 - 25 Launceston at home to Old Colfeians on 7 February 2004
Rosslyn Park at home to Basingstoke on 11 January 2003
Launceston at home to Old Colfeians on 7 February 2004
Blackheath away to Launceston on 22 November 2003
N/A - multiple teams Player
N/A - multiple players |
Attendances
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A As only two attendances were listed due to poor media and club tracking it is therefore impossible to give any insight into attendances for this season. |
- "National League Two 2002-03". englandrugby.com. 26 April 2003.
- "London 1". englandrugby.com. 19 April 2003.
- "South West 1 2002-03". englandrugby.com. 12 April 2003.
- "National League Three South 2003-04". 17 April 2004.
- "National League Playoffs 2003-04". englandrugby.com. 15 May 2004.
- "Play-off agony for Halifax". Yorkshire Post. 17 May 2004.
- "London 1 2004-05". englandrugby.com. 11 September 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Leading try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most tries in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most conversions in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most penalties in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most drop goals in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most conversions in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most penalties in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Most drop goals in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- "National Three South 03/04 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- NCA Rugby Archived 2015-07-01 at the Wayback Machine