Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland
English Rugby Union league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North East Counties 2 (North)/(South) formerly known as Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland, and before that Durham/Northumberland 2, is an English rugby union league at the eighth tier of the domestic competition for teams from North East England. The champions and runner-up are promoted to Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland and the bottom two clubs are relegated to Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland. Each season two teams from Durham/Northumberland 2 are picked to take part in the RFU Senior Vase (a national competition for clubs at level 8) - one affiliated with the Durham County RFU, the other with the Northumberland RFU. Ponteland won their fourth title in 2020 with Sunderland also promoted.
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1987 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Country |  England |
| Holders | Durham University (1st title) (2024-25) (promoted to Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland) |
| Most titles | Ponteland (4 titles) |
| Website | England RFU |
Participating clubs 2026-27
Ahead of the new season the league was rebranded North East Counties 2 and split into North and South divisions with reserve teams entered into the competition for the first time.
Departing were champions Barnard Castle and runners-up Houghton, promoted to North East Counties 1 while Blyth (12th) were relegated to North East Counties 3 (North).
North
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Locations of the 2026-27 North East Counties 2 (North) teams in Northumberland Locations of the 2026-27 North East Counties 2 (North) teams in Tyne and Wear
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South
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  Acklam Sedgefield Sunderland II Yarm Locations of the 2026-27 North East Counties 2 (South) teams
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Participating clubs 2025–26
Departing were Durham University and Gateshead, promoted to Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland as champions and runners-up respectively. DMP Elizabethans (12th) would have been relegated to Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland but instead withdrew from league competition.
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 Ashington Barnard Castle Blyth Houghton Jarrovians Sedgefield Yarm Locations of the 2025-26 Durham/Northumberland 2 teams
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Participating clubs 2024–25
Departing were Horden and Peterlee and Darlington, promoted to DN1 as champions and runners-up respectively. Whitby (11th) and Seaham (12th) were relegated to DN3.
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Ashington Barnard Castle Blyth Gateshead Houghton Sedgefield Locations of the 2024-25 Durham/Northumberland 2 teams
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Participating clubs 2023–24
Departing were Ryton and Bishop Auckland, promoted to DN1 as champions and runners-up respectively. Winlaton Vulcans (11th) and Wallsend (12th) were relegated to DN3.
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Ashington Barnard Castle Gateshead Houghton Seaham Sedgefield  Whitby Locations of the 2023-24 Durham/Northumberland 2 teams
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Participating clubs 2022–23
This was the first season following the RFU Adult Competition Review.
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Ashington Barnard Castle Bishop Auckland Gateshead Ryton Seaham Sedgefield Whitby Winlaton Locations of the 2022-23 Durham/Northumberland 2 teams
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Participating clubs 2021–22
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.
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Ashington Barnard Castle Bishop Auckland Gateshead Guisborough Hartlepool Ryton Seaham Sedgefield Whitby Winlaton Locations of the 2021-22 Durham/Northumberland 2 teams
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Season 2020–21
On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced [1] 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 DN2 was not contested.
Participating clubs 2019-20
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Ashington Bishop Auckland Blyth Guisborough Hartlepool Ponteland Ryton Seaton Carew Sedgefield Sunderland Whitby Winlaton Locations of the 2019-20 Durham/Northumberland 2 teams
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Original teams
When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams:
- Bishop Auckland
- Consett
- Hartlepool
- Hartlepool B.B.O.B.
- Houghton
- North Durham
- Medicals
- Mowden Park
- Seaham
- Sunderland
- Wallsend
Durham/Northumberland 2 honours
Durham/Northumberland 2 (1987–1993)
The original Durham/Northumberland 2 was a tier 10 league with promotion up to Durham/Northumberland 1 and relegation down to Durham/Northumberland 3.
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| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | 11 | Mowden Park | Hartlepool | Houghton | ||||||||||
| 1988–89 | 11 | Whitby | Sunderland | Hartlepool B.B.O.B. | ||||||||||
| 1989–90 | 11 | Bishop Auckland | Darlington Railway Athletic | North Shields, Wallsend | ||||||||||
| 1990–91 | 11 | Consett | Hartlepool | Billingham | ||||||||||
| 1991–92 | 11 | Percy Park | Guisborough[a] | No relegation[b] | ||||||||||
| 1992–93 | 13 | North Durham | North Shields | Barnard Castle, Billingham | ||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
Durham/Northumberland 2 (1993–2000)
The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Durham/Northumberland 2 dropped to being a tier 11 league. A further restructure at the end of the 1995–96 season saw Durham/Northumberland 2 remain at tier 11.
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| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | 12 | Ponteland | Wallsend | Newton Aycliffe, Seaton Carew | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | 13 | Winlaton Vulcans | Medicals | Seaton Carew, Seghill | ||||||||||
| 1995–96 | 13 | Hartlepool | Guisborough | Multiple teams[c] | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | 10 | Consett | North Durham | Wensleydale, Darlington Railway Athletic[d] | ||||||||||
| 1997–98 | 10 | Billingham | Novocastrians | Seaton Carew | ||||||||||
| 1998–99[2] | 9 | Houghton | Seghill | Guisborough | ||||||||||
| 1999–00[3] | 10 | Gosforth[e] | Hartlepool | Richmondshire, Chester-Le-Street, Barnard Castle | ||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | ||||||||||||||
Durham/Northumberland 2 (2000–present)
Northern league restructuring by the RFU at the end of the 1999–2000 season saw the cancellation of North East 1, North East 2 and North East 3 (tiers 7–9). This meant that Durham/Northumberland 2 became a tier 8 league.
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| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01[4] | 12 | Gosforth | Billingham | Novocastrians | |||||||||||
| 2001–02[5] | 12 | Acklam | Hartlepool | Whitley Bay Rockcliff, Medicals | |||||||||||
| 2002–03[6] | 12 | Consett | Houghton | Blyth, Whitby | |||||||||||
| 2003–04[7] | 12 | Ryton | Ponteland | Sunderland, Barnard Castle | |||||||||||
| 2004–05[8] | 12 | Gateshead | North Shields | Richmondshire, Yarm | |||||||||||
| 2005–06[9] | 12 | Sunderland | Gosforth | Whitby, Hartlepool | |||||||||||
| 2006–07[10] | 12 | Wallsend | West Hartlepool T.D.S.O.B. | Seaton Carew, Blyth | |||||||||||
| 2007–08[11] | 12 | Ashington | Consett | Yarm, Guisborough | |||||||||||
| 2008–09[12] | 12 | Team Northumbria | Hartlepool[f] | No relegation[g] | |||||||||||
| 2009–10[13] | 12 | Ponteland | Medicals | Houghton, North Shields | |||||||||||
| 2010–11[14] | 12 | Guisborough | Acklam | Prudhoe & Stocksfield | |||||||||||
| 2011–12[15] | 13 | Blyth | Consett | Yarm, Whitby | |||||||||||
| 2012–13[16] | 13 | Bishop Auckland | Novocastrians | Winlaton Vulcans, Seaham | |||||||||||
| 2013–14[17] | 13 | Ryton | Sunderland | Prudhoe & Stocksfield, Whitby | |||||||||||
| 2014–15[18] | 14 | Ponteland | Acklam | Hartlepool B.B.O.B., South Tyneside College | |||||||||||
| 2015–16[19] | 14 | Barnard Castle | Hartlepool | Houghton, Wallsend | |||||||||||
| 2016–17[20] | 14 | Redcar | Ponteland | Seaton Carew, South Shields, Blyth[h] | |||||||||||
| 2017–18[21] | 14 | Acklam | Whitby | Richmondshire, Newton Aycliffe | |||||||||||
| 2018–19[22] | 14 | Whitley Bay Rockcliff | North Shields | South Shields, Houghton | |||||||||||
| 2019–20[23] | 14 | Ponteland | Sunderland | Blyth, Seaton Carew, Gosforth | |||||||||||
| 2020–21 | 14 | N/A | N/A | Uncontested due to the coronavirus pandemic | |||||||||||
| 2021–22 | 14 | Guisborough | Hartlepool | Sedgefield, Winlaton Vulcans | |||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | |||||||||||||||
Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland (2022-)
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| Season | No of Teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 12 | Ryton | Bishop Auckland | Winlaton Vulcans, Wallsend | |||||||||
| 2023-24 | 12 | Horden | Darlington | Whitby, Seaham | |||||||||
| 2024-25 | 12 | Durham University | Gateshead | DMP Elizabethans | |||||||||
Number of league titles
- Ponteland (4)
- Consett (3)
- Ryton (3)
- Acklam (2)
- Bishop Auckland (2)
- Gosforth (2)
- Guisborough (2)
- Ashington (1)
- Barnard Castle (1)
- Blyth (1)
- Durham University (1)
- Gateshead (1)
- Guisborough (1)
- Hartlepool (1)
- Horden and Peterlee (1)
- Houghton (1)
- Mowden Park (1)
Notes
- Runners up Guisborough alongside Whitby, Seaham and West Hartlepool TDSOB were promoted due to league restructuring caused by the cancellation of Durham/Northumberland 4 at the end of season.
- Due to league restructuring caused by the cancellation of Durham/Northumberland 4 there would be no relegation this season.
- Due to restructuring six clubs, including Sedgefield, Seaham, Hartlepool B.B.O.B., Houghton, Richmondshire, Billingham, were relegated to Durham/Northumberland 3. This was done to decrease league sizes and begin home and away fixtures in order to inaugurate North East 3 and the re-introduction of Durham/Northumberland 4 for the following season.
- 9th placed Darlington Railway Athletic would be dissolved at the end of the season.
- No promotion this season as division set to increase from 10 to 12 teams for 2000-01.
- Redcar, Novocastrians were also promoted. The reason for more promotions than usual was because Durham/Northumberland 1 was due to increase from 12 to 14 teams for 2009-10.
- Due to the increased number of teams being promoted from the division to Durham/Northumberland 1 there would be no relegation this season.
- 3 teams relegated due to relegations from higher leagues.