1999–2000 National League 2 South


The 1999–00 National League 2 South was the thirteenth full season of rugby union within the fourth tier of the English league system, and the last until 2009-10 to use the name National League 2 South. It is counterpart to National League 2 North, which covers the northern half of the country.
At the end of the season, Esher were crowned as champions gaining promotion to the 2000–01 National Division 2, 5 points clear of second place Penzance & Newlyn. At the other end of the table, the first side to go down were Metropolitan Police who had a truly awful campaign with 26 losses from 26 games despite having finished 5th the previous season. They were followed by Norwich and Bridgwater & Albion who were much more competitive but still somewhat short of 12th placed Weston-super-Mare, who finished four points clear. Metropolitan Police and Norwich would drop to London 1 while Bridgwater Albion would fall to South West 1.
The reason National League 2 South had three relegation places compared to National League 2 North was that both of the two teams relegated from the division above were based in the south of the country, requiring more places to accommodate for their arrival the following season.

Structure

Each team played home and away matches against each of the other teams, playing a total of twenty-six matches each. The league champions were promoted to National Division 2 while the bottom three sides dropped to either London 1 or South West 1 depending on locality.

Participating teams and locations

TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season
BarkingGoresbrook1,000Becontree, Dagenham, London4th
Bridgwater & AlbionBath Road5,000Bridgwater, Somerset10th
CheltenhamNewlands ParkSoutham, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire13th
CliftonStation Road2,500Cribbs Causeway, Henbury, Bristol7th
EsherMolesey Road3,500Hersham, SurreyRunners up
Metropolitan PoliceImber CourtEast Molesey, Surrey5th
North WalshamNorwich Road1,200Scottow, Norfolk3rd
NorwichBeeston HyrneNorwich, Norfolk6th
Penzance & NewlynMennaye Field4,000Penzance, CornwallPromoted from South West 1
Plymouth AlbionBeacon Park3,500Plymouth, Devon12th
RedruthRecreation Ground12,000Redruth, Cornwall11th
TabardCobden HillRadlett, Hertfordshire8th
Westcombe ParkGoddington Dene3,200Orpington, LondonPromoted from London 1
Weston-super-MareRecreation Ground6,000Weston-super-Mare, Somerset9th

League table

Sponsorship

National League 2 South is part of the Jewson National Leagues is sponsored by Jewson.