2015–16 National League 2 South
The 2015–16 National League 2 South is the seventh season of the fourth tier of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced. There was talk of this being the last season in this format due to RFU changes to tier four which were supposed to result in a restructuring of the league from two regional divisions to three for the 2016–17 season but this seems to have been put on hold due to protests from the northern clubs who stood to lose revenue from a smaller fixture list.
New faces to the division include Old Albanians, Bury St Edmunds and Barnes and Redingensians Rams. The league system is 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and additional bonus points being awarded for scoring 4 or more tries and/or losing within 7 points of the victorious team. In terms of promotion the league champions are promoted to National League 1 while the second-placed team play-off against the second-placed team from National League 2 North for the final promotion place. During the course of the season the two league derby games between the Launceston and Redruth also double up as the Cornish Super Cup with Redruth being the defending 2014–15 champions. Redruth retained the cup, winning the Christmas fixture at the Recreation Ground 17 – 0 before winning away at Polson Bridge 34 – 17 to take the cup 51 – 17 on aggregate.
After a truly dreadful season, Launceston were the first team to be relegated, losing 13 – 19 away to relegation rivals Southend Saxons on the 5 March 2016 with seven games still left to play. The relegation of the Cornish club was not surprising to many of the fans at Polson Bridge as they had lost almost a full team to Plymouth Albion during the pre-season — victims of both Albion's relegation from the Championship and that the Albion director of rugby, Graham Dawe, having coached many of the Launceston players while in charge of the Cornwall team that had won the 2015 Bill Beaumont Cup. This, coupled by the club being on their third head coach in a little over a year, contributed to what was perhaps the worst season in the club's league history with the club failing to win a game and conceding over 1,000 points.
The remaining relegation places were much more keenly contested with Southend Saxons — who had only just survived the previous season — being the next team to be relegated with three games to go after losing 36 – 15 away to high flying Cambridge. The third and final relegation place fell to Dorking — who had finished 6th the previous season — losing 32 – 20 away to relegation rivals Worthing Raiders in round 29 of the competition, to condemn the Surrey-based club to the drop with one game still to go. Launceston would drop to National League 3 South West while Southend and Dorking would go into National League 3 London & SE.
While the relegation spots were fairly cut and dried, the championship went right to the wire, being keenly contested by two sides — Cambridge and Old Albanian — who were way ahead of the trailing pack. Cambridge ended up the league champions by just two points, after both sides won their last games, having almost blown it the week before by losing their derby fixture against Bury St Edmunds, but managed to claim two bonus points during the defeat. This, combined with Cambridge's home and away victories against Old Albanian, meant that they claimed the title and a return to National League 1 after a three-year absence. After just missing out on the league title, Old Albanian had a second shot at promotion when they hosted the promotion playoff game against 2015–16 National League 2 North runners up, Sedgley Park, with home advantage given due to having the superior league record. Old Albanian proved their class by defeating the northern side, 24 - 0, and returned to the 2016–17 National League 1 after just one year away.
Structure
The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one automatic promotion place, one play-off place and three relegation places. The champions are promoted to the 2016–17 National League 1 and the runners-up play the second-placed team in the 2015–16 National League 2 North with the winner being promoted. The last three teams are relegated to either National League 3 London & SE or National League 3 South West depending on the geographical location of the team.Participating teams and locations
Twelve of the teams listed below participated in the 2014–15 National League 2 South season; Old Albanians were relegated from the 2014–15 National League 1, Bury St Edmunds and Barnes were promoted from National League 3 London & SE, Redingensians Rams were promoted from National League 3 South West.| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
| Barnes | Barn Elms | 500 | Barnes, London | promoted from National 3 London & SE |
| Bishop's Stortford | Silver Leys | 1,600 | Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire | 2nd |
| Bury St Edmunds | The Haberden | 3,000 | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk | promoted from National 3 London & SE |
| Cambridge | Grantchester Road | 1,250 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | 7th |
| Canterbury | Merton Lane | 1,075 | Canterbury, Kent | 11th |
| Chinnor | Kingsey Road | 2,000 | Thame, Oxfordshire | 6th |
| Clifton | Station Road | 2,500 | Cribbs Causeway, Patchway, Bristol | 12th |
| Dorking | The Big Field | 1,000+ | Dorking, Surrey | 4th |
| Launceston | Polson Bridge | 3,000 | Launceston, Cornwall | 10th |
| Old Albanian | Woollam Playing Fields | 1,000 | St Albans, Hertfordshire | relegated from National League 1 |
| Old Elthamians | Queen Mary Sports Ground | 500 | Chislehurst, Kent | 8th |
| Redingensians Rams | Old Bath Road | 1,250 | Sonning, Reading, Berkshire | promoted from National 3 South West |
| Redruth | The Recreation Ground | 3,500 | Redruth, Cornwall | 9th |
| Southend Saxons | Warners Bridge Park | Southend, Essex | 13th | |
| Taunton Titans | Hyde Park | 2,000 | Taunton, Somerset | 3rd |
| Worthing Raiders | Roundstone Lane | 1,500 | Angmering, West Sussex | 5th |
League table
Results
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Round 4
----Round 5
----Round 6
----Round 7
----Round 8
----Round 9
----Round 10
----Round 11
----Round 12
----Round 13
----Round 14
----Round 15
----Round 16
- Postponed due to adverse weather conditions. Game rescheduled to 27 February 2016.
Round 17
- Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by heavy rain. Game rescheduled to 12 March 2016.
Round 18
----Round 19
----Round 20
----Round 21
- Postponed due to heavy rain and high winds. Game rescheduled to 27 February 2016.
- Postponed due to waterlogged pitch caused by heavy rain. Game rescheduled to 27 February 2016.
- Postponed due to waterlogged pitch caused by heavy rain. Game rescheduled to 27 February 2016.
Round 22
- Postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by heavy rain. Game rescheduled to 12 March 2016.
Round 23
----Rounds 16 & 21 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 6 February 2016.
- Game rescheduled from 6 February 2016.
- Game rescheduled from 2 January 2016.
- Game rescheduled from 6 February 2016.
Round 24
- Launceston are relegated.
Rounds 17 & 22 (rescheduled games)
- Game rescheduled from 13 February 2016.
- Game rescheduled from 9 January 2016.
Round 25
----Round 26
----Round 27
----Round 28
- Southend Saxons are relegated.
Round 29
- Dorking are relegated.
Round 30
----Promotion play-off
Each season, the runners-up in the National League 2 South and National League 2 North participate in a play-off for promotion to National Division 1. Old Albanian having the best record hosted the match against the north runner-up, Sedgley Park.| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Try bonus | Loss bonus | Points |
| Old Albanian | 30 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1040 | 468 | 572 | 23 | 3 | 128 |
| Sedgley Park | 30 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 951 | 562 | 389 | 18 | 6 | 108 |
Attendances
- Does not include promotion play-off.
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Barnes | 15 | 2,053 | 137 | 253 | 72 | 27% |
| Bishop's Stortford | 15 | 6,678 | 445 | 900 | 160 | 28% |
| Bury St Edmunds | 15 | 7,377 | 492 | 997 | 300 | 16% |
| Cambridge | 15 | 7,583 | 506 | 1,145 | 350 | 40% |
| Canterbury | 15 | 4,740 | 316 | 532 | 187 | 29% |
| Chinnor | 15 | 4,480 | 299 | 515 | 193 | 15% |
| Clifton | 15 | 2,541 | 169 | 243 | 101 | 7% |
| Dorking | 15 | 5,247 | 350 | 535 | 200 | 35% |
| Launceston | 15 | 7,268 | 485 | 882 | 288 | 16% |
| Old Albanian | 15 | 5,232 | 349 | 480 | 245 | 35% |
| Old Elthamians | 15 | 3,421 | 228 | 330 | 132 | 46% |
| Redingensians Rams | 15 | 4,033 | 269 | 359 | 195 | 22% |
| Redruth | 15 | 11,937 | 796 | 1,120 | 610 | 23% |
| Southend Saxons | 15 | 2,390 | 159 | 287 | 93 | |
| Taunton Titans | 15 | 5,795 | 386 | 625 | 250 | 19% |
| Worthing Raiders | 15 | 7,899 | 527 | 933 | 335 | 35% |
Individual statistics
- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes. Does not include promotion playoff.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 109 pts109 - 0 Cambridge at home to Launceston on 2 April 2016
;Largest away win — 79 pts
79 - 0 Bury St Edmunds away to Launceston on 19 March 2016
;Most points scored — 79 pts
79 - 0 Bury St Edmunds away to Launceston on 19 March 2016
;Most tries in a match — 17
Cambridge at home to Launceston on 2 April 2016
;Most conversions in a match — 12
Cambridge at home to Launceston on 2 April 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Worthing Raiders at home to Taunton Titans on 12 December 2015
Canterbury at home to Redingensians Rams on 9 January 2016
Old Elthamians at home to Canterbury on 23 April 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple teams
Player
;Most points in a match — 30Oscar Heath for Chinnor at home to Southend Saxons on 30 April 2016
;Most tries in a match — 5
Nick Mason for Taunton Titans at home to Launceston on 12 March 2016
Michael Ayrton for Cambridge at home to Launceston on 2 April 2016
;Most conversions in a match — 12
Gerhard Boshoff for Cambridge at home to Launceston on 2 April 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Matthew McLean for Worthing Raiders at home to Taunton Titans on 12 December 2015
Tom Best for Canterbury at home to Redingensians Rams on 9 January 2016
Tom White for Old Elthamians at home to Canterbury on 23 April 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
N/A - multiple players
Attendances
;Highest — 1,145Cambridge at home to Dorking on 30 April 2016
;Lowest — 72
Barnes at home to Taunton Titans on 2 January 2016
;Highest Average Attendance — 796
Redruth
;Lowest Average Attendance — 129
Barnes