With the RFU recently announcing the premature end of the 2019-20 season as a result of the Covid-19 virus, the question of how the issues of promotion and relegation remained outstanding.

A number of options were open to the RFU, all of which would have resulted in winners and losers, but in the end the RFU opted to utilise a system based on playing record throughout the season to make the decision and on Friday, they released the final standings for all divisions below the top tier.

Hinckley were confirmed in third position which meant the final charge for promotion, which saw Hornets put together a run of ten straight wins, came to nought. If there is any consolation, it is that their principal rivals for the play-off place Fylde, who sat one place and five points ahead of Hornets with five games to play, also missed out to National Two South outfit Tonbridge Juddians who were deemed to have a superior playing record. They are promoted to National 1 along with Taunton Titans and National two North champions Caldy who remained unbeaten throughout the season.

‘It’s a little disappointing after we put such a good run together at the end of the season,’ commented Director of Rugby Scott Hamilton, ‘ but realistically, even if we had kept up the run, we may not have overhauled Fylde. It is what it is and I’m proud of what we have achieved this season. We brought in a few players this year to strengthen the squad but the biggest improvement for me has been the way those players work for each other. If you aren’t pulling together, then any side will struggle. We got that right and if can keep that going we will be hard to beat next year, no matter where we play. I’m proud of the lads.’

At the other end of the table, it was heartbreak for Otley who are relegated along with Scunthorpe, who had not won a game during the season, and Preston Grasshoppers. For Hoppers and Scunthorpe, the decision simply confirmed what had seemed inevitable but Otley were engaged in a relegation dogfight with four other Clubs and could quite conceivably have pulled clear over the final few games. They will be replaced next season by Blaydon and Harrogate. Bournville were also promoted as Midlands Premier champions but may find themselves playing in the South division.

Relegated from National 1 are former Premiership side Rotherham, Canterbury and last years National 2 North Champions Hull Ionians, who managed only a single win in the higher division.

Though Hornets will play at Level 4 next season, they face an anxious wait to discover if they will be playing in the North or South division. With two northern sides relegated with a single Southern based outfit, and only one promoted from the North with two going up from the South, there is now an imbalance between the two divisions and it is likely that one if not two sides who played North division rugby last season will suffer the same fate as Leicester Lions last season and be required to ‘go South’.

Lions finished a respectable seventh in the South table this season, so it is unlikely that the Southern division will hold too many fears for Hinckley, and a trip South will at least mean that the local rivalry between the two sides can be renewed.

Nick Robinson