1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two

The 1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership Two was the eleventh full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams to the division included West Hartlepoool and Orrell who had been relegated from the Courage Premiership 1996–97 while Exeter and Fylde were promoted from National League 1. For the first time Premiership Two, along with the Premiership, was sponsored by the assurance company Allied Dunbar. For the previous ten seasons the league was known as the Courage Clubs Championship and sponsored by Courage Brewery.

Bedford, the champions, were promoted to the Allied Dunbar Premiership for season 1998–99, along with runner-up West Hartlepool. From next season, the top two divisions would consist of fourteen teams, an increase of two per division. The bottom two teams in the top tier played the third and fourth teams in Premiership Two for the final two places in the top division. Third place London Scottish won promotion by beating Bristol in a two legged play-off, while fourth placed Rotherham lost to London Irish. There was no relegation to Jewson National League 1 because of the increase in teams in the top two divisions.

Round 2

 * match postponed and rescheduled to 25 April 1998.


 * match postponed and rescheduled to 2 May 1998.


 * match postponed and rescheduled to 18 April 1998.

Round 13

 * postponed, match rescheduled to 24 January 1998.


 * postponed, match rescheduled to 24 January 1998.


 * postponed, match rescheduled to 18 April 1998.


 * postponed, match rescheduled to 11 April 1998.

Round 17

 * postponed, match rescheduled to 4 April 1998.

Round 20 (including postponed match from round 13)

 * postponed, match rescheduled to 22 April 1998.


 * match rescheduled from round 13.

Round 21 (including postponed matches from rounds 2 & 13)

 * match rescheduled from round 2.


 * match rescheduled from round 13.

Individual statistics

 * Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.

Team
77 – 3 Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997 67 – 7 Bedford away to Fylde on 27 December 1997 77 – 3 Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997 Bedford Blues at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997 Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997 Bedford away to Fylde on 27 December 1997 West Hartlepool at home to Fylde on 14 February 1998 N/A - multiple teams Exeter at home to Bedford on 13 September 1997 Moseley at home to Orrell on 25 October 1997 Coventry at home to West Hartlepool on 31 January 1998 Wakefield at home to Rotherham on 28 March 1998
 * Largest home win — 74 pts
 * Largest away win — 60 pts
 * Most points scored — 151 pts
 * Most tries in a match — 11
 * Most conversions in a match — 8 (x3)
 * Most penalties in a match — 6 (x9)
 * Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x4)

Player
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Mike Rayer for Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997 John Clarke for Blackheath at home to Fylde on 20 September 1997 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Jason Forster for Bedford at home to Fylde on 17 January 1998 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ben Wade for Rotherham at home to Exeter on 25 April 1998 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Mike Rayer for Bedford at home to Coventry on 8 November 1997 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Mike Rayer for Bedford away to Fylde on 27 December 1997 🇦🇺 Steven Vile for West Hartlepool at home to Fylde on 14 February 1998 N/A - multiple players Meeku Patidar for Exeter at home to Bedford on 13 September 1997 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Matt Jones for Moseley at home to Orrell on 25 October 1997 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Greg Miller for Wakefield at home to Rotherham on 28 March 1998
 * Most points in a match — 32
 * Most tries in a match — 4 (x3)
 * Most conversions in a match — 8 (x3)
 * Most penalties in a match — 6 (x9)
 * Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x3)

Attendances

 * Note that attendances were very poorly documented this season and there is no information available

N/A N/A N/A N/A
 * Highest — N/A
 * Lowest — N/A
 * Highest Average Attendance — N/A
 * Lowest Average Attendance — N/A