Counties 2 Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire 2 is an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

league at the eighth tier of the domestic competition for teams from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Club rugby in Yorkshire operates without promotion play-offs meaning that the top two teams are automatically promoted to

Counties 1 Yorkshire Counties 1 Yorkshire is an English rugby union division, the seventh tier of the domestic competition, and the top level for local rugby union in parts of Yorkshire. The champions are automatically promoted to Regional 2 North East (formerly N ...

and the bottom two teams are relegated to Counties 3 Yorkshire. Each season a team from Yorkshire 2 is picked to take part in the

RFU Senior Vase The RFU Senior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since the 2006–07 season. It is contested for by teams at level 8 of the English rugby union system, ...

- a national competition for clubs at level 8.

Participating clubs 2025-26

Departing were Dinnington and Yarnbury, promoted to

. Hemsworth were relegated to Counties 3 Yorkshire.

Participating clubs 2024-25

Departing were North Ribblesdale and Wath-upon-Dearne, promoted to

. Leeds Corinthians were relegated to Counties 3 Yorkshire.

Participating clubs 2023–24

Departing were Wensleydale and Harrogate Pythons, promoted to

. Northallerton (10th), Wheatley Hills (11th) and Barnsley (12th) were relegated to Counties 3 Yorkshire.

Participating clubs 2022–23

This was the first season following the RFU Adult Competition Review. The league was substantially similar to Yorkshire 2 with teams ranked 4th to 12th returning (1st to 3rd were 'promoted' to

and the bottom two 'relegated' to Counties 3 Yorkshire) and supplemented by top 3 from Yorkshire 3 and so with five departing but only three arriving the league was reduced from 14 teams to 12.

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.

Season 2020–21

On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced that due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning Yorkshire 2 was not contested.

Participating clubs 2019–20

Participating clubs 2018–19

Participating clubs 2017–18

Participating clubs 2016–17

*Barnsley *Leodiensian *Moortown *Old Crossleyans (relegated from Yorkshire 1) *Old Grovians *Old Rishworthians *

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

*Ripon *Roundhegians *Sheffield Medicals *Thornensians (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Wath-upon-Dearne *West Park Leeds (relegated from Yorkshire 1) *Wetherby (promoted from Yorkshire 3)

Participating clubs 2015–16

*Barnsley *Castleford (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Keighley *Knottingley *Leodiensian *Moortown *Old Grovians (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Old Rishworthians *

(relegated from Yorkshire 1) *Ripon *Roundhegians *Sheffield Medicals *Wath-upon-Dearne (relegated from Yorkshire 1) *West Leeds

Participating clubs 2014–15

*Barnsley *Bradford Salem *Goole (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Keighley (relegated from Yorkshire 1) *Knottingley *Leeds Medics and Dentists (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Leodiensian *Moortown *Old Rishworthians *Ripon *Roundhegians *Sheffield Medicals *West Leeds *West Park Leeds

Participating clubs 2013–14

*Baildon (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Barnsley (relegated from Yorkshire 1) *Bradford Salem *Hullensians *Knottingley *Leodiensian *Moortown *Old Rishworthians (promoted from Yorkshire 3) *Ripon *Roundhegians *Sheffield Medicals *West Leeds *West Park Leeds *Yarnbury

Participating clubs 2012–13

*Bradford Salem *Castleford *Doncaster Phoenix *Hullensians *Leodiensian *Moortown *Ripon *Roundhegians *

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

*Sheffield Medicals *Skipton *West Leeds *West Park Leeds *Yarnbury

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams: *

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

* Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. *

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

Ionians The Ionians (; , ''Íōnes'', singular , ''Íōn'') were one of the traditional four major tribes of Ancient Greece, alongside the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achaeans. The Ionian dialect was one of the three major linguistic divisions of the ...

* Leodiensian * Malton & Norton * North Ribblesdale * Old Otliensians * Sheffield Tigers * Wath upon Dearne * Wheatley Hills

Yorkshire 2 honours

Yorkshire 2 (1987–1993)

The original Yorkshire 2 was a tier 10 league with promotion up to Yorkshire 1 and relegation down to Yorkshire 3.

Yorkshire 2 (1993–2000)

The creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Yorkshire 2 dropped to become a tier 11 league. A further restructure at the end of the 1995–96 season, which included the cancellation of National 5 North and the addition of North East 3 at tier 9, saw Yorkshire 2 remain at tier 11.

Yorkshire 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 Yorkshire 2 became a tier 8 league.

Number of league titles

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

(3) *

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

(2) * Bradford Salem (2) * Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. (2) * North Ribblesdale (2) *

(2) *

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

(1) *

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

(1) *

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

(1) * Dinnington (1) *

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

(1) *

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

(2) * Malton & Norton (1) * Moortown (1) *

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...

(1) * Old Brodleians (1) * Old Otliensians (1) *

Pocklington Pocklington () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, its population was 10,123. It lies east of York, and ...

(1) *

(1) * Roundhegians (1) * Sheffield Tigers (1) * Wath upon Dearne (1) * West Leeds (1) * Wheatley Hills (1) *

Wibsey Wibsey (population 14,530 – 2001 UK census) is a ward within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, West Yorkshire, England. The population had increased to 14,671 at the 2011 Census. Wibsey is named after Wibsey village which ...

(1) * Yarnbury (1)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorkshire 2 8 Rugby union competitions in Yorkshire

Participating clubs 2025-26

Participating clubs 2024-25

Participating clubs 2023–24

Participating clubs 2022–23

Participating clubs 2021–22

Season 2020–21

Participating clubs 2019–20

Participating clubs 2018–19

Participating clubs 2017–18

Participating clubs 2016–17

Participating clubs 2015–16

Participating clubs 2014–15

Participating clubs 2013–14

Participating clubs 2012–13

Original teams

Yorkshire 2 honours

Yorkshire 2 (1987–1993)

Yorkshire 2 (1993–2000)

Yorkshire 2 (2000–present)

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References