2018–19 National League 1
The 2018–19 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1, is the tenth season of the third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was introduced; and is the 32nd season since league rugby began in 1987.
| 2018–19 National League 1 | |
|---|---|
| Countries | England |
| Date | 1 September 2018 – 27 April 2019 |
| Champions | Ampthill (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Old Elthamians |
| Relegated | Loughborough Students, Esher, Caldy |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Attendance | 131,144 (average 546 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 3,556 Plymouth Albion v Moseley 30 March 2019 |
| Lowest attendance | 133 Old Elthamians v Caldy 1 December 2018 |
| Tries scored | 1600 (average 6.7 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Tom White (Old Elthamians) 270 points |
| Top try scorer | Craig Holland (Chinnor) 25 tries |
The league was one of the most competitive for years, with promotion and relegation not decided until the last round. In terms of the championship, at one point it looked like four teams could go on to win it, but in the end it was a two horse race between Ampthill and Old Elthamians. The real decider was when Ampthill won 36-6 at home over Old Elthamians on 3 March 2019, but they still had to keep their head for the remaining five games as Old Elthamians pushed them all the way, eventually claiming the title on 27 April 2019 when they won 52-20 away to Loughborough Students. Ampthill would be promoted to the 2019–20 RFU Championship - the highest level the club had reached - where they could enjoy derby games at Bedford Blues.
The relegation battle was also hotly contested, with all three sides going down on the last day of the season. Loughborough Students had barely escaped relegation the previous year but after a poor first half of the season, they started to rally and gain some victories, helped by their try bonus record which was one of the best in the league, and looked at one point that they might do it yet again. However, defeats in their last two games against Plymouth Albion and champions, Ampthill, condemned them to the drop as the bottom ranked side in the division. They were joined by Esher (15th), who went down despite a valiant win away to Blackheath, and Caldy (14th), who were relegated after losing to Birmingham Moseley, finishing just 2 points shy of 13th place Cambridge, who had an excellent away win to Sale FC to thank for keeping them up. Loughborough and Caldy would drop to the 2019–20 National League 2 North while Esher would fall to the 2019–20 National League 2 South. For Esher demotion to level 4 will make it the lowest level they have played at since the 1999-00 season.