Current season or competition: 2024-25 Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1987 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Country |  England,  Isle of Man |
| Most titles | Anselmians (5 titles) |
| Website | England RFU |
Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire (formerly Lancs/Cheshire Division Two (usually referred to as Lancs/Cheshire 2)) is a regional English Rugby Union league for teams in Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester at level 9 of the English rugby union system.
The division was initially known as North-West West 2 when it was created in 1987, and had a number of different names with South Lancs/Cheshire 2 being the longest running. The division switched to its name for the 2018–19 season due to the restructuring of the northern leagues by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as a result of 19 Lancashire clubs withdrawing from RFU competitions to form their own competitions.[1] Each season three teams from Lancs/Cheshire 2 were picked to take part in the RFU Junior Vase (a national competition for clubs at levels 9-12) - two clubs affiliated with the Cheshire RFU, the other with the Lancashire RFU.
The division had a break for the 2015-16 season as the RFU decided to restructure the South Lancs/Cheshire league into three zones - Merseyside (West), Cheshire (South) and Lancashire (North). This was short-lived and the division returned to its original format for the 2016-17 season with only Lancashire (North) remaining of the three zones.
After the introduction of North 2 West at tier 7 for the 2019–20 season, all Lancs/Cheshire leagues dropped one level, with Lancs/Cheshire Division Two ranked at level 9.
Following the cancellation of Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season [2] due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league was mothballed with teams transferred into the Lancashire Merit Table competitions, ADM Lancashire leagues or level transferred into other regional leagues.
After a hiatus for season 2021-22 the league returned in its new guise following the restructuring of the English rugby union system ahead of the 2022–23 season, with the league renamed to Counties 3 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire.
Promotion is to Counties 2 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire and relegation to Lancashire RFU merit leagues.
- ^ "North West league restructuring (June 14 2018)". RFU North. 14 June 2018.
- ^ "RFU Cancels Adult Competitive Leagues for the 2020/21 Season". RFU. 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-11-09.