North East Counties 1, formerly known as Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland and before that Durham/Northumberland 1 is an English amateur rugby union competition. The league consists of twelve clubs, and is in the seventh tier of the English rugby union system; it is one of the sixteen regional leagues in the country and the highest level of local rugby in North East England. The champions are promoted to Regional 2 North, a division with a wider geographical area that also encompasses the Yorkshire region. The last two clubs are relegated to Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland.
Each season, two teams from the league are selected to take part in the RFU Intermediate Cup, a national competition for clubs in the seventh tier: one is affiliated with the Durham County RFU, and the other with the Northumberland RFU.
Clubs Well-known clubs have competed in Durham/Northumberland 1 throughout the league's history. Many of these clubs enjoyed success, mainly during the amateur era of rugby. These include Gosforth RFC who in the '70s enjoyed success, winning the John Player Cup in 1975–76 and 76–77; West Hartlepool who played in the Premiership in the 1990s; Northern who produced many international players; and Medicals, who have the rare distinction of having been the home club of two RFU Presidents. Clubs such as Alnwick RFC, Stockton RFC and Horden RFC have traditionally played in higher leagues and tend to finish towards the top of Durham/Northumberland 1.
Format The champions are promoted to Regional 2 North. Teams are relegated to Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland; with the number of teams relegated depending on feedback following promotion and relegation in the leagues above.
The season runs from September to April and comprises twenty-two rounds of matches, with each club playing each of its rivals, home and away. The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows: 4 points are awarded for a win 2 points are awarded for a draw 0 points are awarded for a loss, however 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match.
2026-27
Ahead of the new season the league was rebranded North East Counties 1 with reserve teams entered into the competition for the first time.
Leaving the league were champions Novocastrians and runners-up Ryton both promoted to Regional 2 North while Acklam were relegated to North East Counties 2 (South).
TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Barnard Castle Birch Road Barnard Castle, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (champions) Bishop Auckland West Mills Playing Fields Bishop Auckland, County Durham 10th Darlington Blackwell Meadows 3,000 Darlington, County Durham 8th Durham University Hollow Drift 3,000 (500 seats) Durham, County Durham 6th Gateshead Eastwood Gardens Gateshead, Tyne and Wear 7th Hartlepool Mayfield Park Hartlepool, County Durham 11th Houghton Dairy Lane Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear Promoted from DN2 (runners-up) Medicals Cartington Terrace 1,000 Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 4th Peterlee and Horden Eden Lane Park Peterlee, County Durham 5th Ponteland Ponteland Leisure Centre Ponteland, Tyne and Wear 9th Stockton The Grangefield Ground Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham 3rd Tynedale Raiders Tynedale Park 2,000 (400 seats) Corbridge, Northumberland New entry
2025–26 Participating teams and location Leaving the league were Sunderland promoted to Regional 2 North while Whitley Bay Rockcliff were relegated to Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland.
TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Acklam Talbot Park Acklam, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire 9th Bishop Auckland West Mills Playing Fields Bishop Auckland, County Durham 10th Darlington Blackwell Meadows 3,000 Darlington, County Durham 8th Durham University Hollow Drift 3,000 (500 seats) Durham, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (champions) Gateshead Eastwood Gardens Gateshead, Tyne and Wear Promoted from DN2 (2nd) Hartlepool Mayfield Park Hartlepool, County Durham 11th Medicals Cartington Terrace 1,000 Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 4th Novocastrians Sutherland Park 1,150 Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 2nd Peterlee and Horden Eden Lane Park Peterlee, County Durham 3rd Ponteland Ponteland Leisure Centre Ponteland, Tyne and Wear 6th Ryton Main Road Ryton, Tyne and Wear 7th Stockton The Grangefield Ground Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham 5th
2024–25 Participating teams and location Leaving the league were Guisborough promoted to Regional 2 North while South Shields Westoe and Hartlepool Rovers were relegated to DN2. Replacing them were Stockton (relegated), Darlington and Peterlee and Horden (both promoted). This season was the first when the Horden and Peterlee names were reversed with the latter appearing first to reflect its location.
TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Acklam Talbot Park Acklam, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire 6th Bishop Auckland West Mills Playing Fields Bishop Auckland, County Durham 7th Darlington Blackwell Meadows 3,000 Darlington, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (2nd) Hartlepool Mayfield Park Hartlepool, County Durham 7th Medicals Cartington Terrace 1,000 Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 4th Novocastrians Sutherland Park 1,150 Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 3rd Peterlee and Horden Eden Lane Park Peterlee, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (champions) Ponteland Ponteland Leisure Centre Ponteland, Tyne and Wear 8th Ryton Main Road Ryton, Tyne and Wear 5th Stockton The Grangefield Ground Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham Relegated from Regional 2 North (11th) Sunderland Ashbrooke Sports Club Ashbrooke, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear 2nd Whitley Bay Rockcliff Lovaine Avenue Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear 10th
League table 2024–25 Counties 1 Durham & NorthumberlandPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTry bonusLoss bonusPoints 1 Sunderland (P) 22 22 0 0 918 382 536 19 0 107 2 Novocastrians 22 15 1 6 786 435 351 16 4 82 3 Peterlee & Horden 22 16 1 5 734 536 198 14 1 81 4 Medicals 22 15 0 7 851 500 351 17 4 81 5 Stockton 22 12 1 9 635 615 20 11 3 64 6 Ponteland 22 9 3 10 581 692 −111 12 3 57 7 Ryton 22 9 0 13 597 588 9 11 2 49 8 Darlington 22 9 0 13 500 751 −251 8 4 48 9 Acklam 22 7 1 14 537 653 −116 9 6 45 10 Bishop Auckland 22 7 0 15 536 626 −90 9 4 41 11 Hartlepool 22 5 1 16 483 807 −324 6 1 29 12 Whitley Bay Rockcliff 22 2 0 20 397 970 −573 6 4 18If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background is the promotion place Pink background are the relegation placesUpdated: 22 November 2025
2023–24 Participating teams and location Leaving the league were West Hartlepool promoted to Regional 2 North while Darlington and Horden and Peterlee were relegated to DN2. Replacing them were South Shields Westoe (relegated), Bishop Auckland and Ryton (both promoted).
TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Acklam Talbot Park Acklam, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire 8th Bishop Auckland West Mills Playing Fields Bishop Auckland, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (2nd) Guisborough Belmangate Guisborough, North Yorkshire 5th Hartlepool Mayfield Park Hartlepool, County Durham 7th Hartlepool Rovers New Friarage Hartlepool, County Durham 9th Medicals Cartington Terrace 1,000 Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 3rd Novocastrians Sutherland Park 1,150 Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 10th Ponteland Ponteland Leisure Centre Ponteland, Tyne and Wear 4th Ryton Main Road Ryton, Tyne and Wear Promoted from DN2 (champions) South Shields Westoe Grosvenor Road South Shields, Tyne and Wear Relegated from Regional 2 North (11h) Sunderland Ashbrooke Sports Club Ashbrooke, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear 2nd Whitley Bay Rockcliff Lovaine Avenue Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear 6th
League table 2023–24 Counties 1 Durham & NorthumberlandPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTry bonusLoss bonusPointsPts adj 1 Guisborough (P) 22 18 0 4 723 390 333 15 0 87 0 2 Sunderland 22 17 0 5 759 359 400 15 4 87 0 3 Novocastrians 22 18 0 4 767 467 300 16 2 85 −5 4 Medicals 22 14 0 8 586 480 106 11 3 70 0 5 Ryton 22 12 0 10 708 459 249 10 6 64 0 6 Acklam 22 9 0 13 605 785 −180 15 1 53 +1 7 Bishop Auckland 22 9 0 13 551 553 −2 11 4 51 0 8 Ponteland 22 10 0 12 599 545 54 12 3 50 −5 9 Hartlepool 22 10 0 12 450 673 −223 9 1 50 0 10 Whitley Bay Rockcliff 22 7 0 15 527 817 −290 10 3 41 0 11 Hartlepool Rovers (R) 22 8 0 14 494 556 −62 5 3 40 0 12 South Shields Westoe (R) 22 0 0 22 260 945 −685 2 4 6 0If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background is the promotion place Pink background are the relegation placesUpdated: 20 November 2025
2022–23 Participating teams and location Leaving the league were Percy Park, Northern, South Shields Westoe, Stockton and Aspatria who were all promoted to Regional 2 North. There was no relegation.
TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Acklam Talbot Park Acklam, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire 13th Darlington Blackwell Meadows 3,000 Darlington, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (3rd) Guisborough Belmangate Guisborough, North Yorkshire Promoted from DN2 (champions) Hartlepool Mayfield Park Hartlepool, County Durham Promoted from DN2 (2nd) Hartlepool Rovers New Friarage Hartlepool, County Durham 9th Horden & Peterlee Eden Lane Park Peterlee, County Durham 14th Medicals Cartington Terrace 1,000 Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 7th Novocastrians Sutherland Park 1,150 Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 10th Ponteland Ponteland Leisure Centre Ponteland, Tyne and Wear 11th Sunderland Ashbrooke Sports Club Ashbrooke, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear 8th West Hartlepool Brinkburn 2,000 (76 seats) Hartlepool, County Durham 6th Whitley Bay Rockcliff Lovaine Avenue Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear 12th
League table 2022–23 Counties 1 Durham & NorthumberlandPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTry bonusLoss bonusPoints 1 West Hartlepool (P) 22 22 0 0 781 302 479 16 0 105 2 Sunderland 22 17 0 5 797 396 401 15 2 85 3 Medicals 22 15 1 6 673 339 334 15 3 80 4 Ponteland 22 12 0 10 532 506 26 12 2 62 5 Guisborough 22 10 0 12 531 473 58 9 6 55 6 Whitley Bay Rockcliff 22 11 0 11 467 454 13 7 2 53 7 Hartlepool 22 10 1 11 445 486 −41 7 3 52 8 Acklam 22 10 0 12 544 596 −52 10 2 52 9 Hartlepool Rovers 22 10 0 12 463 625 −162 8 2 50 10 Novocastrians 22 7 0 15 379 574 −195 6 1 35 11 Darlington (R) 22 4 0 18 362 611 −249 4 4 24 12 Horden & Peterlee (R) 22 3 0 19 278 890 −612 3 1 16 If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background is the promotion place Pink background are the relegation placesUpdated: 17 November 2025
2021–22 Participating teams and location Middlesbrough finished runners-up in DN1 in 2019–20 but were level transferred to Yorkshire 1 for the current season, the space was taken by Aspatria RUFC who were level transferred from North 2 West.
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.