Nene Valley and Northampton Knights
Nene Valley were set up in 1989 and they trained twice weekly at Rushden Sports Centre. The club joined the Midlands and South West Amateur Rugby League Association (MASWARLA) and the Eastern Counties Rugby League (ECRL). Nene Valley became Northampton Knights.
In September 1994 Northampton Knights team entered the National Conference League Division 2 having finished mid-table in the old East Midlands League. The team was coached by Paul Johnstone. The club started off playing at Dallington Park but moved to the then council-owned Sixfields Stadium. The club played 21 games from its fixture list of 22 but lost them all. They scored 185 points and conceded 1,170.
In line with talk of mergers in the professional game moves were afoot to create a regional side based on Peterborough and Leicester with the aim of creating a stronger side. However, due to administrative and travel issues amongst players and staff the plans for the East Midlands Knights were shelved. Northampton Knights played 5 games in the 1995/6 season before dropping out of NCL Division 2 in November 1995 and subsequently folding.
In 1998 an application to the Rugby League Conference was made but they withdrew before the season started on the basis that the club's organisation was not up to scratch. In 2005 another application was made from a group that included ex-students from the town's university but they never made it onto the playing field, despite being accepted for the 2006 season.
Read more about this topic: Northampton Demons, History, Background
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