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Attendance 77,313 (average 463 per match) Highest attendance 2,000 Doncaster at home to Manchester on 9 October 2004 | ||
The 2004-05 National Division Two was the fifth version (eighteenth overall) of the third division of the English rugby union league system using the name National Division Two. New teams to the division included Manchester who were relegated from the 2003–04 National Division One while Waterloo came up as champions of the 2003–04 National Division Three North with Blackheath (champions) and Launceston (playoffs) coming up from the 2003–04 National Division Three South. Wakefield had also been supposed to join the division having finished 13th in National Division One but sadly due to financial difficulties the club would go into liquidation and cease to exist. This season would see the league points system being overhauled in the division with four points being awarded for a win, two points for a draw as well as bonus points being introduced (the Premiership had been using them since 2000) with teams being awarded an extra point for scoring four or more tries during a game or if losing, being within seven points of the victor.
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Doncaster would finish as league champions, 13 points clear of nearest rivals, Newbury Blues. Both sides would go up to the 2005–06 National Division One. At the other end of the table, apart from Rosslyn Park who were comfortably bottom, it was a very tight relegation battle with Bracknell and Nuneaton eventually going down to join Rosslyn Park despite both sides winning their last games - in the end only 2 points separated 10th placed Esher from 12th placed Nuneaton. Nuneaton would drop down to the 2005–06 National Division Three North while Bracknell and Rosslyn Park went into the 2005–06 National Division Three South.