2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1

The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 118th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organised by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for the top tier English counties. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the third tier and below of the English rugby union league system (typically National League 1, National League 2 North or National League 2 South). The counties were divided into two regional sections (each divided into two pools, for a total of four) with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Lancashire are the reigning champions having defeated Cornwall in the previous year's final.[1]

For the second tier of the English Counties competition, see 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2. For the third tier of the English Counties competition, see 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3.

2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1
Countries	England
Date	5 May 2017 - 27 May 2018
Champions	Lancashire (25th title)
Runners-up	Hertfordshire
Relegated	Northumberland, Surrey
Matches played	18
Attendance	6,967 (average 387 per match)
Highest attendance	1,515 Cornwall v Devon (6 May 2018)
Lowest attendance	150 Northumberland v East Midlands (19 May 2018)
Tries scored	150 (average 8.3 per match)
Top point scorer	Chris Johnson (Lancashire) 55 points
Top try scorer	Anthony Bingham (Lancashire) 5 tries

Once again Lancashire finished as winners of the northern group stage with a 100% record to qualify for their second successive final, although group runners-up Yorkshire could feel aggrieved as they also had a 100% record, but lost out on points for/against. It showcased a real weakness in the new competition format as neither county had faced each other over the past two years, despite being the best sides in the northern group. Lancashire were joined by Hertfordshire who took advantage of a slip-up by Gloucestershire at Surrey to win the southern group and cement their place in the final - the county's first since 2012. By contrast last season's finalists Cornwall had a dire campaign, managing only one draw in their three games and finishing bottom of their group. Unlike Yorkshire, Cornwall can thank the RFU for the new format as promotion/relegation is over two seasons, saving Cornwall from the drop due to their excellent tournament the previous season.

In the Twickenham final Lancashire finished as deserving champions beating Hertfordshire 32-16, with 22 points coming from the boot Chris Johnson who also finished as the competitions top points scorer, while a try from his team-mate, Anthony Bingham, made him the top try scorer with 5 tries.[2][3] It was the 25th cup win for a Lancashire side that has dominated the competition through its history. Relegated sides from the 2018 competition included East Midlands from the north and Surrey from the south. In Surrey's case they had actually looked safe, having finished a point clear of relegation rivals, Devon, but ultimately went down due to a 2 points deduction for fielding an ineligible player in their 15-15 draw with Cornwall earlier in the campaign.[4] In East Midlands case they actually finished 3rd overall in the northern group competition over the two seasons but decided to take voluntary relegation due to difficulties in getting the top eligible clubs in their union to provide players for future competitions. Both East Midlands and Surrey will play in the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 next season.

Competition format

The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 consists of twelve county sides, with six counties in the northern group, and six in the southern group. Each county plays three games per group, which means that some counties get two home games, and the others just the one home game. The RFU have taken fixtures from the previous year into account so that county sides that only played one home game in that competition now get two games and vice versa. At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group (north and south) advance to the final held on 27 May 2018 at Twickenham Stadium.

A continuation from the 2017 competition is that promotion/relegation occurs every two seasons instead of one, with points accumulated over the two seasons (2017 and 2018) taken into consideration. The two lowest ranked counties (one from the north/one from the south) will be relegated into the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 competition, with the two highest aggregate ranked sides of that tournament being promoted to take their place.

Participating Counties and ground locations

County Stadium(s) Capacity City/Area Cheshire Hartsfield 2,000 Moreton, Merseyside Cornwall The Recreation Ground Recreation Ground 3,500 (580 seats) 7,000 (780 seats) Redruth, Cornwall Camborne, Cornwall Devon Astley Park 1,800 (300 in stand) Brixham, Devon East Midlands Dillingham Park Goldington Road 3,000 6,000 (1,700 seats) Ampthill, Bedfordshire Bedford, Bedfordshire Eastern Counties University Football Ground 1,000 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Gloucestershire Regentsholme 1,500 Lydney, Gloucestershire Hertfordshire Rosedale Sports Club Silver Leys N/A 1,600 Cheshunt, Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire Kent Goddington Dene Jack Williams Ground 3,200 (200 seats) N/A Orpington, London Aylesford, Kent Lancashire Park Lane Woodlands Memorial Ground 3,000 9,000 Whitefield, Greater Manchester Lytham St Annes, Lancashire Northumberland Preston Avenue Tynedale Park N/A 2,000 (400 seats) North Shields, Tyne and Wear Corbridge, Northumberland Surrey Molesey Road 3,500 (1,200 seats) Hersham, Surrey Yorkshire Silver Royd 1,950 (322 seats) Scarborough, North Yorkshire

Hartsfield (Cheshire) Redruth (Cornwall) Camborne (Cornwall) Brixham (Devon) Ampthill (E Midlands) Bedford (E Midlands) Cambridge (E Counties) Lydney (Gloucestershire) Cheshunt (Herts) B Stortford (Herts) Orpington (Kent) Aylesford (Kent) Whitefield (Lancashire) Lytham St Annes (Lancashire) North Shields (Northumberland) Corbridge (Northumberland) Hersham (Surrey) Scarborough (Yorkshire) Locations of the 2018 Division 1 county teams

Group stage

Division 1 North

2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 North Table
	County	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Lancashire (Q)	3	3	0	0	180	74	106	3	0	15
2	Yorkshire	3	3	0	0	99	72	27	3	0	15
3	Cheshire	3	1	0	2	91	122	-31	2	1	7
4	Eastern Counties	3	1	0	2	77	98	-21	1	1	6
5	Northumberland	3	1	0	2	76	114	-38	2	0	6
6	East Midlands (R)	3	0	0	3	55	98	-43	1	1	2
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 means the county qualified for the final Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.

Round 1

5 May 2018 15:00

(2BP) Cheshire	27 - 34	Yorkshire (BP)
	Cheshire

Hartsfield, Moreton Attendance: 220 Referee: Timothy Allatt

5 May 2018 15:00

(BP) East Midlands	19 - 22	Eastern Counties
	East Midlands

Dillingham Park, Ampthill Attendance: 350 Referee: Harry Walbaum

5 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Northumberland	20 - 64	Lancashire (BP)
	Lancashire

Preston Avenue, North Shields Attendance: 250 Referee: Owen Taylor

[5]

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Round 2

12 May 2018 15:00

(BP) East Midlands	24–41	Cheshire (BP)
	East Midlands

Goldington Road, Bedford Attendance: 220 Referee: Matt Astle

12 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Lancashire	52–31	Eastern Counties (BP)
	Lancashire

Park Lane, Whitefield Attendance: 301 Referee: Michael Harris

12 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Yorkshire	38–21	Northumberland

Silver Royd, Scarborough Attendance: 275 Referee: Joe James

[6]

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Round 3

19 May 2018 14:00

(BP) Eastern Counties	24 – 27	Yorkshire (BP)
	Eastern Counties

University Football Ground, Cambridge Attendance: 309 Referee: Callum Howard

19 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Lancashire	64 – 23	Cheshire
	Lancashire

Woodlands Memorial Ground, Lytham St Annes Attendance: 453 Referee: Tim Allatt

19 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Northumberland	35 – 12	East Midlands
	East Midlands

Tynedale Park, Corbridge Attendance: 150 Referee: Alan Chandrachud

[7]

Division 1 South

2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South Table
	County	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points difference	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Points
1	Hertfordshire (Q)	3	2	0	1	138	52	86	3	1	12
2	Gloucestershire	3	2	0	1	80	68	12	2	1	11
3	Kent	3	2	0	1	72	101	-29	1	0	9
4	Devon	3	1	0	2	73	86	-13	2	1	7
5	Surrey (R)	3	1	1	1	43	48	-5	0	1	3[a 1]
6	Cornwall	3	0	1	2	34	85	-51	0	1	3
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 means the county qualified for the final. Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.

Round 1

5 May 2018 14:30

(BP) Devon	26 - 38	Gloucestershire (BP)
	Devon

Astley Park, Brixham Attendance: 350 Referee: Henry Lowis

5 May 2018 15:00

Cornwall	15 - 15	Surrey
	Cornwall

The Recreation Ground, Redruth Attendance: 815 Referee: Calum Howard

5 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Hertfordshire	59 - 21	Kent
	Hertfordshire

Rosedale Sports Club, Cheshunt Attendance: 324 Referee: Robert Bourke

[5]

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Round 2

12 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Cornwall	19–20	Devon
	Cornwall

Recreation Ground, Camborne Attendance: 1,515 Referee: Veryan Boscawen

12 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Gloucestershire	31–29	Hertfordshire (2BP)
	Gloucestershire

Regentsholm, Lydney Attendance: 250 Referee: James O'Brien

12 May 2018 15:00

Kent	22–15	Surrey (BP)

Goddington Dene, Orpington, London Attendance: 172 Referee: Daniel Collins

[6]

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Round 3

19 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Hertfordshire	50 – 0	Cornwall
	Cornwall

Silver Leys, Bishop's Stortford Attendance: 610 Referee: Alexander Thomas

19 May 2018 15:00

(BP) Kent	29 – 27	Devon (2BP)

Jack Williams Ground, Aylesford Attendance: 153 Referee: George Selwood

19 May 2018 15:00

Surrey	13 – 11	Gloucestershire (BP)
	Gloucestershire

Molesey Road, Hersham Attendance: 250 Referee: Jonathan Cook

[7]

Final

27 May 2018 12:00

Lancashire	31 – 16 (HT 12-8)	Hertfordshire
Try: Bingham, Collins Con: Johnson (2) Pen: Johnson (5) Drop: Johnson	Report	Try: Byfield (2) Pen: Taylor (2)

Twickenham Stadium, London

15 Lewis Allen Rossendale 14 Scott Armstrong Kirkby Lonsdale 13 Chris Mayor Sale FC 12 Scott Rawlings Longton 11 Anthony Bingham Sale FC 10 Chris Johnson Sale FC 9 Callum McShane Sedgley Park 1 Dan Birchall Sale FC 2 Alex Loney Fylde 3 Adam Lewis (capt) Fylde 4 Bob Birtwell Sedgley Park 5 Rhys Davies Sale FC 6 Evan Stewart Vale of Lune 7 Phil Mills Rossendale 8 Tom Ailes Sale FC Replacements: 16 Peter Altham Preston Grasshoppers 17 Danny Maher Sedgley Park 19 Reece Tomlinson Rossendale 20 Adam Aigbokhae Sale FC 21 Connor Wilkinson Fylde 22 Scott Jordan Preston Grasshoppers 23 Steve Collins Sedgley Park

15 Sean Taylor Hertford 14 Elliott Byfield Tring 13 James Rea Bishop's Stortford 12 Richard Streets Hertford 11 Sam Barnes Tring 10 Dan Watt Old Albanian 9 Tom Banks (capt) Bishop's Stortford 1 Louis Castiglione Hertford 2 Steff Jones Hertford 3 Karl Garside Ampthill 4 Rob Conquest Cambridge 5 Harry Green Tring 6 Nick Radley Tring 7 Nick Stevens Tring 8 Chris West Old Albanian Replacements: 16 Oliver Walliker Old Albanian 17 Tom McCrone Bishop's Stortford 18 Dave Archer Hertford 19 Jack Elston Hertford 20 Jack Scantlebury Bishop's Stortford 21 Ben Creasey Hertford 22 Luke Barber Harpenden

[2][3]

Relegation aggregate table

In order to determine relegation to the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2, results from the 2017 and 2018 competitions will be combined, with the lowest ranked team from each group being relegated.

2017 and 2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 North Table County Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points 1 Lancashire 6 6 0 0 295 120 175 6 0 30 2 Yorkshire 6 6 0 0 220 126 94 5 0 29 3 East Midlands (R)[a 2] 6 2 0 4 139 165 -26 3 1 12 4 Cheshire 6 2 0 4 145 201 -56 3 1 12 5 Eastern Counties 6 1 0 5 128 221 -93 1 2 7 6 Northumberland 6 1 0 5 138 232 -94 3 0 7 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 Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season.Updated: 12 May 2018

2017 and 2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South Table County Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points difference Try bonus Losing bonus Points 1 Gloucestershire 6 4 0 2 210 138 72 4 1 21 2 Hertfordshire 6 4 0 2 231 128 103 5 1 20[a 3] 3 Kent 6 4 0 2 130 157 -27 2 1 19 4 Cornwall 6 3 1 2 169 138 31 3 1 18 5 Devon 6 1 0 5 116 225 -109 2 1 7 6 Surrey (R) 6 1 1 4 86 156 -70 0 2 6[a 4] 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 Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 <noinclude>

Total season attendances

• Does not include final at Twickenham which is a neutral venue and involves teams from all three county divisions on the same day

County	Home Games	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Cheshire	1	220	220	220	220	11%
Cornwall	2	2,330	1,165	1,515	815	22%
Devon	1	350	350	350	350	19%
East Midlands	2	570	285	350	220	8%
Eastern Counties	1	309	309	309	309	31%
Gloucestershire	1	250	250	250	250	17%
Hertfordshire	2	934	467	610	324	38%
Kent	2	325	163	172	153	5%
Lancashire	2	754	377	453	301	8%
Northumberland	2	400	200	250	150	8%
Surrey	1	250	250	250	250	7%
Yorkshire	1	275	275	275	275	14%

[5][6][7]

Individual statistics

• Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included). Statistics also include final.

Top points scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points 1 Chris Johnson Lancashire Sedgley Park 3 55 2 Sean Taylor Hertfordshire Hertford 4 44 3 Stephen Collins Lancashire Sedgley Park 3 29 4 Jack Blakeney-Edwards Yorkshire Darlington Mowden Park 3 24 5 Ben Jones Cheshire Caldy 2 23 [5][6][7][2][3]

Top try scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries 1 Anthony Bingham Lancashire Sale FC 4 5 2 Lewis Minikin Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 4 Phil Mills Lancashire Rossendale 4 4 3 Stephen Collins Lancashire Sedgley Park 3 3 Simon Frewin Yorkshire Sandal 3 3 Matt Hema Eastern Counties Cambridge 3 3 Steve Nolson Yorkshire Otley 3 3 Dan Smart Kent Canterbury 3 3 Scott Rawlings Lancashire Longton 4 3 Evan Stewart Lancashire Vale of Lune 4 3 [5][6][7][2][3]

Competition records

Team Largest home win — 50 points 50 - 0 Hertfordshire at home to Cornwall on 19 May 2018 Largest away win — 44 points 64 - 20 Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018 Most points scored — 64 points (2) Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018 Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018 Most tries in a match — 10 Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018 Most conversions in a match — 8 Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018 Lancashire at home to Eastern Counties on 12 May 2018 Most penalties in a match — 5 Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018 Most drop goals in a match — 1 Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018 [5][6][7][2] Attendances Highest — 1,515 Cornwall at home to Devon on 12 May 2018 Lowest — 150 Northumberland at home to East Midlands on 19 May 2018 Highest Average Attendance — 1,183 Cornwall Lowest Average Attendance — 163 Kent [5][6][7]

Player Most points in a match — 22 Chris Johnson for Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018 Most tries in a match — 3 Anthony Bingham for Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018 Most conversions in a match — 8 Chris Johnson for Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018 Most penalties in a match — 5 Chris Johnson for Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018 Most drop goals in a match — 1 Chris Johnson for Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018 [5][6][7][2][3]

Notes

1. • Surrey deducted 2 points for fielding an ineligible player against Cornwall on 5 May 2018.[4]
2. Despite finishing 3rd overall over the two seasons, East Midlands decided to take voluntary relegation due to difficulties in getting the top eligible clubs in their union to provide players for future competitions.
3. • Hertfordshire were initially deducted 4 points for fielding an ineligible player against Kent on 6 May 2017. It was later reduced to a 2 point deduction.[8][9]
4. • Surrey deducted 2 points for fielding an ineligible player against Cornwall on 5 May 2018.[4]

See also

• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

References

1. "LANCASHIRE WIN BILL BEAUMONT COUNTY CHAMPS FINAL". England RFU. 28 May 2017.
2. "County Championships: As it happened". England RFU. 28 May 2018.
3. "LANCASHIRE TRIUMPH ONCE AGAIN AT TWICKENHAM". Fylde RFC. 27 May 2018.
4. "Kent 29 Devon 28". Sports Independent. 20 May 2018. p. 70.
5. "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (503). Rugby Paper Ltd. 6 May 2018. pp. 28–30.
6. "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (504). Rugby Paper Ltd. 13 May 2018. pp. 28–30.
7. "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (505). Rugby Paper Ltd. 20 May 2018. pp. 26–27.
8. "Gloucestershire back in the race for Twickenham". Camborne RFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
9. "Herts points deduction halved". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 19 May 2017.

External links

• NCA Rugby