2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1
# 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1

The 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 117th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organised by the RFU for the top tier English counties. This was the first season it would be officially known as Bill Beaumont Division 1 having previously been known as the Bill Beaumont Cup. 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. Cornwall were the defending champions.

Due to changes to the County Championship format (more detail of this below) four new teams were added to the competition, with East Midlands and Northumberland joining the northern section, while Kent and Devon joined the south. East Midlands (winners) and Kent (runners up) were promoted after reaching the final of the 2016 County Championship Plate, while Northumberland and Devon were promoted by virtue of their performances in the competition over the past couple of seasons. It also saw a lucky escape for the likes of Yorkshire, who would have been playing tier 2 rugby this year were it not for the competition restructuring.

By the end of the group stages, Lancashire and Cornwall came top of their respective pools, winning all three of their games with a bonus point in each to qualify for the final in what would be the fourth county championship final between the two sides. Lancashire possibly had the harder time of it as they edged rivals Yorkshire by just one point with neither side playing each other due to the new format, while Cornwall won all their games. In the Twickenham final, the first half started with Cornwall dominant in taking an 8-0 lead into the break - although they perhaps should have capitalized more on a Lancashire yellow card towards the end of the half. The second half was a completely different story, however, as Lancashire played some breath-taking rugby scoring three delightful tries to take the game 19-8, ending Cornwall's hope of a treble of championships, and claiming the 24th county championship title for the Red Rose.

## Competition format

The 2017 County Championships saw a new competition structure introduced across all three divisions. In tier 1 there were now twelve teams instead of the eight from 2016, with six counties in the northern group, and six in the southern group. To complicate matters further, each county only played three games per group instead of five. This meant that some counties had two home games, while the others had just one. The RFU plans to switch this around the following year so that teams that played one home game in 2017 will get two during the 2018 competition - it is assumed that this is against the three teams in the group they did not play the previous season.

At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group (north and south) advanced to the final held on 28 May 2017 at Twickenham Stadium. A further change will see relegation occur every two seasons instead of one, with points accumulated over the two seasons taken into consideration. This system will also apply to promoted teams in tier 2.

## Group stage

### Division 1 North

2017 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 | 115 | 46 | 69 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Yorkshire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 54 | 67 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | East Midlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 67 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | Cheshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 79 | -25 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Northumberland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 118 | -56 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Eastern Counties | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 123 | -72 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 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.Updated: 20 May 2017 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

**Round 1**

* 6 May 2017 14:15

| (BP) Eastern Counties | 21 - 24 | East Midlands (BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Grantchester Road, Cambridge Attendance: 300 Referee: Jack Sutton
* 6 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Lancashire | 48 - 28 | Northumberland (BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Woodlands Memorial Ground, Lytham St. Annes Attendance: 545 Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts
* 6 May 2017 15:00

| Yorkshire | 26 - 17 | Cheshire |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Lockwood Park, Huddersfield Attendance: 436 Referee: Andrew Wigley

**Round 2**

* 13 May 2017 14:15

| Eastern Counties | 15 - 38 | Lancashire (BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* University Football Ground, Cambridge Attendance: 314 Referee: Neil Chivers
* 13 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Cheshire | 32 - 24 | East Midlands |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Paton Field, Thurstaston Attendance: 325 Referee: Matt Turvey
* 13 May 2017 15:00

| Northumberland | 22 - 34 | Yorkshire (BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Greensfield, Alnwick Attendance: 256 Referee: Ieuan Davies

**Round 3**

* 20 May 2017 15:00

| Cheshire | 5 - 29 | Lancashire (BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Heywood Park, Sale Attendance: 450 Referee: Andrew Wrigley
* 20 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) East Midlands | 36 - 14 | Northumberland |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Dillingham Park, Ampthill Attendance: 350 Referee: Claire Hodnett
* 20 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Yorkshire | 61 - 15 | Eastern Counties |
| - | - | - |

* Brantingham Park, Brantingham Attendance: 484 Referee: Ieuan Davies

### Division 1 South

2017 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South Table :

| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Cornwall (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 53 | 82 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Gloucestershire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 130 | 70 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Kent | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 56 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | Hertfordshire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 93 | 76 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | Surrey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 108 | -65 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Devon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 139 | -96 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.Updated: 20 May 2017 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. Notes ↑ 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. |||||||||||||||

**Round 1**

* 6 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Gloucestershire | 55 - 12 | Devon |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* The Hayfields, Mangotsfield Attendance: 150 Referee: James Clarke
* 6 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Kent | 12 - 19 | Hertfordshire |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Broad Way, Kidbrooke, London Attendance: 452 Referee: Gareth Holsgrove
* 6 May 2017 15:00

| Surrey | 14 - 34 | Cornwall (BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Athletic Ground, Richmond, London Attendance: 643 Referee: Neil Chivers

**Round 2**

* 13 May 2017 15:00

| Devon | 11 - 56 | Cornwall (BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Cross-in-Hand, Ivybridge Attendance: 1,025 Referee: Robert Bourke
* 13 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Hertfordshire | 46 - 19 | Gloucestershire |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Highfields, Ware Attendance: 450 Referee: Philip Davies
* 13 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Surrey | 17 - 18 | Kent |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* The Big Field, Dorking Attendance: 231 Referee: Calum Howard

**Round 3**

* 20 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Cornwall | 45 - 28 | Hertfordshire (BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Recreation Ground, Camborne Attendance: 3,525 Referee: Ben Russell
* 20 May 2017 15:00

| Devon | 20 - 28 | Kent (BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Pottington Road, Barnstaple Attendance: 412 Referee: Kevin Williams
* 20 May 2017 15:00

| (BP) Gloucestershire | 56 - 12 | Surrey |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | |

* Regentsholm, Lydney Attendance: 200 Referee: James Milliner

## Final

* 28 May 2017 12:00

| Lancashire | 19 - 8 | Cornwall |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Bingham, Burtonwood, Armstrong Con: Johnson (2) | Report | Try: Jones Pen: Shepherd |

* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Ben Blain

| 15 | Lewis Allen | Preston Grasshoppers |
| - | - | - |
| 14 | Scott Armstrong | Fylde |
| 13 | Chris Briers | Fylde |
| 12 | Scott Rawlings | Sale FC |
| 11 | Anthony Bingham | Fylde |
| 10 | Chris Johnson | Sale FC |
| 9 | Sam Stelmaszek | Fylde |
| 1 | Dan Birchall | Fylde |
| 2 | Tom Burtonwood | Fylde |
| 3 | Adam Lewis | Fylde |
| 4 | Bob Birtwell | Sedgley Park |
| 5 | Reece Tomlinson | Rossendale |
| 6 | Mark Goodwin | Sedgley Park |
| 7 | Evan Stewart (capt) | Fylde |
| 8 | Tom Ailes | Sale FC |
| Replacements: ||
| 16 | Peter Altham | Preston Grasshoppers |
| 17 | Johnny Matthews | Sedgley Park |
| 18 | Simon Griffiths | Fylde |
| 19 | Greg Smith | Fylde |
| 20 | Connor Wilkinson | Fylde |
| 21 | Rhys Davies | Sale FC |
| 22 | Steve Collins | Sedgley Park |
| 23 | Ciaran Connolly | Sale FC |
| 15 | Matthew Shepherd | Plymouth Albion |
| 14 | Seti Raumakita | Plymouth Albion |
| 13 | Robin Wedlake | Plymouth Albion |
| 12 | Jake Murphy (capt) | Barnstaple |
| 11 | Tom Notman | Redruth |
| 10 | Jake Elderkin | Redruth |
| 9 | Jack Oulton | Redruth |
| 1 | Tommy Phillips | Redruth |
| 2 | Richard Brown | Redruth |
| 3 | Craig Williams | Redruth |
| 4 | Tony Whittle | Camborne |
| 5 | Bryn Jenkins | Barnstaple |
| 6 | George Jones | Penryn |
| 7 | Sam Matavesi | Camborne |
| 8 | Grant Randlesome | Penryn |
| Replacements: ||
| 16 | Matt Ballard | Wadebridge Camels |
| 17 | Dan Collier | Plymouth Albion |
| 18 | Jack Simmons | Camborne |
| 19 | Andrius Zacharovas | Camborne |
| 20 | Chris Fuca | Redruth |
| 22 | David Mankee | Camborne |
| 23 | Barrie-John Chapman | Redruth |

## 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 | 2 | 775 | 388 | 450 | 325 | 11% |
| Cornwall | 1 | 3,525 | 3,525 | 3,525 | 3,525 | 50% |
| Devon | 2 | 1,437 | 719 | 1,025 | 412 | 21% |
| East Midlands | 1 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 12% |
| Eastern Counties | 2 | 614 | 307 | 314 | 300 | 28% |
| Gloucestershire | 2 | 350 | 175 | 200 | 150 | 13% |
| Hertfordshire | 1 | 450 | 450 | 450 | 450 | |
| Kent | 1 | 452 | 452 | 452 | 452 | |
| Lancashire | 1 | 545 | 545 | 545 | 545 | 6% |
| Northumberland | 1 | 256 | 256 | 256 | 256 | 21% |
| Surrey | 2 | 874 | 437 | 643 | 231 | 19% |
| Yorkshire | 2 | 920 | 460 | 484 | 436 | 31% |

## Individual statistics

* Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances will come first. Also 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 will also include final.
