2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2
# 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2

The 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 was the 18th version of the competition that is part of the annual English rugby union County Championship organised by the RFU for the tier 2 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 with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium.

At the end of the group stage, Leicestershire were dominant in Pool 1, winning all three games (albeit one which was a walkover), including an impressive win against a strong East Midlands side, while Surrey were equally impressive in topping Pool 2, also winning three out of three. In the final, Leicestershire finished as convincing winners with an emphatic 38 – 13 victory over Surrey, in what was their second division title in three years.

## Competition format

The competition format is two regional group stages divided into north and south with four teams in each group. This means that two teams in the pool had two home games, while the other two had just one. 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 2 June 2019 at Twickenham Stadium.

Promotion and relegation occurs every two seasons, with accumulated points taken into consideration. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Durham (north) and Hampshire (south) were promoted to Division 1, replacing East Midlands (north) and Surrey (south) who dropped down into Division 2. Cumbria and North Midlands were relegated into Division 3, being replaced by promoted sides, Essex and Sussex. There will now be no promotion or relegation until the end of the 2020 competition.

## Group stage

### Division 2 North

2019 Bill Beaumont Division 2 North Table :

| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Leicestershire (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 20 | 87 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | East Midlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 107 | 56 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Warwickshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 172 | -82 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Staffordshire | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 108 | -56 | 1 | 0 | -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 |||||||||||||||
| Green background means the county qualified for the final. Updated: 18 May 2019 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

**Round 1**

* 4 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) East Midlands | 42 – 27 | Warwickshire |
| - | - | - |
| | Warwickshire | |

* Waverley Road, Kettering Referee: Matthew Astle
* 4 May 2019 15:00

| Leicestershire | w/o | Staffordshire |
| - | - | - |

* Memorial Ground, Coaville
* The match was scratched and Leicestershire were awarded a five point win after Staffordshire could not raise a side; Staffordshire were also deducted five points.

**Round 2**

* 11 May 2019 15:00

| Staffordshire | 0 – 45 | East Midlands (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | East Midlands | |

* Cooke Fields, Lichfield
* 11 May 2019 15:00

| Warwickshire | 0 – 78 | Leicestershire (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Warwickshire | |

* Liberty Way, Nuneaton Referee: Peter Caunt

**Round 3**

* 18 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) Leicestershire | 29 – 20 | East Midlands |
| - | - | - |

* Vipers Ground, Whetstone
* 18 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) Staffordshire | 52 – 63 | Warwickshire (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Hartwell Lane, Barlaston

### Division 2 South

2019 Bill Beaumont Division 2 South Table :

| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Surrey (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 144 | 57 | 87 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Somerset | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 104 | 102 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Sussex | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 90 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Essex | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 138 | -89 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 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: 18 May 2019 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

**Round 1**

* 4 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) Surrey | 31 – 14 | Sussex |
| - | - | - |

* Molesey Road, Hersham
* 4 May 2019 15:15

| (1 BP) Essex | 27 – 24 | Somerset (2 BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Latton Park, Harlow

**Round 2**

* 11 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) Surrey | 46 – 24 | Somerset (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Molesey Road, Hersham
* 11 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) Sussex | 47 – 3 | Essex |
| - | - | - |
| | Sussex | |

* Roundstone Lane, Angmering

**Round 3**

* 18 May 2019 15:00

| Essex | 19 – 67 | Surrey (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Ilford Wanderers Sports Ground, Ilford, London
* 18 May 2019 15:00

| (1 BP) Somerset | 56 – 29 | Sussex (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |

* Commsplus Stadium, Taunton

## Final

* 8 June 2019 15:00

| Leicestershire | 38 – 13 | Surrey |
| - | - | - |

* Twickenham Stadium, London

## 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. Unfortunately due to poor press reporting the majority of scorers outside of the East Midlands, Leicestershire and Surrey teams are unknown.
