2016 Bill Beaumont Cup
The 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division One, was the 116th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organized by the 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 pools with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the competition were the two finalists from the 2015 County Championship Plate – Surrey (winners) and Eastern Counties (runners-up) who replaced Kent and Durham who were relegated from their respective groups.[1][2][3] Cornwall were the defending champions.[4]
| 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup (County Championship) | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  England |
| Date | 7 May 2016 - 29 May 2016 |
| Champions | Cornwall (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Cheshire |
| Relegated | Yorkshire, Surrey |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Attendance | 13,563 (average 1,043 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 3,125 Cornwall v Surrey (21 May 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 200 Surrey v Gloucestershire (4 May 2016) |
| Top point scorer | Jack Lavin Cheshire 49 |
| Top try scorer | Sam Baker Gloucestershire 5 |
The two pool winners, Cheshire (north) and holders Cornwall met in the final. Cheshire had beaten 2015's runners up, Lancashire, in the pool stage, but came up short against a Cornish side managed once more by Graham Dawe who had lost his job at Plymouth Albion at the end of the season. The bulk of his team were Albion players, and they beat Cheshire, 35-13, to retain their title, with Matthew Shepherd having another good final by getting 20 of Cornwall's points including a last minute try.[5][6] Due to changes to the County Championship format for the 2017 competition, no teams would be relegated to the second tier of the county championships for the following season.[7]
Competition format
The competition format is two regional group stages divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. This means that two teams in the pool have two home games, while the other two had just one. The top side in each group goes through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Unlike previous seasons, due to changes to the following seasons championships there would be no relegation.[7]
Participating Counties and ground locations
Chester (Cheshire)
Sale (Cheshire)
Redruth (Cornwall)
Camborne (Cornwall)
Cambridge (Eastern Counties)
Bristol (Gloucestershire)
Bishop's Stortford (Hertfordshire)
St Albans (Hertfordshire)
Whitefield (Lancashire)
Sunbury-on-Thames (Surrey)
Scarborough (Yorkshire)
Locations of the 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup county teams
| County | Stadium(s) | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | Hare Lane Heywood Road |
2,000 5,400 |
Chester, Cheshire Sale, Greater Manchester |
| Cornwall | The Recreation Ground Recreation Ground |
3,500 (580 seats) 7,000 (780 seats) |
Redruth, Cornwall Camborne, Cornwall |
| Eastern Counties | University Football Ground | 1,000 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire |
| Gloucestershire | Station Road | 2,500 (400 seats) | Cribbs Causeway, Patchway, Bristol |
| Hertfordshire | Woollam Playing Fields Silver Leys |
1,000 1,600 |
St Albans, Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire |
| Lancashire | Woodlands Memorial Ground Park Lane |
9,000 3,000 |
Lytham St Annes, Lancashire Whitefield, Greater Manchester |
| Surrey | Hazelwood | N/A | Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey |
| Yorkshire | Silver Royd | 1,950 (322 seats) | Scalby, North Yorkshire |
Group stage
Division 1 North
| |||||||||||||||||
| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheshire (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 29 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 14 | ||||||
| 2 | Lancashire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 64 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||||||
| 3 | Eastern Counties | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 98 | -32 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||||||
| 4 | Yorkshire | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 114 | -47 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background means the county qualified for the final. Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 North of the County Championship Plate for the following season. Updated: 21 May 2016 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||
Round 1
7 May 2016 15:00 |
| (BP) Cheshire | 29 - 11 | Eastern Counties |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Hare Lane, Chester Attendance: 300 Referee: Matthew Turvey |
Round 2
14 May 2016 15:00 |
| (BP) Cheshire | 29 - 7 | Yorkshire |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Heywood Road, Sale Attendance: 523 Referee: Claire Hodnett |
14 May 2016 15:00 |
| (BP) Lancashire | 36 - 10 | Eastern Counties |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Counties Lancashire |
Woodlands Memorial Ground, Lytham St Annes Attendance: 719 Referee: Will Halford |
Round 3
21 May 2016 15:00 |
| (BP) Eastern Counties | 45 - 33 | Yorkshire (BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
University Football Ground, Cambridge Attendance: 250 Referee: Callum Howard |
21 May 2016 15:00 |
| Lancashire | 11 - 27 | Cheshire |
|---|---|---|
Park Lane, Whitefield Attendance: 500 Referee: Jamie Leahy |
Division 1 South
| |||||||||||||||||
| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwall (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 56 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 14 | ||||||
| 2 | Hertfordshire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 56 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||||||
| 3 | Gloucestershire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 78 | -8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| 4 | Surrey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 64 | 101 | -37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background means the county qualified for the final. Pink background means the county were en demoted to Division 2 South of the County Championship Plate for the following season. Updated: 21 May 2016 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||
Round 1
7 May 2016 15:00 |
| Cornwall | 33 - 27 | Gloucestershire (BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
The Recreation Ground, Redruth Attendance: 1,850 Referee: Callum Howard |
7 May 2016 15:00 |
| (BP) Hertfordshire | 31 - 28 | Surrey (BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Woollam Playing Fields, St Albans Attendance: 490 Referee: David Clarkson |
Final
29 May 2016 |
| Cornwall | 35 - 13 (HT 18-10) | Cheshire |
|---|---|---|
Try: Searle, Matavesi, Stupple, Shepherd  Con: Shepherd (3) Pen: Shepherd (3) |
Report | Try: Millea Con: Lavin Pen: Lavin (2) |
Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Jamie Leahy |
|
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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 | 823 | 412 | 523 | 300 | 12% |
| Cornwall | 2 | 4,975 | 2,488 | 3,125 | 1,850 | 49% |
| Eastern Counties | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 25% |
| Gloucestershire | 1 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 14% |
| Hertfordshire | 2 | 850 | 425 | 490 | 360 | 36% |
| Lancashire | 2 | 1,219 | 610 | 719 | 500 | 12% |
| Surrey | 1 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | |
| Yorkshire | 1 | 1,896 | 1,896 | 1,896 | 1,896 | 97% |
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.
Top points scorers
|
Top try scorers
|
References
- "Super Surrey call Twickenham their home once again". Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser. 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- "RUGBY: Gloucestershire survive relegation with vital win over Kent". Gazette. 26 May 2015.
- "Counties beaten as Durham relegated and Northumberland miss out". Chronicle Live. 24 May 2015.
- "Cornwall win County Championship with superb win over Lancashire". West Briton. 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
- "County Championship final 2016: Cornwall beat Cheshire to retain title at Twickenham". BBC Sport. 29 May 2016.
- "Cornwall win back to back Twickenham triumphs". Plymouth Herald. 29 May 2016.
- "Full Men's County Championship fixture list 2016-17" (PDF). England Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (399). Rugby Paper Ltd. 8 May 2016. pp. 28–29 & 34.
- "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (400). Rugby Paper Ltd. 15 May 2016. pp. 30–31 & 36.
- "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (401). Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 May 2016. pp. 30–31 & 32.
External links
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