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2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1

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For the second tier of the English Counties competition, see 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2. For the third tier of the English Counties competition, see 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3.
2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1
Countries England
Date6 May 2017 - 28 May 2017
ChampionsLancashire (24th title)
Runners-upCornwall
Matches played19
Attendance27,548
(average 1,450 per match)
Highest attendance7,000
Lancashire v Cornwall on 28 May 2017
Lowest attendance150
Gloucestershire v Devon on 6 May 2017
Tries scored149
(average 7.8 per match)
Top point scorerEngland Sam Goatley (Gloucestershire) / England Calum Irvine (Yorkshire) 35
Top try scorerEngland Sam Goatley (Gloucestershire) 7
← 2016
2018 →

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.[1] 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.[2][3]

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.[4][5][6]

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.[7]

Competition format

[edit]

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.[4]

Participating Counties and ground locations

[edit]

Group stage

[edit]

Division 1 North

[edit]
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:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. 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

[edit]
6 May 2017
14:15
(BP) Eastern Counties21 - 24East Midlands (BP)
Report
Grantchester Road, Cambridge
Attendance: 300
Referee: Jack Sutton
6 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Lancashire48 - 28Northumberland (BP)
Report
Woodlands Memorial Ground, Lytham St. Annes
Attendance: 545
Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts
6 May 2017
15:00
Yorkshire26 - 17Cheshire
Report
Lockwood Park, Huddersfield
Attendance: 436
Referee: Andrew Wigley

[8]

Round 2

[edit]
13 May 2017
14:15
Eastern Counties15 - 38Lancashire (BP)
Report
University Football Ground, Cambridge
Attendance: 314
Referee: Neil Chivers
13 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Cheshire32 - 24East Midlands
Report
Paton Field, Thurstaston
Attendance: 325
Referee: Matt Turvey
13 May 2017
15:00
Northumberland22 - 34Yorkshire (BP)
Greensfield, Alnwick
Attendance: 256
Referee: Ieuan Davies

[9]

Round 3

[edit]
20 May 2017
15:00
Cheshire5 - 29Lancashire (BP)
Heywood Park, Sale
Attendance: 450
Referee: Andrew Wrigley
20 May 2017
15:00
(BP) East Midlands36 - 14Northumberland
Report
Dillingham Park, Ampthill
Attendance: 350
Referee: Claire Hodnett
20 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Yorkshire61 - 15Eastern Counties
Brantingham Park, Brantingham
Attendance: 484
Referee: Ieuan Davies

[10]

Division 1 South

[edit]
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[a 1]
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:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. 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
  1. ^ *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.[11][12]

Round 1

[edit]
6 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Gloucestershire55 - 12Devon
Report
The Hayfields, Mangotsfield
Attendance: 150
Referee: James Clarke
6 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Kent12 - 19Hertfordshire
Report
Broad Way, Kidbrooke, London
Attendance: 452
Referee: Gareth Holsgrove
6 May 2017
15:00
Surrey14 - 34Cornwall (BP)
Report
Athletic Ground, Richmond, London
Attendance: 643
Referee: Neil Chivers

[8]

Round 2

[edit]
13 May 2017
15:00
Devon11 - 56Cornwall (BP)
Report
Cross-in-Hand, Ivybridge
Attendance: 1,025
Referee: Robert Bourke
13 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Hertfordshire46 - 19Gloucestershire
Report
Highfields, Ware
Attendance: 450
Referee: Philip Davies
13 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Surrey17 - 18Kent
Report
The Big Field, Dorking
Attendance: 231
Referee: Calum Howard

[9]

Round 3

[edit]
20 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Cornwall45 - 28Hertfordshire (BP)
Report
Recreation Ground, Camborne
Attendance: 3,525
Referee: Ben Russell
20 May 2017
15:00
Devon20 - 28Kent (BP)
Pottington Road, Barnstaple
Attendance: 412
Referee: Kevin Williams
20 May 2017
15:00
(BP) Gloucestershire56 - 12Surrey
Report
Regentsholm, Lydney
Attendance: 200
Referee: James Milliner

[10]

Final

[edit]
28 May 2017
12:00
Lancashire19–8Cornwall
Try: Bingham, Burtonwood, Armstrong
Con: Johnson (2)		ReportTry: 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

[7]

Total season attendances

[edit]
  • 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 17%
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 15%
Yorkshire 2 920 460 484 436 31%

[8][9][10]

Individual statistics

[edit]
  • 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.

Competition records

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "County Championships renamed to honour rugby legends". England Rugby. 27 March 2017.
  2. ^ "County Championship final 2016: Cornwall beat Cheshire to retain title at Twickenham". BBC Sport. 29 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Cornwall win back to back Twickenham triumphs". Plymouth Herald. 29 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b "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.
  5. ^ "Rugby: Bedfordshire players inspire East Midlands to Twickenham triumph". Bedfordshire News. 29 May 2016.
  6. ^ "East Midlands win County Champs Division 2 Plate". England Rugby. 29 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d "LANCASHIRE WIN BILL BEAUMONT COUNTY CHAMPS FINAL". England RFU. 28 May 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 451. Rugby Paper Ltd. 7 May 2017. pp. 30–31 & 34.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 452. Rugby Paper Ltd. 14 May 2017. pp. 30–31.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 453. Rugby Paper Ltd. 21 May 2017. pp. 24–25 & 30.
  11. ^ "Gloucestershire back in the race for Twickenham". Camborne RFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Herts points deduction halved". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
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