2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1

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
Date	6 May 2017 - 28 May 2017
Champions	Lancashire (24th title)
Runners-up	Cornwall
Matches played	19
Attendance	27,548 (average 1,450 per match)
Highest attendance	7,000 Lancashire v Cornwall on 28 May 2017
Lowest attendance	150 Gloucestershire v Devon on 6 May 2017
Tries scored	149 (average 7.8 per match)
Top point scorer	Sam Goatley (Gloucestershire) / Calum Irvine (Yorkshire) 35
Top try scorer	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

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

County Stadium(s) Capacity City/Area Cheshire Paton Field Heywood Road 4,000 3,387 Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside Sale, Greater Manchester Cornwall Recreation Ground 7,000 (780 seats) Camborne, Cornwall Devon Cross-in-Hand Pottington Road N/A 2,000 (600 seats) Ivybridge, Devon Barnstaple, Devon East Midlands Dillingham Park 3,000 Ampthill, Bedfordshire Eastern Counties Grantchester Road University Football Ground 2,200 (200 seats) 1,500 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Gloucestershire The Hayfields Regentsholm N/A 1,500 Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire Lydney, Gloucestershire Hertfordshire Highfields N/A Ware, Hertfordshire Kent Broad Walk N/A Kidbrooke, London Lancashire Woodlands Memorial Ground 9,000 Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire Northumberland Greensfield 1,200 (200 in stand) Alnwick, Northumberland Surrey Athletic Ground The Big Field 4,500 (1,000 seats) 1,500 Richmond, London Dorking, Surrey Yorkshire Lockwood Park Brantingham Park 1,500 (500 seats) 1,500 (240 seats) Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Brantingham, East Riding of Yorkshire

Thurstaston (Cheshire) Sale (Cheshire) Camborne (Cornwall) Ivybridge (Devon) Barnstaple (Devon) Ampthill (East Midlands) Cambridge (Eastern Counties) Mangotsfield (Gloucestershire) Lydney (Gloucestershire) Ware (Hertfordshire) Kidbrooke (Kent) Lytham St. Annes (Lancashire) Alnwick (Northumberland) Richmond (Surrey) Dorking (Surrey) Huddersfield (Yorkshire) Brantingham (Yorkshire) class=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017 Division 1 county teams

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

^[8]

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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

^[9]

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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

^[10]

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 [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: 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. [11] [12]

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

^[8]

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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

^[9]

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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

^[10]

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

^[7]

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	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

• 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 Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points 1 Sam Goatley Gloucestershire Cinderford 3 35 Calum Irvine Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 35 2 Tom Banks Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford 3 28 David Mankee Cornwall Camborne 3 28 3 Tom Stradwick Kent Blackheath 3 25 [8] [9] [10] [7]

Top try scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries 1 Sam Goatley Gloucestershire Cinderford 4 7 2 Tom Stradwick Kent Blackheath 3 5 3 Scott Armstrong Lancashire Fylde 4 4 Lewis Minikin Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 4 Pete Swatkins Yorkshire Sheffield Tigers 3 4 [8] [9] [10] [7]

Competition records

Team Largest home win — 46 points 61 - 15 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Largest away win — 45 points 56 - 11 Cornwall away to Devon on 13 May 2017 Most points scored — 61 points 61 - 15 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Most tries in a match — 9 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Most conversions in a match — 8 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Most penalties in a match — 3 Yorkshire at home to Cheshire on 6 May 2017 Most drop goals in a match — 0 Player Most points in a match — 20 Sam Goatley for Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017 Most tries in a match — 4 Sam Goatley for Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017 Most conversions in a match — 5 (x3) Calum Irvine for Yorkshire at home to Northumberland on 20 May 2017 James Moffat for Gloucestershire at home to Surrey on 20 May 2017 Matthew Shepherd for Cornwall at home to Hertfordshire on 20 May 2017 Most penalties in a match — 3 Calum Irvine for Yorkshire at home to Cheshire on 6 May 2017 Most drop goals in a match — 0

Attendances Highest — 3,525 Cornwall at home to Hertfordshire on 13 May 2017 Lowest — 150 Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017 Highest Average Attendance — 3,525 Cornwall Lowest Average Attendance — 150 Gloucestershire

See also

• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

References

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. "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. "LANCASHIRE WIN BILL BEAUMONT COUNTY CHAMPS FINAL". England RFU. 28 May 2017.
8. "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 451. Rugby Paper Ltd. 7 May 2017. pp. 30–31 & 34.
9. "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 452. Rugby Paper Ltd. 14 May 2017. pp. 30–31.
10. "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.

External links

• NCA Rugby Archived 2015-07-01 at the Wayback Machine