2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3

Last updated
2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3
CountriesFlag of England.svg  England
Date4 May 2019 – 8 June 2019
Champions Cumbria (1st title)
Runners-up Dorset & Wilts
Top point scorer Flag of England.svg Mark Ireland (Cumbria)
57 points
Top try scorer Flag of England.svg Ross Williams
(Dorset & Wilts)
5 tries
←  2018
2020  →

The Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3 was the 15th version of the competition that is part of the annual English rugby union County Championship, organised by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for the tier 3 English counties. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the fifth tier and below of the English rugby union league system. The counties were divided into two regional pools (north/south) with the winners of each pool meeting in the final at Twickenham Stadium, London.

Contents

At the end of the group stage, Cumbria won three out of three to stop Pool 1 ahead of Oxfordshire, who they defeated in the final game, while Dorset & Wilts made their second successive final by also winning all three of their games. In the Twickenham final it was Cumbria who emerged victorious, defeating Dorset & Wilts convincingly, 23-13, with tournament top scorer, Mark Ireland, kicking 13 of their points. [1] For Cumbria it was their first Division 3 title in three attempts and first county championship silverware since 1997, while Dorset & Wilts failed to retain their title and make it a fourth win in the competition.

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. The shield competition has increased from six to eight teams as two counties, Middlesex and Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire, have returned to the county championships after an absence of several years. [2] [3] At the end of the pool stage the top teams with the best record from each pool advance to the final held on 26 May 2019 which will once more be held back at Twickenham Stadium in London, having been held at the Athletic Ground in nearby Richmond the previous season.

Promotion occurs every two seasons, with accumulated points taken into consideration. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Essex and Sussex were promoted to tier 2 with Cumbria and North Midlands dropping down to replace them in tier 3. [4] [5] [6] There will now be no promotion until the end of the 2020 competition.

Participating counties and ground locations

Group stage

Division 3 North

2019 Bill Beaumont Division 3 North Table
CountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints
1 Cumbria (Q)33009756411013
2 Oxfordshire 3201724626109
3 Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire 31027092-22217
4 North Midlands 300361106-45112
  • 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: 18 May 2019
Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.

Round 1

4 May 2019
15:00
North Midlands21 – 30Cumbria
North Midlands
Cumbria
Finstall Park, Bromsgrove
4 May 2019
15:00
Oxfordshire19 – 12Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire (1 BP)
Oxfordshire
NLD
Marston Ferry Road, Oxford

[9] [10]

Round 2

11 May 2019
15:00
(1 BP) Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire25 – 41Cumbria (1 BP)
NLD
Cumbria
The Rugby Ground, Newark-on-Trent
11 May 2019
15:00
(1 BP) Oxfordshire43 – 8North Midlands
Oxfordshire
North Midlands
Marston Ferry Road, Oxford

[9] [11]

Round 3

18 May 2019
15:00
Cumbria26 – 10Oxfordshire
Cumbria
Oxfordshire
Bower Park, Aspatria
18 May 2019
15:00
(2 BP) North Midlands32 – 33Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire (1 BP)
North Midlands
NLD
Wassell Grove, Hagley

[9] [12]

Division 3 South

2019 Bill Beaumont Division 3 South Table
CountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints
1 Dorset & Wilts (Q)330014563822014
2 Berkshire 320113790473011
3 Middlesex 31025658-2116
4 Buckinghamshire 300331158-127000
  • 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: 18 May 2019
Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.

Round 1

4 May 2019
14:30
Buckinghamshire10 – 26Middlesex (1 BP)
Middlesex
Ostler's Field, Weston Turville
4 May 2019
15:00
(1 BP) Dorset & Wilts57 – 45Berkshire (1 BP)
Dorset & Wilts
Slaughtergate, Gillingham

[13] [10]

Round 2

11 May 2019
14:30
(1 BP) Dorset & Wilts68 – 0Buckinghamshire
Dorset & Wilts
The Sports Club, Devizes
11 May 2019
15:00
(1 BP) Berkshire28 – 12Middlesex
Middlesex
Holme Park, Sonning

[13] [11]

Round 3

18 May 2019
14:30
Buckinghamshire21 – 64Berkshire (1 BP)
Ostler's Field, Weston Turville
18 May 2019
15:00
(1 BP) Middlesex18 – 20Dorset & Wilts
Dorset & Wilts
MacFarlane Lane, Isleworth, London

[13] [12]

Final

8 June 2019
11:00
Cumbria23 – 13Dorset & Wilts
Twickenham Stadium, London

[1]

Individual statistics

Competition records

Notes

    See also

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NO SECOND TITLE". Sports Independent. The Independent. 9 June 2019. p. 37.
    2. ↑ "NLD SENIOR XV". NLD RFU. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    3. ↑ "TEAM MIDDLESEX". Middlesex Rugby. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    4. ↑ "County events schedule". Essex RFU (Pitchero). Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    5. ↑ "County Championships". Sussex Rugby (Pitchero). Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    6. ↑ "County Championship draws made". North Midlands RFU. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    7. ↑ "County Championship venues confirmed". North Midlands RFU. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    8. ↑ "Venue change for County Championship match". North Midlands RFU. 16 April 2019.
    9. 1 2 3 "Bill Beaumont Division 3 - Pool 1". England Rugby. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 555. Rugby Paper Ltd. 5 May 2019. pp. 28–30.
    11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 556. Rugby Paper Ltd. 12 May 2019. pp. 22–23 & 26.
    12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 557. Rugby Paper Ltd. 19 May 2019. pp. 22–23 & 26.
    13. 1 2 3 "Bill Beaumont Division 3 - Pool 2". England Rugby. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
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