2015 County Championship Plate

2015 County Championship Plate
Countries  England
Date 15 May 2016 - 31 May 2015
Champions Surrey (1st title)
Runners-up Eastern Counties
Attendance 2,310 (average 247 per match)
Highest attendance 640 Devon v North Midlands (16 May 2015)
Lowest attendance 112 North Midlands v Surrey (9 May 2015)
Top point scorer EnglandMatt Noble
Surrey 39
Top try scorer EnglandRyan Jeffrey
Surrey 6
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2016 →

The 2015 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 14th version of the annual English rugby union, County Championship organized 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 South or National League 2 North). The counties were divided into two regional pools (north/south) with three teams in the north division and four in the south, with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the division included North Midlands and Northumberland who were demoted from the 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup while Surrey came up from the 2014 County Championship Shield having beaten Leicestershire the previous year in the Shield final having won the competition three years in a row.[1][2][3][4]

At the end of the group stage the northern division was won by Eastern Counties who edged out Northumberland while the southern division was won with ease by Surrey who steamrolled through their group. The counties went through to the final and as group winners will be promoted to the top tier with Surrey making it two promotions in a row. Surrey then defeated Eastern Counties in the early kickoff at Twickenham Stadium, winning 17 – 3, in what was their fourth consecutive Twickenham appearance.[5] In terms of individual player performances the top try scorer was Surrey's Ryan Jeffrey who got six tries in the tournament – all coming in the one game against North Midlands.

Competition format

The competition format was two regional group stages divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. In the north group each team played one home game (there were three teams in the group) while in the south group, two teams in the group had two home games, while the other two had just the one. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 31 May 2015,[6] with both teams also being promoted to the top tier for the following season. Typically there was no relegation although teams have dropped out of the division in the past.

Participating counties and ground locations

Brixham (Devon)
Okehampton (Devon)
Cambridge (Eastern Counties)
Bedford (East Midlands)
Stourbridge (North Midlands)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Northumberland)
Taunton (Somerset)
Sunbury-on-Thames (Surrey)
Locations of the 2015 County Championship Plate county teams
County Stadium(s) Capacity City/Area
East Midlands Putnoe Woods 500 Bedford, Bedfordshire
Eastern Counties University Football Ground 1,000 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Devon Astley Park
Oaklands Park		 N/A
500 (120 seats)		 Brixham, Devon
Okehampton, Devon
North Midlands Stourton Park 3,500 (499 seats) Stourbridge, West Midlands
Northumberland Kingston Park 10,200 Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Somerset Hyde Park 2,000 Taunton, Somerset
Surrey Hazelwood N/A Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey

Group stage

Division 2 North

2015 County Championship Plate Division 2 North Table
County Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Eastern Counties (P) 2 2 0 0 64 37 27 1 0 9
2 Northumberland 2 1 0 1 55 36 19 1 1 6
3 East Midlands 2 0 0 2 28 74 −46 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 and is also promoted to the Division 1 North of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 13 May 2015
Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. 

Round 1

9 May 2015
15:00
East Midlands 10–36 Northumberland (BP)
Report
Putnoe Woods, Bedford
Attendance: 152
Referee: Robbie Bourke

[7][8]

Round 2

16 May 2015
15:00
(BP) Eastern Counties 38–18 East Midlands
Report
University Football Ground, Cambridge
Attendance: 250
Referee: Veryan Boscawen

[9][8]

Round 3

23 May 2015
15:00
(BP) Northumberland 19–26 Eastern Counties
Report
Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
Attendance: 258
Referee: Mick Harris

[10][8]

Division 2 South

2015 County Championship Plate Division 2 South Table
County Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Surrey (P) 3 3 0 0 152 81 71 3 0 15
2 North Midlands 3 2 0 1 99 103 −4 2 0 10
3 Somerset 3 1 0 2 86 138 −52 2 0 6
4 Devon 3 0 0 3 86 101 −13 2 2 4
  • 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 and is also promoted to the Division 1 South of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 13 May 2015
Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. 

Round 1

9 May 2015
15:00
North Midlands 17–60 Surrey (BP)
Report
Stourton Park, Stourbridge
Attendance: 112
Referee: Chris Bennett
9 May 2015
15:00
(BP) Somerset 34–31 Devon (2BP)
Report
Hyde Park, Taunton
Attendance: 203
Referee: Phil Davies

[7][8]

Round 2

16 May 2015
15:00
(BP) Devon 24–34 North Midlands (BP)
Report
Astley Park, Brixham
Attendance: 640
Referee: Benedict Wiles
16 May 2015
15:00
(BP) Surrey 59–33 Somerset (BP)
Report
Hazelwood, Sunbury-on-Thames
Attendance: 278
Referee: John Scully

[9][8]

Round 3

23 May 2015
15:00
(BP) Devon 31–33 Surrey (BP)
Report
Oaklands Park, Okehampton
Attendance: 242
Referee: Adam Leal
23 May 2015
15:00
(BP) North Midlands 48–19 Somerset
Stourton Park, Stourbridge
Attendance: 175
Referee: Alex Thomas

[10][8]

Final

31 May 2015
10:00
Surrey 17–3 Eastern Counties
Report
Twickenham Stadium, London

[8]

Total season attendances

County Home
Games		 Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity
Devon 2 882 441 640 242 48%
Eastern Counties 1 250 250 250 250 15%
East Midlands 1 152 152 152 152
North Midlands 2 287 144 175 112 4%
Northumberland 1 258 258 258 258 3%
Somerset 1 203 203 203 203 10%
Surrey 1 278 278 278 278

Individual statistics

Top points scorers

Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points
1 England Matt Noble Surrey Dorking 4 39
2 England Joe Simmons Devon Teignmouth 3 36
3 England Ryan Jeffrey Surrey Dorking 1 30
4 England Joe Hall Somerset Cleve 3 26
5 England James Stokes Eastern Counties Cambridge 3 22

Top try scorers

Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries
1 England Ryan Jeffrey Surrey Dorking 1 6
2 England Will Crow Surrey Dorking 3 3
England Tom Goodman Devon Brixham 3 3
England Sam Montieri North Midlands Bromsgrove 3 3
5 England Mike Terelak Surrey Dorking 4 3

See also

References

  1. ↑ "North Midlands relegated". North Midlands RFU. 24 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Northumberland 22 Yorkshire 36: Relegation blow for beaten North". Chronicle Live. 25 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Surrey make it three County Championship Shield titles in a row at Twickenham". Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser. 1 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Surrey Enters The Bill Beaumont Cup". Surrey Rugby. 30 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Super Surrey call Twickenham their home once again". Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser. 31 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "ENGLAND V BARBARIANS SUNDAY 31 MAY 2015 K.O. 3pm". Tunbridge Wells RFC. 21 January 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (347). Rugby Paper Ltd. 10 May 2015. pp. 32–33 & 36.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "County Championships Results: 2015". englandrugby.com. 31 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (38). Rugby Paper Ltd. 17 May 2015. pp. 28–30.
  10. 1 2 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (349). Rugby Paper Ltd. 24 May 2015. pp. 24–26.
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