2016 Bill Beaumont Cup

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 England Jack Lavin
Cheshire 49
Top try scorer England Sam Baker
Gloucestershire 5
← 2015
2017 →

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]

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)
Lytham St Annes (Lancashire)
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		 12,000
9,000		 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
Parklane		 9,000
3,000		 Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
Whitefield, Greater Manchester
Surrey Hazelwood N/A Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
Yorkshire Silver Royd 1,950 Scarborough, North Yorkshire

Group stage

Division 1 North

2016 Beaumont Cup Division 1 North Table
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
  • 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. 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
7 May 2016
15:00
Yorkshire 27 - 40 Lancashire (BP)
Yorkshire
Lancashire
Silver Royd, Scarborough
Attendance: 1,896
Referee: Ben Blain

[8]

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

[9]

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

[10]

Division 1 South

2016 Beaumont Cup 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 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
  • 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. 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

[8]

Round 2

14 May 2016
14:00
Surrey 22 - 38 Gloucestershire (BP)
Report
Hazelwood, Sunbury-on-Thames
Attendance: 200
Referee: Robbie Bourke
14 May 2016
15:00
Hertfordshire 15 - 23 Cornwall
Report
Silver Leys, Bishop's Stortford
Attendance: 360
Referee: Luis Caviglia

[9]

Round 3

21 May 2016
14:15
Gloucestershire 5 - 23 Hertfordshire
Report
Station Road, Clifton, Bristol
Attendance: 350
Referee: Neil Chivers
21 May 2016
15:00
(BP) Cornwall 32 - 14 Surrey
Report
The Recreation Ground, Camborne
Attendance: 3,125
Referee: Veryan Boscawen

[10]

Final

29 May 2016
Cornwall 35 - 13 Cheshire
Report
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Jamie Leahy

[5][6]

Total season attendances

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 25%
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%

[8][9][10]

Individual statistics

Top points scorers

Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points
1 England Jack Lavin Cheshire Caldy 4 49
2 England Matthew Shepherd Cornwall Plymouth Albion 4 48
3 England Chris Johnson Lancashire Fylde 3 32
4 England Greg Lound Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 27
5 England Simon Horbeck Eastern Counties Shelford 3 26

[8][9][10][5][6]

Top try scorers

Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries
1 England Sam Baker Gloucestershire Cinderford 3 5
2 Fiji Sam Matavesi Cornwall Plymouth Albion 4 5
3 England Billy Searle Cornwall Plymouth Albion 3 4
4 England Jack Lavin Cheshire Caldy 4 3
5 England Matthew Noble Surrey Dorking 2 2

[8][9][10][5][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Super Surrey call Twickenham their home once again". Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser. 31 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "RUGBY: Gloucestershire survive relegation with vital win over Kent". Gazette. 26 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Counties beaten as Durham relegated and Northumberland miss out". Chronicle Live. 24 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Cornwall win County Championship with superb win over Lancashire". West Briton. 31 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "County Championship final 2016: Cornwall beat Cheshire to retain title at Twickenham". BBC Sport. 29 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Cornwall win back to back Twickenham triumphs". Plymouth Herald. 29 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Full Men's County Championship fixture list 2016-17" (PDF). England Rugby. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (399). Rugby Paper Ltd. 8 May 2016. pp. 28–29 & 34.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (400). Rugby Paper Ltd. 15 May 2016. pp. 30–31 & 36.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper (401). Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 May 2016. pp. 30–31 & 32.
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