County Championship Shield
Current season, competition or edition: 2017 County Championship Shield | |
Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Founded | 2005 |
Inaugural season | 2005 |
No. of teams | 10 |
Country | England |
Most recent champion(s) | Oxfordshire (2017) (1st title) |
Most titles | Surrey (4) |
Related competitions | Bill Beaumont Cup, County Championship Plate |
The County Championship Shield is an annual rugby union competition in England between teams representing English counties. It was formed in 2005 when it known as the County Championship Plate[1] (a competition which is now played by tier 2 sides) - changing to its current name by 2010. It is contested by third tier teams in the RFU County Championship and involve three groups, one of four teams and two of three teams. From 2010 the County Championship Shield involves counties that are only able to select players from clubs at level five and below. The ten teams involved are divided roughly on geographic terms into three pools and play each other once either home or away, with the top teams in each pool progressing to the semi–finals.[2][3] There is no formal promotion and relegation between the County Championship Shield and the higher competition for the County Championship (Bill Beaumont Cup) and County Championship Plate but Surrey moved up into the higher competition from the 2014-15 season after winning the Shield three times in succession[4] and the 2014-15 champions, Leicestershire, have moved up to County Championship Plate level from the 2015-16 season.[5]
Past winners
Number of wins
- Surrey (4)
- Dorset & Wilts (2)
- Durham (2)
- Hampshire (2)
- Leicestershire (1)
- Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire (1)
References
- 1 2 "Surrey take County Championship Plate". ESPN. 29 May 2005.
- ↑ http://www.rfu.com/ManagingRugby/CompetitionsAndTournaments/CountyChampionships.aspx
- ↑ http://www.rfu.com/~/media/Files/2011/Fixtures_Results/201011%20CC%20RESULTS.ashx
- ↑ "Surrey Enters The Bill Beaumont Cup". Surrey Rugby. 30 April 2014.
- ↑ "Rugby: Leicestershire lift County Championship Shield after win over Cumbria at Twickenham". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ↑ "County Championship Plate Final 2005". englandrugby.com. 29 May 2005.
- ↑ "County Championship Plate Final 2006". englandrugby.com. 29 May 2006.
- ↑ "RUGBY: Lions man scores try at Twickenham". Portsmouth News. 30 May 2006.
- ↑ "County Championship Plate rugby final previews". Hartlepool Mail. 25 May 2007.
- ↑ "The 2007 County Championship Plate Final". Durham Rugby. 28 May 2007.
- ↑ "County Championship Plate Final 2008". englandrugby.com. 24 May 2008.
- ↑ "’Stoke men star in historic win". Basingstoke Gazette. 27 May 2008.
- ↑ "Durham v Kent RFU County Champianship". flickr.com. 30 May 2009.
- ↑ "County Championship Plate Final 2009". englandrugby.com. 30 May 2009.
- ↑ "County Chamionship Plate Final 2009 vs Kent". Durham Rugby. 30 May 2009.
- ↑ http://www.rfu.com/News/2010/May/News%20Articles/300510_dorset_county_shield.aspx?a=1&y=2010
- ↑ http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/9055062.Rugby__Dorset___Wilts_enjoy_Twickenham_triumph/
- ↑ "Dorset & Wilts claim Shield win". BBC News. 29 May 2011.
- ↑ "Leicester Aim for Shield Success". RFU. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ↑ "Surrey retain County Championship Shield". RFU. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ↑ "Surrey finish strongly to seal hat-trick". rfu.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ "Fixtures & Results County Championships". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- ↑ "Staffordshire beaten by Hampshire in County Shield final at Twickenham". Staffordshire Newsletter. 29 May 2016.
- ↑ "OXFORDSHIRE BECOME DIVISION THREE COUNTY CHAMPIONS". England Rugby. 28 May 2017.