The 2016 County Championship Shield was the 12th version of the annual English rugby union County Championship, organised by the 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 three pools - one pool with four teams, the others with three teams each, with the winner of each group plus the best runner-up going through to the semi-finals, and the winners of those games meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Due to competition changes for the 2017 season (more on this below) a number of teams in the division would be promoted to tier 2 for the following season, joining the 2015 Shield champions Leicestershire who had already been promoted at the start of this season.
After winning their respective pools and semi-final games, Staffordshire and Hampshire met in the final. In the end it was Hampshire who finished as the champions, defeating Staffordshire, 33–11.
Competition format The competition format consisted of three groups (one with four teams, two with three teams), based roughly on regional lines where possible. The four team group consisted of six games, with two teams playing two home games and the others one home game each, while the three team groups saw each team play one home game. The top side of each group automatically qualified for the semi-finals, as did the best group runner-up. The winners of the semi-finals met in the final at Twickenham Stadium held on 29 May 2016. Due to changes to the County Championship format for the 2017 competition, four teams from the division would end up being promoted to the tier 2 for the following season, based on performances in the Shield over the past couple of seasons.
Participating counties and ground locations
CountyStadium(s) CapacityCity/Area Berkshire Holme ParkN/ASonning, Reading, BerkshireBuckinghamshireOstler's FieldN/AAylesbury, BuckinghamshireCumbriaBower ParkN/AAspatria, CumbriaDorset & WiltsBallard's Ash Sports GroundN/AWootton Bassett, WiltshireEssexMemorial ParkThe New WildernessN/AN/ANewham, Greater LondonRedbridge, Greater LondonHampshireGosport Park N/AGosport, HampshireNotts, Lincs & DerbyshireEakring Road1,000Mansfield, NottinghamshireOxfordshireBodicote Park2,500 (250 seats)Banbury, OxfordshireStaffordshireEsterchem ParkN/ALeek, StaffordshireWarwickshireWebb Ellis Road4,000 (200 seats)Rugby, Warwickshire
Group stage
Pool 1 2016 County Championship Shield Pool 1 TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Buckinghamshire (Q) 3 2 1 0 99 72 27 2 0 12 2 Warwickshire (Q) 3 2 1 0 89 81 8 2 0 12 3 Essex 3 1 0 2 71 75 -4 1 1 6 4 Oxfordshire 3 0 0 3 78 109 -31 1 1 2If teams were level at any stage, tiebreakers were 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 Shield semi finals. Updated: 14 May 2016Source: Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Pool 2 2016 County Championship Shield Pool 2 TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Staffordshire (Q) 2 2 0 0 68 51 17 1 0 9 2 Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire 2 1 0 1 52 50 2 1 0 5 3 Cumbria 2 0 0 2 63 83 -20 2 0 2If teams were level at any stage, tiebreakers were 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 Shield semi finals. Updated: 14 May 2016Source: Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Pool 3 2016 County Championship Shield Pool 3 TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Hampshire (Q) 2 2 0 0 90 13 77 2 0 10 2 Berkshire 2 1 0 1 35 60 -25 1 0 5 2 Dorset & Wilts 2 0 0 2 27 79 -52 0 0 0If teams were level at any stage, tiebreakers were 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 Shield semi finals. Updated: 14 May 2016Source: Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Knock-out Stage
Semi-finals
Final
See also English rugby union system Rugby union in England
References
External links NCA Rugby