The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 118th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organised by the Rugby Football Union (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 sections (each divided into two pools, for a total of four) with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Lancashire are the reigning champions having defeated Cornwall in the previous year's final.
Once again Lancashire finished as winners of the northern group stage with a 100% record to qualify for their second successive final, although group runners-up Yorkshire could feel aggrieved as they also had a 100% record, but lost out on points for/against. It showcased a real weakness in the new competition format as neither county had faced each other over the past two years, despite being the best sides in the northern group. Lancashire were joined by Hertfordshire who took advantage of a slip-up by Gloucestershire at Surrey to win the southern group and cement their place in the final - the county's first since 2012. By contrast last season's finalists Cornwall had a dire campaign, managing only one draw in their three games and finishing bottom of their group. Unlike Yorkshire, Cornwall can thank the RFU for the new format as promotion/relegation is over two seasons, saving Cornwall from the drop due to their excellent tournament the previous season.
In the Twickenham final Lancashire finished as deserving champions beating Hertfordshire 32-16, with 22 points coming from the boot Chris Johnson who also finished as the competition's top points scorer, while a try from his team-mate, Anthony Bingham, made him the top try scorer with 5 tries. It was the 25th cup win for a Lancashire side that has dominated the competition through its history. Relegated sides from the 2018 competition included East Midlands from the north and Surrey from the south. In Surrey's case they had actually looked safe, having finished a point clear of relegation rivals, Devon, but ultimately went down due to a 2 points deduction for fielding an ineligible player in their 15-15 draw with Cornwall earlier in the campaign. In East Midlands case they actually finished 3rd overall in the northern group competition over the two seasons but decided to take voluntary relegation due to difficulties in getting the top eligible clubs in their union to provide players for future competitions. Both East Midlands and Surrey will play in the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 next season.
Competition format
The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 consists of twelve county sides, with six counties in the northern group, and six in the southern group. Each county plays three games per group, which means that some counties get two home games, and the others just the one home game. 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. At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group (north and south) advance to the final held on 27 May 2018 at Twickenham Stadium.
A continuation from the 2017 competition is that promotion/relegation occurs every two seasons instead of one, with points accumulated over the two seasons (2017 and 2018) taken into consideration. The two lowest ranked counties (one from the north/one from the south) will be relegated into the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 competition, with the two highest aggregate ranked sides of that tournament being promoted to take their place.
Participating Counties and ground locations
CountyStadium(s) CapacityCity/Area CheshireHartsfield2,000Moreton, MerseysideCornwallThe Recreation GroundRecreation Ground3,500 (580 seats)7,000 (780 seats)Redruth, CornwallCamborne, CornwallDevonAstley Park1,800 (300 in stand)Brixham, DevonEast MidlandsDillingham ParkGoldington Road3,0006,000 (1,700 seats)Ampthill, BedfordshireBedford, BedfordshireEastern CountiesUniversity Football Ground1,500Cambridge, CambridgeshireGloucestershireRegentsholme 1,500 Lydney, GloucestershireHertfordshireRosedale Sports ClubSilver LeysN/A1,600Cheshunt, HertfordshireBishop's Stortford, HertfordshireKentGoddington DeneJack Williams Ground 3,200 (200 seats)N/AOrpington, LondonAylesford, KentLancashirePark LaneWoodlands Memorial Ground3,0009,000Whitefield, Greater ManchesterLytham St Annes, LancashireNorthumberlandPreston AvenueTynedale ParkN/A2,000 (400 seats)North Shields, Tyne and WearCorbridge, NorthumberlandSurreyMolesey Road 3,500 (1,200 seats)Hersham, SurreyYorkshireSilver Royd4,500 (425 seats) Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Group stage
Division 1 North
2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 North TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Lancashire (Q) 3 3 0 0 180 74 106 3 0 15 2 Yorkshire 3 3 0 0 99 72 27 3 0 15 3 Cheshire 3 1 0 2 91 122 -31 2 1 7 4 Eastern Counties 3 1 0 2 77 98 -21 1 1 6 5 Northumberland 3 1 0 2 76 114 -38 2 0 6 6 East Midlands (R) 3 0 0 3 55 98 -43 1 1 2If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are 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 final Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018Source:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Division 1 South
2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints differenceTry bonusLosing bonusPoints 1 Hertfordshire (Q) 3 2 0 1 138 52 86 3 1 12 2 Gloucestershire 3 2 0 1 80 68 12 2 1 11 3 Kent 3 2 0 1 72 101 -29 1 0 9 4 Devon 3 1 0 2 73 86 -13 2 1 7 5 Surrey (R) 3 1 1 1 43 48 -5 0 1 3 6 Cornwall 3 0 1 2 34 85 -51 0 1 3If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are 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 final. Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018Source: <noinclude>
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Final
15 Lewis Allen Rossendale14 Scott Armstrong Kirkby Lonsdale 13 Chris Mayor Sale FC 12 Scott Rawlings Longton 11 Anthony Bingham Sale FC 10 Chris Johnson Sale FC 9 Callum McShane Sedgley Park1 Dan Birchall Sale FC 2 Alex Loney Fylde3 Adam Lewis (capt) Fylde 4 Bob Birtwell Sedgley Park 5 Rhys Davies Sale FC 6 Evan Stewart Vale of Lune 7 Phil Mills Rossendale8 Tom Ailes Sale FCReplacements:16 Peter Altham Preston Grasshoppers 17 Danny Maher Sedgley Park 19 Reece Tomlinson Rossendale 20 Adam Aigbokhae Sale FC 21 Connor Wilkinson Fylde22 Scott Jordan Preston Grasshoppers23 Steve Collins Sedgley Park 15 Sean Taylor Hertford 14 Elliott Byfield Tring13 James Rea Bishop's Stortford 12 Richard Streets Hertford11 Sam Barnes Tring 10 Dan Watt Old Albanian 9 Tom Banks (capt) Bishop's Stortford 1 Louis Castiglione Hertford 2 Steff Jones Hertford 3 Karl Garside Ampthill 4 Rob Conquest Cambridge 5 Harry Green Tring 6 Nick Radley Tring 7 Nick Stevens Tring 8 Chris West Old AlbanianReplacements: 16 Oliver Walliker Old Albanian 17 Tom McCrone Bishop's Stortford 18 Dave Archer Hertford 19 Jack Elston Hertford 20 Jack Scantlebury Bishop's Stortford 21 Ben Creasey Hertford 22 Luke Barber Harpenden
Relegation aggregate table
In order to determine relegation to the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2, results from the 2017 and 2018 competitions will be combined, with the lowest ranked team from each group being relegated.
2017 and 2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 North TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Lancashire 6 6 0 0 295 120 175 6 0 30 2 Yorkshire 6 6 0 0 220 126 94 5 0 29 3 East Midlands (R) 6 2 0 4 139 165 -26 3 1 12 4 Cheshire 6 2 0 4 145 201 -56 3 1 12 5 Eastern Counties 6 1 0 5 128 221 -93 1 2 7 6 Northumberland 6 1 0 5 138 232 -94 3 0 7If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are 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 Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season.Updated: 12 May 2018
2017 and 2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints differenceTry bonusLosing bonusPoints 1 Gloucestershire 6 4 0 2 210 138 72 4 1 21 2 Hertfordshire 6 4 0 2 231 128 103 5 1 20 3 Kent 6 4 0 2 130 157 -27 2 1 19 4 Cornwall 6 3 1 2 169 138 31 3 1 18 5 Devon 6 1 0 5 116 225 -109 2 1 7 6 Surrey (R) 6 1 1 4 86 156 -70 0 2 6If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are 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 Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 <noinclude>
Total season attendances Does not include final at Twickenham which is a neutral venue and involves teams from all three county divisions on the same day CountyHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity Cheshire 1 220 220 220 220 11% Cornwall 2 2,330 1,165 1,515 815 22% Devon 1 350 350 350 350 19% East Midlands 2 570 285 350 220 8% Eastern Counties 1 309 309 309 309 21% Gloucestershire 1 250 250 250 250 17% Hertfordshire 2 934 467 610 324 38% Kent 2 325 163 172 153 5% Lancashire 2 754 377 453 301 8% Northumberland 2 400 200 250 150 8% Surrey 1 250 250 250 250 7% Yorkshire 1 275 275 275 275 6%
Individual statistics Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included). Statistics also include final.
Top points scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points 1 Chris Johnson Lancashire Sedgley Park 3 55 2 Sean Taylor Hertfordshire Hertford 4 44 3 Stephen Collins Lancashire Sedgley Park 3 29 4 Jack Blakeney-Edwards Yorkshire Darlington Mowden Park 3 24 5 Ben Jones Cheshire Caldy 2 23
Top try scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries 1 Anthony Bingham Lancashire Sale FC 4 5 2 Lewis Minikin Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 4 Phil Mills Lancashire Rossendale 4 4 3 Stephen Collins Lancashire Sedgley Park 3 3 Simon Frewin Yorkshire Sandal 3 3 Matt Hema Eastern Counties Cambridge 3 3 Steve Nolson Yorkshire Otley 3 3 Dan Smart Kent Canterbury 3 3 Scott Rawlings Lancashire Longton 4 3 Evan Stewart Lancashire Vale of Lune 4 3
Competition records
Team Largest home win — 50 points 50 - 0 Hertfordshire at home to Cornwall on 19 May 2018 Largest away win — 44 points 64 - 20 Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018 Most points scored — 64 points (2) Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018 Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018 Most tries in a match — 10 Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018 Most conversions in a match — 8