The 1980–81 Thorn EMI Rugby Union County Championship was the 81st edition of England's County Championship rugby union club competition.
Northumberland won their second title (but first since 1898) after defeating Gloucestershire in the final.
First Round Pos Northern Division P W D L F A Pts 1 Northumberland 5 5 0 0 99 44 102 Lancashire 5 4 0 1 107 31 83 Yorkshire 5 3 0 2 70 81 64 Durham 5 1 0 4 39 60 25 Cheshire 5 1 0 4 36 79 26 Cumberland & Westmorland 5 1 0 4 37 93 2 Pos Midlands Group A P W D L F A Pts 1 North Midlands 2 2 0 0 22 3 42 Staffordshire 2 1 0 1 9 10 23 East Midlands 2 0 0 2 6 24 0 Pos Midlands Group B P W D L F A Pts 1 Warwickshire 2 2 0 0 46 19 42 Leicestershire 21 0 1 33 39 23 Notts, Lincs & Derby 2 0 0 2 20 41 0 Pos London Group A P W D L F A Pts 1 Surrey 2 2 0 0 40 1842 Middlesex 2 1 0 1 51 26 23 Eastern Counties 2 0 0 2 15 62 0 Pos London Group B P W D L F A Pts 1 Hertfordshire 3 3 0 0 55 17 62 Kent 3 2 0 1 73 38 43 Sussex 3 1 0 2 45 35 24 Hampshire 3 0 0 3 20 103 0 Pos South-West Division P W D L F A Pts 1 Gloucestershire 3 3 0 0 43 25 62 Cornwall 3 2 0 1 35 17 43 Devon 3 1 0 2 34 41 24 Somerset 3 0 0 3 22 51 0 Pos Southern Division P W D L F A Pts 1 Buckinghamshire 3 3 0 0 75 28 62 Oxfordshire 3 2 0 1 59 28 43 Berkshire 3 1 0 2 25 39 24 Dorset & Wilts 3 0 0 3 19 31 0
Second Round Venue Team One Team Two Score Coventry WarwickshireNorth Midlands 13-0 Old Deer Park Surrey Hertfordshire 14-12 Gloucester Gloucestershire Buckinghamshire 19-0
Semi finals Date Venue Team One Team Two Score 22 Nov Bristol GloucestershireWarwickshire3-0 22 Nov Gosforth Northumberland Surrey 12-6
Final
15 Peter Butler Gloucester 14 Lewis Dick Cheltenham13 Phil Cue Bristol 12 Paul Taylor Gloucester 11 Richard Mogg Gloucester10 Dave Sorrell Bristol 9 Peter Kingston Gloucester 8 Bob Hesford Bristol 7 Paul Wood Gloucester 6 Mike Rafter (capt) Bristol 5 John Fidler Gloucester 4 Nigel Pomphrey Bristol 3 Austin Sheppard Bristol 2 Kevin Bogira Bristol 1 Gordon Sargent GloucesterReplacements:16 John Carr Bristol University 17 Paul Howell Gloucester 18 Steve Baker Gloucester 19 Kevin White Gloucester 20 Phil Blakeway Gloucester21 Steve Boyle Gloucester 15 Brian Patrick Gosforth 14 Jim Pollock Northern13 Alastair Tindle Northern 12 Richard Breakey Gosforth 11 Steve Gustard (capt) Gosforth 10 David Johnson Gosforth 9 Malcolm Young Gosforth 8 Giles Smallwood Northern 7 Bob Anderson Gosforth 6 Iain Richardson Gosforth 5 Steve Bainbridge Gosforth 4 Terry Roberts Gosforth 3 Jeff Bell Gosforth 2 Bob Cunningham Gosforth1 Colin White GosforthReplacements:16 W Telford Alnwick 17 T Bell Alnwick 18 I Pringle Morpeth 19 Ian Ramage Gosforth 20 P Holden Northern21 C Dixon Tynedale
See also English rugby union system Rugby union in England
References