The 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 117th version of the annual, Englishrugby union, County Championship organised by the RFU for the top tierEnglish counties. This was the first season it would be officially known as Bill Beaumont Division 1 having previously been known as the Bill Beaumont Cup.[1] 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. Cornwall were the defending champions.[2][3]
Due to changes to the County Championship format (more detail of this below) four new teams were added to the competition, with East Midlands and Northumberland joining the northern section, while Kent and Devon joined the south. East Midlands (winners) and Kent (runners up) were promoted after reaching the final of the 2016 County Championship Plate, while Northumberland and Devon were promoted by virtue of their performances in the competition over the past couple of seasons. It also saw a lucky escape for the likes of Yorkshire, who would have been playing tier 2 rugby this year were it not for the competition restructuring.[4][5][6]
By the end of the group stages, Lancashire and Cornwall came top of their respective pools, winning all three of their games with a bonus point in each to qualify for the final in what would be the fourth county championship final between the two sides. Lancashire possibly had the harder time of it as they edged rivals Yorkshire by just one point with neither side playing each other due to the new format, while Cornwall won all their games. In the Twickenham final, the first half started with Cornwall dominant in taking an 8-0 lead into the break - although they perhaps should have capitalized more on a Lancashire yellow card towards the end of the half. The second half was a completely different story, however, as Lancashire played some breath-taking rugby scoring three delightful tries to take the game 19-8, ending Cornwall's hope of a treble of championships, and claiming the 24th county championship title for the Red Rose.[7]
The 2017 County Championships saw a new competition structure introduced across all three divisions. In tier 1 there were now twelve teams instead of the eight from 2016, with six counties in the northern group, and six in the southern group. To complicate matters further, each county only played three games per group instead of five. This meant that some counties had two home games, while the others had just one. The RFU plans to switch this around the following year so that teams that played one home game in 2017 will get two during the 2018 competition - it is assumed that this is against the three teams in the group they did not play the previous season.
At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group (north and south) advanced to the final held on 28 May 2017 at Twickenham Stadium. A further change will see relegation occur every two seasons instead of one, with points accumulated over the two seasons taken into consideration. This system will also apply to promoted teams in tier 2.[4]
If 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.Updated: 20 May 2017 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.
Notes
^*Hertfordshire were initially deducted 4 points for fielding an ineligible player against Kent on 6 May 2017. It was later reduced to a 2 point deduction.[11][12]
Round 1
6 May 2017 15:00
(BP) Gloucestershire
55 - 12
Devon
Report
The Hayfields, Mangotsfield Attendance: 150 Referee: James Clarke
6 May 2017 15:00
(BP) Kent
12 - 19
Hertfordshire
Report
Broad Way, Kidbrooke, London Attendance: 452 Referee: Gareth Holsgrove
6 May 2017 15:00
Surrey
14 - 34
Cornwall (BP)
Report
Athletic Ground, Richmond, London Attendance: 643 Referee: Neil Chivers
Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances will come first. Also 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 will also include final.
61 - 15 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017
Largest away win — 45 points
56 - 11 Cornwall away to Devon on 13 May 2017
Most points scored — 61 points
61 - 15 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017
Most tries in a match — 9
Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017
Most conversions in a match — 8
Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017
Most penalties in a match — 3
Yorkshire at home to Cheshire on 6 May 2017
Most drop goals in a match — 0
Player
Most points in a match — 20
Sam Goatley for Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017
Most tries in a match — 4
Sam Goatley for Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017
Most conversions in a match — 5 (x3)
Calum Irvine for Yorkshire at home to Northumberland on 20 May 2017 James Moffat for Gloucestershire at home to Surrey on 20 May 2017 Matthew Shepherd for Cornwall at home to Hertfordshire on 20 May 2017
Most penalties in a match — 3
Calum Irvine for Yorkshire at home to Cheshire on 6 May 2017
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For the second tier of the English Counties competition see 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 For the third tier of the English Counties competition see 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3 The 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 117th version of the annual English rugby union County Championship organised by the RFU for the top tier English counties This was the first season it would be officially known as Bill Beaumont Division 1 having previously been known as the Bill Beaumont Cup 1 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 Cornwall were the defending champions 2 3 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1Countries EnglandDate6 May 2017 28 May 2017ChampionsLancashire 24th title Runners upCornwallMatches played19Attendance27 548 average 1 450 per match Highest attendance7 000Lancashire v Cornwall on 28 May 2017Lowest attendance150Gloucestershire v Devon on 6 May 2017Tries scored149 average 7 8 per match Top point scorerSam Goatley Gloucestershire Calum Irvine Yorkshire 35Top try scorerSam Goatley Gloucestershire 7 20162018 Due to changes to the County Championship format more detail of this below four new teams were added to the competition with East Midlands and Northumberland joining the northern section while Kent and Devon joined the south East Midlands winners and Kent runners up were promoted after reaching the final of the 2016 County Championship Plate while Northumberland and Devon were promoted by virtue of their performances in the competition over the past couple of seasons It also saw a lucky escape for the likes of Yorkshire who would have been playing tier 2 rugby this year were it not for the competition restructuring 4 5 6 By the end of the group stages Lancashire and Cornwall came top of their respective pools winning all three of their games with a bonus point in each to qualify for the final in what would be the fourth county championship final between the two sides Lancashire possibly had the harder time of it as they edged rivals Yorkshire by just one point with neither side playing each other due to the new format while Cornwall won all their games In the Twickenham final the first half started with Cornwall dominant in taking an 8 0 lead into the break although they perhaps should have capitalized more on a Lancashire yellow card towards the end of the half The second half was a completely different story however as Lancashire played some breath taking rugby scoring three delightful tries to take the game 19 8 ending Cornwall s hope of a treble of championships and claiming the 24th county championship title for the Red Rose 7 Contents 1 Competition format 2 Participating Counties and ground locations 3 Group stage 3 1 Division 1 North 3 1 1 Round 1 3 1 2 Round 2 3 1 3 Round 3 3 2 Division 1 South 3 2 1 Round 1 3 2 2 Round 2 3 2 3 Round 3 4 Final 5 Total season attendances 6 Individual statistics 6 1 Top points scorers 6 2 Top try scorers 7 Competition records 7 1 Team 7 2 Player 7 3 Attendances 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksCompetition format EditThe 2017 County Championships saw a new competition structure introduced across all three divisions In tier 1 there were now twelve teams instead of the eight from 2016 with six counties in the northern group and six in the southern group To complicate matters further each county only played three games per group instead of five This meant that some counties had two home games while the others had just one The RFU plans to switch this around the following year so that teams that played one home game in 2017 will get two during the 2018 competition it is assumed that this is against the three teams in the group they did not play the previous season At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group north and south advanced to the final held on 28 May 2017 at Twickenham Stadium A further change will see relegation occur every two seasons instead of one with points accumulated over the two seasons taken into consideration This system will also apply to promoted teams in tier 2 4 Participating Counties and ground locations EditCounty Stadium s Capacity City AreaCheshire Paton FieldHeywood Road 4 0003 387 Thurstaston Wirral MerseysideSale Greater ManchesterCornwall Recreation Ground 7 000 780 seats Camborne CornwallDevon Cross in HandPottington Road N A2 000 600 seats Ivybridge DevonBarnstaple DevonEast Midlands Dillingham Park 3 000 Ampthill BedfordshireEastern Counties Grantchester RoadUniversity Football Ground 1 2501 000 Cambridge CambridgeshireCambridge CambridgeshireGloucestershire The HayfieldsRegentsholm N A1 500 Mangotsfield GloucestershireLydney GloucestershireHertfordshire Highfields N A Ware HertfordshireKent Broad Walk N A Kidbrooke LondonLancashire Woodlands Memorial Ground 9 000 Lytham St Annes LancashireNorthumberland Greensfield 1 200 200 in stand Alnwick NorthumberlandSurrey Athletic GroundThe Big Field 4 500 1 000 seats 1 000 Richmond LondonDorking SurreyYorkshire Lockwood ParkBrantingham Park 1 500 500 seats 1 500 240 seats Huddersfield West YorkshireBrantingham East Riding of Yorkshire Thurstaston Cheshire Sale Cheshire Camborne Cornwall Ivybridge Devon Barnstaple Devon Ampthill East Midlands Cambridge Eastern Counties Mangotsfield Gloucestershire Lydney Gloucestershire Ware Hertfordshire Kidbrooke Kent Lytham St Annes Lancashire Alnwick Northumberland Richmond Surrey Dorking Surrey Huddersfield Yorkshire Brantingham Yorkshire class notpageimage Locations of the 2017 Division 1 county teamsGroup stage EditDivision 1 North Edit 2017 Bill Beaumont Division 1 North TableCounty Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points1 Lancashire Q 3 3 0 0 115 46 69 3 0 152 Yorkshire 3 3 0 0 121 54 67 2 0 143 East Midlands 3 2 0 1 84 67 17 2 0 104 Cheshire 3 1 0 2 54 79 25 1 0 55 Northumberland 3 0 0 3 62 118 56 1 0 16 Eastern Counties 3 0 0 3 51 123 72 0 1 1If 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 settledGreen background means the county qualified for the final Updated 20 May 2017Source County Championships englandrugby com Round 1 Edit 6 May 201714 15 BP Eastern Counties21 24East Midlands BP ReportGrantchester Road Cambridge Attendance 300Referee Jack Sutton 6 May 201715 00 BP Lancashire48 28Northumberland BP ReportWoodlands Memorial Ground Lytham St Annes Attendance 545Referee Llyr ApGeraint Roberts 6 May 201715 00Yorkshire26 17CheshireReportLockwood Park Huddersfield Attendance 436Referee Andrew Wigley 8 Round 2 Edit 13 May 201714 15Eastern Counties15 38Lancashire BP ReportUniversity Football Ground Cambridge Attendance 314Referee Neil Chivers 13 May 201715 00 BP Cheshire32 24East MidlandsReportPaton Field Thurstaston Attendance 325Referee Matt Turvey 13 May 201715 00Northumberland22 34Yorkshire BP Greensfield Alnwick Attendance 256Referee Ieuan Davies 9 Round 3 Edit 20 May 201715 00Cheshire5 29Lancashire BP Heywood Park Sale Attendance 450Referee Andrew Wrigley 20 May 201715 00 BP East Midlands36 14NorthumberlandReportDillingham Park Ampthill Attendance 350Referee Claire Hodnett 20 May 201715 00 BP Yorkshire61 15Eastern CountiesBrantingham Park Brantingham Attendance 484Referee Ieuan Davies 10 Division 1 South Edit 2017 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South TableCounty Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points difference Try bonus Losing bonus Points1 Cornwall Q 3 3 0 0 135 53 82 3 0 152 Gloucestershire 3 2 0 1 130 70 60 2 0 103 Kent 3 2 0 1 58 56 2 1 1 104 Hertfordshire 3 2 0 1 93 76 17 2 0 8 a 1 5 Surrey 3 0 0 3 43 108 65 0 1 16 Devon 3 0 0 3 43 139 96 0 0 0If 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 settledGreen background means the county qualified for the final Updated 20 May 2017Source County Championships englandrugby com Notes Hertfordshire were initially deducted 4 points for fielding an ineligible player against Kent on 6 May 2017 It was later reduced to a 2 point deduction 11 12 Round 1 Edit 6 May 201715 00 BP Gloucestershire55 12DevonReportThe Hayfields Mangotsfield Attendance 150Referee James Clarke 6 May 201715 00 BP Kent12 19HertfordshireReportBroad Way Kidbrooke London Attendance 452Referee Gareth Holsgrove 6 May 201715 00Surrey14 34Cornwall BP ReportAthletic Ground Richmond London Attendance 643Referee Neil Chivers 8 Round 2 Edit 13 May 201715 00Devon11 56Cornwall BP ReportCross in Hand Ivybridge Attendance 1 025Referee Robert Bourke 13 May 201715 00 BP Hertfordshire46 19GloucestershireReportHighfields Ware Attendance 450Referee Philip Davies 13 May 201715 00 BP Surrey17 18KentReportThe Big Field Dorking Attendance 231Referee Calum Howard 9 Round 3 Edit 20 May 201715 00 BP Cornwall45 28Hertfordshire BP ReportRecreation Ground Camborne Attendance 3 525Referee Ben Russell 20 May 201715 00Devon20 28Kent BP Pottington Road Barnstaple Attendance 412Referee Kevin Williams 20 May 201715 00 BP Gloucestershire56 12SurreyReportRegentsholm Lydney Attendance 200Referee James Milliner 10 Final Edit28 May 201712 00Lancashire19 8CornwallTry Bingham Burtonwood Armstrong Con Johnson 2 ReportTry Jones Pen ShepherdTwickenham Stadium London Attendance 7 000Referee Ben Blain 15 Lewis Allen Preston Grasshoppers14 Scott Armstrong Fylde13 Chris Briers Fylde12 Scott Rawlings Sale FC11 Anthony Bingham Fylde10 Chris Johnson Sale FC9 Sam Stelmaszek Fylde1 Dan Birchall Fylde2 Tom Burtonwood Fylde3 Adam Lewis Fylde4 Bob Birtwell Sedgley Park5 Reece Tomlinson Rossendale6 Mark Goodwin Sedgley Park7 Evan Stewart capt Fylde8 Tom Ailes Sale FCReplacements 16 Peter Altham Preston Grasshoppers17 Johnny Matthews Sedgley Park18 Simon Griffiths Fylde19 Greg Smith Fylde20 Connor Wilkinson Fylde21 Rhys Davies Sale FC22 Steve Collins Sedgley Park23 Ciaran Connolly Sale FC 15 Matthew Shepherd Plymouth Albion14 Seti Raumakita Plymouth Albion13 Robin Wedlake Plymouth Albion12 Jake Murphy capt Barnstaple11 Tom Notman Redruth10 Jake Elderkin Redruth9 Jack Oulton Redruth1 Tommy Phillips Redruth2 Richard Brown Redruth3 Craig Williams Redruth4 Tony Whittle Camborne5 Bryn Jenkins Barnstaple6 George Jones Penryn7 Sam Matavesi Camborne8 Grant Randlesome PenrynReplacements 16 Matt Ballard Wadebridge Camels17 Dan Collier Plymouth Albion18 Jack Simmons Camborne19 Andrius Zacharovas Camborne20 Chris Fuca Redruth22 David Mankee Camborne23 Barrie John Chapman Redruth 7 Total season attendances EditDoes not include final at Twickenham which is a neutral venue and involves teams from all three county divisions on the same dayCounty HomeGames Total Average Highest Lowest CapacityCheshire 2 775 388 450 325 11 Cornwall 1 3 525 3 525 3 525 3 525 50 Devon 2 1 437 719 1 025 412 21 East Midlands 1 350 350 350 350 12 Eastern Counties 2 614 307 314 300 28 Gloucestershire 2 350 175 200 150 13 Hertfordshire 1 450 450 450 450Kent 1 452 452 452 452Lancashire 1 545 545 545 545 6 Northumberland 1 256 256 256 256 21 Surrey 2 874 437 643 231 19 Yorkshire 2 920 460 484 436 31 8 9 10 Individual statistics EditNote if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances will come first Also 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 will also include final Top points scorers Edit Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points1 Sam Goatley Gloucestershire Cinderford 3 35 Calum Irvine Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 352 Tom Banks Hertfordshire Bishop s Stortford 3 28 David Mankee Cornwall Camborne 3 283 Tom Stradwick Kent Blackheath 3 25 8 9 10 7 Top try scorers Edit Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries1 Sam Goatley Gloucestershire Cinderford 4 72 Tom Stradwick Kent Blackheath 3 53 Scott Armstrong Lancashire Fylde 4 4 Lewis Minikin Yorkshire Hull Ionians 3 4 Pete Swatkins Yorkshire Sheffield Tigers 3 4 8 9 10 7 Competition records EditTeam Edit Largest home win 46 points61 15 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Largest away win 45 points56 11 Cornwall away to Devon on 13 May 2017 Most points scored 61 points61 15 Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Most tries in a match 9Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Most conversions in a match 8Yorkshire at home to Eastern Counties on 20 May 2017 Most penalties in a match 3Yorkshire at home to Cheshire on 6 May 2017 Most drop goals in a match 0Player Edit Most points in a match 20 Sam Goatley for Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017 Most tries in a match 4 Sam Goatley for Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017 Most conversions in a match 5 x3 Calum Irvine for Yorkshire at home to Northumberland on 20 May 2017 James Moffat for Gloucestershire at home to Surrey on 20 May 2017 Matthew Shepherd for Cornwall at home to Hertfordshire on 20 May 2017 Most penalties in a match 3 Calum Irvine for Yorkshire at home to Cheshire on 6 May 2017 Most drop goals in a match 0 Attendances Edit Highest 3 525Cornwall at home to Hertfordshire on 13 May 2017 Lowest 150Gloucestershire at home to Devon on 6 May 2017 Highest Average Attendance 3 525Cornwall Lowest Average Attendance 150GloucestershireSee also EditEnglish rugby union system Rugby union in EnglandReferences Edit County Championships renamed to honour rugby legends England Rugby 27 March 2017 County Championship final 2016 Cornwall beat Cheshire to retain title at Twickenham BBC Sport 29 May 2016 Cornwall win back to back Twickenham triumphs Plymouth Herald 29 May 2016 permanent dead link a b Full Men s County Championship fixture list 2016 17 PDF England Rugby Archived from the original PDF on 6 September 2017 Retrieved 11 December 2016 Rugby Bedfordshire players inspire East Midlands to Twickenham triumph Bedfordshire News 29 May 2016 East Midlands win County Champs Division 2 Plate England Rugby 29 May 2016 a b c d LANCASHIRE WIN BILL BEAUMONT COUNTY CHAMPS FINAL England RFU 28 May 2017 a b c d e Bill Beaumont Cup The RUGBYPaper No 451 Rugby Paper Ltd 7 May 2017 pp 30 31 amp 34 a b c d e Bill Beaumont Cup The RUGBYPaper No 452 Rugby Paper Ltd 14 May 2017 pp 30 31 a b c d e Bill Beaumont Cup The RUGBYPaper No 453 Rugby Paper Ltd 21 May 2017 pp 24 25 amp 30 Gloucestershire back in the race for Twickenham Camborne RFC Pitchero Retrieved 18 May 2017 Herts points deduction halved Trelawny s Army Retrieved 19 May 2017 External links EditNCA Rugby Archived 2015 07 01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 amp oldid 1163950865, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
