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English County Championship

Carl Mullen signs rugby ball for small boy

Introduction

The longest standing competition run by the RFU, the County Championship has a long and distinguished history of over 100 years and has featured many of the great names of English Rugby.

The County Championships have been revamped in recent years and now consists of two competitions which are open to County Constituent Body’s full representative teams. The County Championship provides players with a unique opportunity to play representative rugby and players who shine in the competition can be selected to represent the England Counties XV.

Bill Beaumont Cup

Previous Results

The First System

The County championship started in 1889. The original format, referred to as the 'First System' was not a league system, but resembled the amateur club standings where clubs played various opposition and the champion decided by RFU panel based upon their results. Obviously where teams often played different opposition it was difficult to compare the teams performance fairly.

Yorkshire won the 1889 competition and were undefeated (scoring 18 goals, 17 tries to 1 goal, 3 tries) and they repeated the feat in 1890 (scoring 10 goals, 16 tries to 2 goals, 4 tries).

Year Champions
1889 Yorkshire
1890 Yorkshire

The Second System

In 1891 the so-called second system was introduced which consisted of 4 regional groups which were North West, South West, North East and South East. The winners of the regional group leagues then played in a a further league to decide the standings.

Year Champions Group Winner Group Winner Group Winner
1891 Lancashire Yorkshire Surrey Gloucestershire
1892 Yorkshire Lancashire Kent Midlands
1893 Yorkshire Cumberland Devon Middlesex
1894 Yorkshire Lancashire Gloucestershire Midlands
1895 Yorkshire Cumberland Devon Midlands

The Third System

In 1896 the so-called 'Third system' was introduced. The counties were organized into North, South-East and South-West divisions. The winners from the North and South played each other in the Final.

Year Champions Score Score Runners-up Played at Divisional Winners
1896 Yorkshire 16 4 Surrey Richmond South-West Devon
1897 Kent 9 3 Cumberland Carlisle South-West Somerset
1898 Northumberland 24 3 Midlands Coventry South-West Devon
1899 Devon 5 0 Northumberland Newcastle South-East Kent
1900 Durham 11 3 Devon Exeter South-East Kent
1901 Devon 14 3 Durham West Hartlepool South-East East Midlands
1902 Durham 9 3 Gloucestershire Gloucester South-East Middlesex
1903 Durham 4 3 Kent West Hartlepool South-West Somerset
1904 Kent 8 6 Durham Blackheath South-West Devon
1905 Durham 9 8 Middlesex West Hartlepool South-West Devon
1906 Devon 16 3 Durham Exeter South-East Midlands
1907 Devon & Durham 3
0
3
0
Drawn games West Hartlepool & Exeter South-East Kent
1908 Cornwall 17 3 Durham Redruth South-East Middlesex
1909 Durham 12 0 Cornwall West Hartlepool South-East Midlands
1910 Gloucestershire 23 0 Yorkshire Gloucester South-East Kent
1911 Devon 12 3 Yorkshire Headingly South-EastMidlands
1912 Devon 29 0 Northumberland Devonport South-EastMidlands
1913 Gloucestershire 14 3 Cumberland Carlisle South-EastMidlands
1914 Midlands 22 5 Durham Leicester South-West Cornwall
1915-1919 Suspended due to WWI          
1920 Gloucestershire 27 3 Yorkshire Bradford South-EastMidlands

The Forth System

In 1921 the so-called 'Forth system' was introduced. The Counties were organized into five divisions. The winners of the South-West and Southern divisions played each other to decide who went to the quarter finals. The other three quarter finalists were the winners of the other three divisions.

Note: In 1949-50 the Forth system was re-organised so that instead of North and Midlands invariably meeting in one semi-final and the South-West and South-East in the other, North now met South-East and the Midlands the South-West.

Year Champions Score Score Runners-up Played at Divisional Winners
1921 Gloucestershire 31 4 Leicestershire Gloucester Surrey & Yorkshire
1922 Gloucestershire 19 0 North Midlands Birmingham Surrey & Cheshire
1923 Somerset 8 6 Leicestershire Bridgwater Kent & Cumberland
1924 Cumberland 14 3 Kent Carlisle Leicestershire & Somerset
1925 Leicestershire 14 6 Gloucestershire Bristol Yorkshire & Middlesex
1926 Yorkshire 15 14 Hampshire Bradford Leicestershire & Gloucestershire
1927 Kent 22 12 Leicestershire Blackheath Devon & Cheshire
1928 Yorkshire 12 8 Cornwall Bradford Warwickshire & Middlesex
1929 Middlesex 8
9
8
8
Lancashire Blundellsands Devon & Warwickshire
1930 Gloucestershire 13 7 Lancashire Blundellsands Middlesex & East Midlands
1931 Gloucestershire 10 9 Warwickshire Gloucester Hampshire & Lancashire
1932 Gloucestershire 9 3 Durham Blaydon Hampshire & Warwickshire
1933 Hampshire 18 7 Lancashire Boscombe Somerset & East Midlands
1934 East Midlands 10 0 Gloucestershire Northampton Lancashire & Hampshire
1935 Lancashire 14 0 Somerset Bath Warwickshire & East Counties
1936 Hampshire 13 6 Northumberland Gosforth Cornwall & Warwickshire
1937 Gloucestershire 15 0 East Midlands Bristol Kent & Lancashire
1938 Lancashire 24 12 Surrey Blundellsands East Midlands & Cornwall
1939 Warwickshire 8 3 Somerset Weston-Super-Mare Cheshire & Hampshire
1940-1946 Suspended due to WWII          
1947 Lancashire 14 3 Gloucestershire Gloucester Warwickshire & Middlesex
1948 Lancashire 5 0 East Midlands Cambridge North Midlands & Gloucestershire
1949 Lancashire 9 3 Gloucestershire Blundellsands Warwickshire & Middlesex
1950 Cheshire 5 0 East Midlands Birkenhead Park Kent & Devon
1951 East Midlands 10 0 Middlesex Northampton Gloucestershire & Yorkshire
1952 Middlesex 9 6 Lancashire Twickenham Warwickshire & Somerset
1953 Yorkshire 11 3 East Midlands Bradford Devon & Middlesex
1954 Middlesex 24 6 Lancashire Bludellsands East Midlands & Gloucestershire
1955 Lancashire 14 8 Middlesex Twickenham Leicestershire & Cornwall
1956 Middlesex 13 9 Devon Twickenham Lancashire & Leicestershire
1957 Devon 12 3 Yorkshire Plymouth Leicestershire & Middlesex
1958 Warwickshire 16 8 Cornwall Coventry Surrey & Leicestershire
1959 Warwickshire 14 9 Gloucestershire Bristol Middlesex & Durham
1960 Warwickshire 9 6 Surrey Coventry Durham & Cornwall
1961 Cheshire 0
5
0
3
Devon Plymouth & Birkenhead Park East Counties & East Midlands
1962 Warwickshire 11 6 Hampshire Twickenham  
1963 Warwickshire 13 10 Yorkshire Coventry  
1964 Warwickshire 8 6 Lancashire Coventry  
1965 Warwickshire 15 9 Durham Hartlepool  
1966 Middlesex 6 0 Lancashire Blundellsands  
1967 Durham & Surrey 14
0
14
0
Surrey Twickenham & Hartlepool  
1968 Middlesex 9 6 Warwickshire Twickenham  
1969 Lancashire 11 9 Cornwall Redruth  
1970 Staffordshire 11 9 Gloucestershire Burton on Trent  
1971 Surrey 14 3 Gloucestershire Kingsholm  
1972 Gloucestershire 11 6 Warwickshire Coventry  
1973 Lancashire 17 12 Gloucestershire Bristol  
1974 Gloucestershire 22 12 Lancashire Blundellsands  
1975 Gloucestershire 13 9 Eastern Counties Kingsholm  
1976 Gloucestershire 24 9 Middlesex Richmond  
1977 Lancashire 17 6 Middlesex Blundellsands  
1978 North Midlands 10 7 Gloucestershire Moseley  
1979 Middlesex 19 6 Northumberland Twickenham  
1980 Lancashire 21 15 Gloucestershire Vale of Lune  
1981 Lancashire 7 3 North Midlands Moseley  
1982 Northumberland 15 6 Gloucestershire Kingsholm  
1983 Gloucestershire 19 7 Yorkshire Bristol  
1984 Gloucestershire 12 9 Somerset Twickenham  
1985 Middlesex 12 9 Notts. Lincs & Derby Twickenham  
1986 Warwickshire 16 6 Kent Twickenham  
1987 Yorkshire 22 11 Middlesex Twickenham  
1988 Lancashire 23 18 Warwickshire Twickenham  
1989 Durham 13 9 Cornwall Twickenham  
1990 Lancashire 32 9 Middlesex Twickenham  
1991 Cornwall 29 20 Yorkshire Twickenham  
1992 Lancashire 9 6 Cornwall Twickenham  
1993 Lancashire 9 6 Yorkshire Twickenham  
1994 Yorkshire 26 3 Durham Twickenham  
1995 Warwickshire 15 9 Northumberland Twickenham  
1996 Gloucestershire 17 13 Warwickshire Twickenham  
1997 Cumbria 21 13 Somerset Twickenham  
1998 Cheshire 21 14 Cornwall Twickenham  
1999 Cornwall 25 15 Gloucestershire Twickenham  
2000 Yorkshire 16 9 Devon Twickenham  
2001 Yorkshire 47 19 Cornwall Twickenham  
2002 Gloucestershire 26 23 Cheshire Twickenham  
2003 Lancashire 24 18 Gloucestershire Twickenham  
2004 Devon 43 14 Gloucestershire Twickenham  
2005 Devon 22 16 Lancashire Twickenham  
2006 Lancashire 32 26 Devon Twickenham  
2007 Devon 27 6 Lancashire Twickenham  
2008 Yorkshire 33 13 Devon Twickenham  
2009 Lancashire 32 18 Gloucestershire Twickenham  
2010 Lancashire 36 6 Gloucestershire Twickenham  
2011 Lancashire 32 23 Hertfordshire Twickenham  

Today

Following review during the 2008/09 season, the County Championship was realigned to promote a far more enjoyable and rewarding competition. The top 8 counties have been split into two regions of 4 teams, North and South, who play a round robin tournament, the winners of which compete for the English County Championship in the final. This format is repeated for the 8 counties that compete for the County Championship Shield. The 11 counties which compete for the County Championship Plate are split into 3 pools from which the winners and runner-up with the best record meet in semi-final matches.

The two fundamental changes to the 2010/11 season’s Championship were that it was reduced to a two tier competition (cup and shield) and is based on voluntarily participation.

The Bill Beaumont Cup is the highest level of the County Championship and is contested by 16 counties, which are split into two divisions of eight. The eight teams in Division One and Two are split into two pools of four and play each other once either home or away with the top team from each pool contesting in the finals. At the end of the season the team at the bottom of each pool in Division One are relegated to the next tier of the competition (Division Two of the Bill Beaumont Cup), whilst the top teams from each pool in Division Two are promoted to Division One.

The County Championship Shield involves counties that are only able to select players from clubs at level five and below. The 11 teams involved are divided geographically into three pools and play each other once either home or away with the top teams in each pool and the runner up with the best record, progressing to the semi finals.

Player eligibility is based on the birth of a player within the geographical county boundary, place of residence, or by having played for the county in a previous tournament.

For additional information take a look at the fixtures and results section on RFU.com. For images and poster templates for the County Championships please take a look in the resources and downloads page.

 

 

 

 

 

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