# 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1

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.

## Group stage
### Division 1 North

2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 North Table :
| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 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 | 2 |
| 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 Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 5 May 2018 15:00
| (2BP) Cheshire | 27 - 34 | Yorkshire (BP) |
| | Cheshire | |
* Hartsfield, Moreton Attendance: 220 Referee: Timothy Allatt
* 5 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) East Midlands | 19 - 22 | Eastern Counties |
| | East Midlands | |
* Dillingham Park, Ampthill Attendance: 350 Referee: Harry Walbaum
* 5 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Northumberland | 20 - 64 | Lancashire (BP) |
| | Lancashire | |
* Preston Avenue, North Shields Attendance: 250 Referee: Owen Taylor

#### Round 2

* 12 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) East Midlands | 24–41 | Cheshire (BP) |
| | East Midlands | |
* Goldington Road, Bedford Attendance: 220 Referee: Matt Astle
* 12 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Lancashire | 52–31 | Eastern Counties (BP) |
| | Lancashire | |
* Park Lane, Whitefield Attendance: 301 Referee: Michael Harris
* 12 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Yorkshire | 38–21 | Northumberland |
* Silver Royd, Scarborough Attendance: 275 Referee: Joe James

#### Round 3

* 19 May 2018 14:00
| (BP) Eastern Counties | 24 – 27 | Yorkshire (BP) |
| | Eastern Counties | |
* University Football Ground, Cambridge Attendance: 309 Referee: Callum Howard
* 19 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Lancashire | 64 – 23 | Cheshire |
| | Lancashire | |
* Woodlands Memorial Ground, Lytham St Annes Attendance: 453 Referee: Tim Allatt
* 19 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Northumberland | 35 – 12 | East Midlands |
| | East Midlands | |
* Tynedale Park, Corbridge Attendance: 150 Referee: Alan Chandrachud

### Division 1 South

2018 Bill Beaumont Division 1 South Table :
| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points |
| 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 | 3 |
| 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. Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 5 May 2018 14:30
| (BP) Devon | 26 - 38 | Gloucestershire (BP) |
| | Devon | |
* Astley Park, Brixham Attendance: 350 Referee: Henry Lowis
* 5 May 2018 15:00
| Cornwall | 15 - 15 | Surrey |
| | Cornwall | |
* The Recreation Ground, Redruth Attendance: 815 Referee: Calum Howard
* 5 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Hertfordshire | 59 - 21 | Kent |
| | Hertfordshire | |
* Rosedale Sports Club, Cheshunt Attendance: 324 Referee: Robert Bourke

#### Round 2

* 12 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Cornwall | 19–20 | Devon |
| | Cornwall | |
* Recreation Ground, Camborne Attendance: 1,515 Referee: Veryan Boscawen
* 12 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Gloucestershire | 31–29 | Hertfordshire (2BP) |
| | Gloucestershire | |
* Regentsholm, Lydney Attendance: 250 Referee: James O'Brien
* 12 May 2018 15:00
| Kent | 22–15 | Surrey (BP) |
* Goddington Dene, Orpington, London Attendance: 172 Referee: Daniel Collins

#### Round 3

* 19 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Hertfordshire | 50 – 0 | Cornwall |
| | Cornwall | |
* Silver Leys, Bishop's Stortford Attendance: 610 Referee: Alexander Thomas
* 19 May 2018 15:00
| (BP) Kent | 29 – 27 | Devon (2BP) |
* Jack Williams Ground, Aylesford Attendance: 153 Referee: George Selwood
* 19 May 2018 15:00
| Surrey | 13 – 11 | Gloucestershire (BP) |
| | Gloucestershire | |
* Molesey Road, Hersham Attendance: 250 Referee: Jonathan Cook

## Final

* 27 May 2018 12:00
| Lancashire | 31–16 | Hertfordshire |
| Try: Bingham, Collins Con: Johnson (2) Pen: Johnson (5) Drop: Johnson | Report | Try: Byfield (2) Pen: Taylor (2) |
* Twickenham Stadium, London
| 15 | Lewis Allen | Rossendale |
| 14 | 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 Park |
| 1 | Dan Birchall | Sale FC |
| 2 | Alex Loney | Fylde |
| 3 | Adam Lewis (capt) | Fylde |
| 4 | Bob Birtwell | Sedgley Park |
| 5 | Rhys Davies | Sale FC |
| 6 | Evan Stewart | Vale of Lune |
| 7 | Phil Mills | Rossendale |
| 8 | Tom Ailes | Sale FC |
| Replacements: ||
| 16 | Peter Altham | Preston Grasshoppers |
| 17 | Danny Maher | Sedgley Park |
| 19 | Reece Tomlinson | Rossendale |
| 20 | Adam Aigbokhae | Sale FC |
| 21 | Connor Wilkinson | Fylde |
| 22 | Scott Jordan | Preston Grasshoppers |
| 23 | Steve Collins | Sedgley Park |
| 15 | Sean Taylor | Hertford |
| 14 | Elliott Byfield | Tring |
| 13 | James Rea | Bishop's Stortford |
| 12 | Richard Streets | Hertford |
| 11 | 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 Albanian |
| Replacements: ||
| 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 Table :
| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 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 | 7 |
| 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 |||||||||||||||
| 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 Table :
| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points |
| 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 | 6 |
| 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 |||||||||||||||
| 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
| County | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % 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.