# 2014 County Championship Plate

The 2014 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 13th version of the annual English rugby union, County Championship organized by the RFU for the tier 2 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 South or National League 2 North). The counties were divided into two regional pools (north/south) with three teams in the north division and three in the south, with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New teams to the division included Durham County and Kent who were relegated from the 2013 Bill Beaumont Cup.
By the end of the group stage, both Durham County and Kent, relegated the previous season, made an instant return to the first division by winning their respective groups with relative ease. At the final at Twickenham, Kent were comfortable winners, defeating Durham County 31-23 to claim their first title at Twickenham for 28 years.

## Competition format

The competition format involved six teams divided into two regional group stages of three teams each, divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 1 June 2014.

## Participating counties and ground locations

| County | Stadium(s) | Capacity | City/Area |
| Devon | Astley Park | 1,800 | Brixham, Devon |
| Durham County | Blackwell Meadows | 3,000 | Darlington, County Durham |
| East Midlands | Cut Throat Lane | N/A | Wellingborough, Northamptonshire |
| Eastern Counties | The Haberden | 3,000 (135 seats) | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk |
| Kent | Priestfields | N/A | Rochester, Kent |
| Somerset | Bath Road | 5,000 | Bridgwater, Somerset |

## Group stage
### Division 2 North

2014 County Championship Plate Division 2 North Table :
| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 1 | Durham County (P) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 21 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | East Midlands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 50 | -15 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Eastern Counties | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 64 | -25 | 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 and is also promoted to the Division 1 North of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 24 May 2014 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 10 May 2014 15:00
| (BP) East Midlands | 27 - 26 | Eastern Counties (2BP) |
* Cut Throat Lane, Wellingborough Attendance: 150 Referee: Michael Harris

#### Round 2

* 17 May 2014 14:15
| Eastern Counties | 13 - 37 | Durham County (BP) |
| | Report | |
* The Haberden, Bury St Edmunds Attendance: 220 Referee: Simon Dodds

#### Round 3

* 24 May 2014 15:00
| Durham County | 24 - 8 | East Midlands |
| | Report | |
* Blackwell Meadows, Darlington Attendance: 245 Referee: Steven Bennett

### Division 2 South

2014 County Championship Plate Division 2 South Table :
| | County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 1 | Kent (P) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 26 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Somerset | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 43 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Devon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 54 | -22 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 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 and is also promoted to the Division 1 South of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 24 May 2014 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 10 May 2014 14:30
| Somerset | 20 - 15 | Devon (BP) |
| | Report | |
* Bath Road, Bridgwater Attendance: 194 Referee: Luis Caviglia

#### Round 2

* 17 May 2014 14:30
| Devon | 17 - 34 | Kent (BP) |
| | Report | |
* Astley Park, Brixham Attendance: 289 Referee: Guy Steel-Bodger

#### Round 3

* 24 May 2014
| Kent | 28 - 9 | Somerset |
| | Report | |
* Priestfields, Rochester Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Callum Howard

## Final

* 1 June 2014 10:00
| Durham County | 23 - 31 | Kent |
| | Report | |
* Twickenham Stadium, London

## Total season attendances

* Does not include final at Twickenham which was a neutral venue and involved teams from all three county divisions on the same day
| County | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Devon | 1 | 289 | 289 | 289 | 289 | 16% |
| Durham County | 1 | 245 | 245 | 245 | 245 | 8% |
| East Midlands | 1 | 150 | 150 | 150 | 150 | |
| Eastern Counties | 1 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 7% |
| Kent | 1 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,200 | |
| Somerset | 1 | 194 | 194 | 194 | 194 | 4% |

## Individual statistics

* Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances comes 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 also include final.