# 1979–80 Rugby Union County Championship

The 1979–80 Thorn EMI Rugby Union County Championship was the 80th edition of England's County Championship rugby union club competition.
Lancashire won their 11th title after defeating Gloucestershire in the final.

## First round

| Pos | Northern Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Lancashire | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 210 | 42 | 10 |
| 2 | Northumberland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 109 | 56 | 8 |
| 3 | Yorkshire | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 49 | 6 |
| 4 | Durham | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 101 | 3 |
| 5 | Cheshire | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 63 | 97 | 2 |
| 6 | Cumberland & Westmorland | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 158 | 2 |
| Pos | Midlands Group A | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | North Midlands | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 16 | 4 |
| 2 | East Midlands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 41 | 2 |
| 3 | Notts, Lincs & Derby | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 33 | 0 |
| Pos | Midlands Group B | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Warwickshire | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 22 | 4 |
| 2 | Staffordshire | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 36 | 2 |
| 3 | Leicestershire | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 53 | 0 |
| Pos | London Group A | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Surrey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 29 | 4 |
| 2 | Middlesex | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 25 | 2 |
| 3 | Kent | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 49 | 0 |
| Pos | London Group B | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Eastern Counties | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 26 | 4 |
| 2 | Sussex | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 22 | 4 |
| 3 | Hampshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 46 | 2 |
| 4 | Hertfordshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 74 | 2 |
| Pos | South-West Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Gloucestershire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 36 | 4 |
| 2 | Devon | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 40 | 4 |
| 3 | Somerset | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 40 | 3 |
| 4 | Cornwall | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 46 | 1 |
| Pos | Southern Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Oxfordshire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 18 | 6 |
| 2 | Buckinghamshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 42 | 2 |
| 3 | Dorset & Wilts | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 39 | 2 |
| 4 | Berkshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 31 | 2 |

## Second round

| Venue | Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Moseley | North Midlands | Warwickshire | 13-7 |
| Woodford | Surrey | Eastern Counties | 26-6 |
| Oxford | Oxfordshire | Gloucestershire | 10-36 |

## Semi finals

| Date | Venue | Team One | Team Two | Score |
| 8 Dec | Moseley | North Midlands | Gloucestershire | 17-21 |
| 9 Dec | Old Deer Park | Surrey | Lancashire | 6-31 |

## Final

* 9 February 1980
| Lancashire | 21–15 | Gloucestershire |
| Try: O'Brien, Slemen, Carleton (2) Con: O'Brien Pen: O'Brien | | Try: Pomphrey Con: Butler Pen: Bulter (3) |
* Powderhouse Lane, Vale of Lune Attendance: 10,000 (estimated) Referee: Laurie Prideaux (North Midlands)
| 15 | Kevin O'Brien | Broughton Park |
| 14 | John Carleton | Orrell |
| 13 | Tony Wright | Sale |
| 12 | P Phillips | Orrell |
| 11 | Mike Slemen | Liverpool |
| 10 | Peter Williams | Orrell |
| 9 | Steve Smith | Sale |
| 1 | Dave Tabern | Fylde |
| 2 | Colin Fisher | Waterloo |
| 3 | Fran Cotton | Sale |
| 4 | Bill Beaumont (capt) | Fylde |
| 5 | Jim Syddall | Waterloo |
| 6 | Roger Creed | Sale |
| 7 | Tony Neary | Broughton Park |
| 8 | Laurie Connor | Waterloo |
| Replacements: ||
| | J Heaton | Orrell |
| | T S K Aitcheson | Fylde |
| | D J Carfoot | Waterloo |
| | T Simon | Sale |
| | K Pacey | Broughton Park |
| | T Morris | Liverpool |
| Coach: ||
| | Des Seabrook | |
| 15 | Peter Butler | Gloucester |
| 14 | Bob Clewes | Gloucester |
| 13 | Richard Mogg | Gloucester |
| 12 | Alastair Hignell | Bristol |
| 11 | Alan Morley | Bristol |
| 10 | Dave Sorrell | Bristol |
| 9 | Peter Kingston | Gloucester |
| 1 | Gordon Sargent | Gloucester |
| 2 | Steve Mills | Gloucester |
| 3 | Phil Blakeway | Gloucester |
| 4 | John Fidler | Gloucester |
| 5 | Nigel Pomphrey | Bristol |
| 6 | Mike Rafter (capt) | Bristol |
| 7 | P A Wood | Gloucester |
| 8 | Bob Hesford | Bristol |
| Replacements: ||
| | M Priddy | Gloucester |
| | F Reed | Gloucester |
| | S Boyle | Gloucester |
| | P Johnson | Clifton |
| | B Russell | Gloucester |
| | S Baker | Gloucester |