# 1980–81 Rugby Union County Championship

The 1980–81 Thorn EMI Rugby Union County Championship was the 81st edition of England's County Championship rugby union club competition.
Northumberland won their second title (but first since 1898) after defeating Gloucestershire in the final.

## First Round

| Pos | Northern Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Northumberland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 44 | 10 |
| 2 | Lancashire | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 107 | 31 | 8 |
| 3 | Yorkshire | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 81 | 6 |
| 4 | Durham | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 60 | 2 |
| 5 | Cheshire | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 79 | 2 |
| 6 | Cumberland & Westmorland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 37 | 93 | 2 |
| Pos | Midlands Group A | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | North Midlands | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Staffordshire | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 2 |
| 3 | East Midlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 0 |
| Pos | Midlands Group B | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Warwickshire | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 19 | 4 |
| 2 | Leicestershire | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 39 | 2 |
| 3 | Notts, Lincs & Derby | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 41 | 0 |
| Pos | London Group A | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Surrey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 18 | 4 |
| 2 | Middlesex | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 26 | 2 |
| 3 | Eastern Counties | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 62 | 0 |
| Pos | London Group B | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Hertfordshire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 17 | 6 |
| 2 | Kent | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 38 | 4 |
| 3 | Sussex | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 35 | 2 |
| 4 | Hampshire | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 103 | 0 |
| Pos | South-West Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Gloucestershire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 25 | 6 |
| 2 | Cornwall | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 17 | 4 |
| 3 | Devon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 41 | 2 |
| 4 | Somerset | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 51 | 0 |
| Pos | Southern Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Buckinghamshire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 28 | 6 |
| 2 | Oxfordshire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 28 | 4 |
| 3 | Berkshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 39 | 2 |
| 4 | Dorset & Wilts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 31 | 0 |

## Second Round

| Venue | Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Coventry | Warwickshire | North Midlands | 13-0 |
| Old Deer Park | Surrey | Hertfordshire | 14-12 |
| Gloucester | Gloucestershire | Buckinghamshire | 19-0 |

## Semi finals

| Date | Venue | Team One | Team Two | Score |
| 22 Nov | Bristol | Gloucestershire | Warwickshire | 3-0 |
| 22 Nov | Gosforth | Northumberland | Surrey | 12-6 |

## Final

* 31 January 1981
| Gloucestershire | 6–15 | Northumberland |
| Pen: Butler (2) | | Try: Roberts, Pollock Con: Johnson, Young Drop: Johnson |
* Kingsholm, Gloucester Referee: Roger Quittenton (London)
| 15 | Peter Butler | Gloucester |
| 14 | Lewis Dick | Cheltenham |
| 13 | Phil Cue | Bristol |
| 12 | Paul Taylor | Gloucester |
| 11 | Richard Mogg | Gloucester |
| 10 | Dave Sorrell | Bristol |
| 9 | Peter Kingston | Gloucester |
| 8 | Bob Hesford | Bristol |
| 7 | Paul Wood | Gloucester |
| 6 | Mike Rafter (capt) | Bristol |
| 5 | John Fidler | Gloucester |
| 4 | Nigel Pomphrey | Bristol |
| 3 | Austin Sheppard | Bristol |
| 2 | Kevin Bogira | Bristol |
| 1 | Gordon Sargent | Gloucester |
| Replacements: ||
| 16 | John Carr | Bristol University |
| 17 | Paul Howell | Gloucester |
| 18 | Steve Baker | Gloucester |
| 19 | Kevin White | Gloucester |
| 20 | Phil Blakeway | Gloucester |
| 21 | Steve Boyle | Gloucester |
| 15 | Brian Patrick | Gosforth |
| 14 | Jim Pollock | Northern |
| 13 | Alastair Tindle | Northern |
| 12 | Richard Breakey | Gosforth |
| 11 | Steve Gustard (capt) | Gosforth |
| 10 | David Johnson | Gosforth |
| 9 | Malcolm Young | Gosforth |
| 8 | Giles Smallwood | Northern |
| 7 | Bob Anderson | Gosforth |
| 6 | Iain Richardson | Gosforth |
| 5 | Steve Bainbridge | Gosforth |
| 4 | Terry Roberts | Gosforth |
| 3 | Jeff Bell | Gosforth |
| 2 | Bob Cunningham | Gosforth |
| 1 | Colin White | Gosforth |
| Replacements: ||
| 16 | W Telford | Alnwick |
| 17 | T Bell | Alnwick |
| 18 | I Pringle | Morpeth |
| 19 | Ian Ramage | Gosforth |
| 20 | P Holden | Northern |
| 21 | C Dixon | Tynedale |