The Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3 was the 15th version of the competition that is part of the annual English rugby union County Championship, organised by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for the tier 3 English counties. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the fifth tier and below of the English rugby union league system. The counties were divided into two regional pools (north/south) with the winners of each pool meeting in the final at Twickenham Stadium, London.
| 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 3 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  England |
| Date | 4 May 2019 – 8 June 2019 |
| Champions | Cumbria (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Dorset & Wilts |
| Top point scorer | Mark Ireland (Cumbria) 57 points |
| Top try scorer | Ross Williams (Dorset & Wilts) 5 tries |
At the end of the group stage, Cumbria won three out of three to stop Pool 1 ahead of Oxfordshire, who they defeated in the final game, while Dorset & Wilts made their second successive final by also winning all three of their games. In the Twickenham final it was Cumbria who emerged victorious, defeating Dorset & Wilts convincingly, 23-13, with tournament top scorer, Mark Ireland, kicking 13 of their points.[1] For Cumbria it was their first Division 3 title in three attempts and first county championship silverware since 1997, while Dorset & Wilts failed to retain their title and make it a fourth win in the competition.
Competition format
editThe competition format is two regional group stages divided into north and south with four teams in each group. This means that two teams in the pool had two home games, while the other two had just one. 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. The shield competition has increased from six to eight teams as two counties, Middlesex and Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire, have returned to the county championships after an absence of several years.[2][3] At the end of the pool stage the top teams with the best record from each pool advance to the final held on 26 May 2019 which will once more be held back at Twickenham Stadium in London, having been held at the Athletic Ground in nearby Richmond the previous season.
Promotion occurs every two seasons, with accumulated points taken into consideration. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Essex and Sussex were promoted to tier 2 with Cumbria and North Midlands dropping down to replace them in tier 3.[4][5][6] There will now be no promotion until the end of the 2020 competition.
Participating counties and ground locations
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  Sonning (Berks) Weston Turville (Bucks) Aspatria (Cumbria) Devizes (D & W) Gillingham (D & W) Isleworth (Middlesex) Bromsgrove (N Midlands) Hagley (N Midlands) Newark (NLD) Oxford (Oxon) Locations of the 2019 Division 3 county teams
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Group stage
editDivision 3 North
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cumbria (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 56 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 13 | ||||||
| 2 | Oxfordshire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 46 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||||||
| 3 | Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 92 | -22 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||||||
| 4 | North Midlands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 61 | 106 | -45 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
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| Green background means the county qualified for the final. Updated: 18 May 2019 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||
Round 1
edit| 4 May 2019 15:00 |
| Oxfordshire | 19 – 12 | Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire (1 BP) |
| Oxfordshire NLD |
| Marston Ferry Road, Oxford |
Round 2
edit| 11 May 2019 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire | 25 – 41 | Cumbria (1 BP) |
| NLD Cumbria |
| The Rugby Ground, Newark-on-Trent |
| 11 May 2019 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Oxfordshire | 43 – 8 | North Midlands |
| Oxfordshire North Midlands |
| Marston Ferry Road, Oxford |
Round 3
edit| 18 May 2019 15:00 |
| (2 BP) North Midlands | 32 – 33 | Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire (1 BP) |
| North Midlands NLD |
| Wassell Grove, Hagley |
Division 3 South
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorset & Wilts (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 145 | 63 | 82 | 2 | 0 | 14 | ||||||
| 2 | Berkshire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 137 | 90 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 11 | ||||||
| 3 | Middlesex | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 58 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| 4 | Buckinghamshire | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 158 | -127 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
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| Green background means the county qualified for the final. Updated: 18 May 2019 Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||
Round 1
editRound 2
editRound 3
edit| 18 May 2019 14:30 |
| Buckinghamshire | 21 – 64 | Berkshire (1 BP) |
| Ostler's Field, Weston Turville |
| 18 May 2019 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Middlesex | 18 – 20 | Dorset & Wilts |
| Dorset & Wilts |
| MacFarlane Lane, Isleworth, London |
Final
edit| 8 June 2019 11:00 |
| Cumbria | 23 – 13 | Dorset & Wilts |
| Twickenham Stadium, London |
Individual statistics
edit- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Statistics also include final.
Top points scorersedit
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Top try scorersedit
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Competition records
edit
Teamedit
68 – 0 Dorset & Wilts at home to Buckinghamshire on 11 May 2019
64 – 21 Berkshire away to Buckinghamshire on 18 May 2019
68 – 0 Dorset & Wilts at home to Buckinghamshire on 11 May 2019
Dorset & Wilts at home to Buckinghamshire on 11 May 2019
Dorset & Wilts at home to Buckinghamshire on 11 May 2019
Cumbria away to North Midlands on 4 May 2019
Cumbria at home to Oxfordshire on 18 May 2019
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Playeredit
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Notes
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f "NO SECOND TITLE". Sports Independent. The Independent. 9 June 2019. p. 37.
- ^ "NLD SENIOR XV". NLD RFU. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "TEAM MIDDLESEX". Middlesex Rugby. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "County events schedule". Essex RFU (Pitchero). Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "County Championships". Sussex Rugby (Pitchero). Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "County Championship draws made". North Midlands RFU. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "County Championship venues confirmed". North Midlands RFU. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Venue change for County Championship match". North Midlands RFU. 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Bill Beaumont Division 3 - Pool 1". England Rugby. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 555. Rugby Paper Ltd. 5 May 2019. pp. 28–30.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 556. Rugby Paper Ltd. 12 May 2019. pp. 22–23 & 26.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 557. Rugby Paper Ltd. 19 May 2019. pp. 22–23 & 26.
- ^ a b c "Bill Beaumont Division 3 - Pool 2". England Rugby. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
External links
edit- NCA Rugby Archived 2015-07-01 at the Wayback Machine