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The Northumberland Senior Plate is an annual rugby union competition held among the clubs of the Northumberland RFU. It was first played during the 2001-2002 season and serves as the second tier county cup for the Northumberland Rugby Union, which encompasses Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland.
| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2002 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Country |  England |
| Holders | Ponteland (4th title) (2023-24) |
| Most titles | Ponteland (4 titles) |
| Website | Northumberland RFU |
The plate was originally introduced in 2001-2002 for the first round losers in the Northumberland Senior Cup, as it became clear that some clubs would not reach the latter stages of the Cup. Since then, the competition has undergone various changes. It is now open to the 9th to 16th best-placed clubs in the league pyramid. The current holders are Rockcliff who defeated Novocastrians 28-18, in the 2023 cup final. All Senior Plate Finals have been held at various venues in the county and takes place on Easter Saturday.
The Senior Plate is currently the second most important county cup competition for club sides based in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear typically competing at tier 7 (Durham/Northumberland 1), tier 8 (Durham/Northumberland 2) and tier 9 (Durham/Northumberland 3) of the English rugby union system. The format is a knock-out cup with a quarter-final, semi-final and final, which is played at a neutral ground in April.[1]
Northumberland Senior Plate Winners
edit| Year | Winners | Score | Runners Up | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ashington | 37-23 | North Shields | |||
| 2003 | Berwick | 36-19 | Ashington | |||
| 2004 | Ponteland[2] | 22-8 | Wallsend | |||
| 2005 | Gosforth[3] | 18-7 | North Shields | |||
| 2006 | Ashington | 23-18 | Wallsend | |||
| 2007 | Wallsend | 18-17 | Gosforth | |||
| 2008 | Ashington | 28-27 | Northumbria University | |||
| 2009 | Northumbria University | 46-5 | Ponteland | |||
| 2010-2011 | No Competition played | |||||
| 2012 | Medicals[4] | 27-19 | Rockcliff | |||
| 2013 | Northumbria University | 78-17 | Novocastrians | |||
| 2014 | Blyth[5] | 37-31 | Berwick | |||
| 2015 | Ponteland | 32-23 | Novocastrians | |||
| 2016 | Novocastrians | 41-3 | Ponteland | |||
| 2017 | Ponteland[6] | 21-18 | Rockcliff | |||
| 2018 | Novocastrians | 33-30 | North Shields | |||
| 2019 | North Shields | 24-23 | Ponteland | |||
| 2020-2021 | No Competition due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom | |||||
| 2022 | Medicals | 32-26 | Alnwick II | |||
| 2023 | Rockcliff | 28-18 | Novocastrians | |||
| 2024 | Ponteland | W/O* | Novocastrians | |||
By number of wins (clubs)
edit| Team | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Ponteland | 4 | 2004, 2015, 2017, 2024 |
| Ashington | 3 | 2002, 2006, 2008 |
| Medicals | 2 | 2012, 2022 |
| Northumbria University | 2 | 2009, 2013 |
| Novocastrians | 2 | 2016, 2018 |
| Berwick | 1 | 2003 |
| Blyth | 1 | 2014 |
| Gosforth | 1 | 2005 |
| North Shields | 1 | 2019 |
| Rockcliff | 1 | 2023 |
| Wallsend | 1 | 2007 |
Notes
edit- The 2024 cup final was not played and both clubs could not agree a date. After much debate Northumberland RFU awarded the title to Ponteland.
References
edit- ^ "CUP DRAWS FOR SEASON 2016-17 (Word doc)". Northumberland RFU. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "Rugby - Ponteland Champions". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ "Rugby - Plate Final Gosforth North Shields". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ "Rugby - Medicals Champions". Medicals RFC. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Rugby - Blyth Champions". Blyth RFC. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Rugby - Ponteland Champions". Ponteland RFC. Retrieved 30 March 2021.