2014 Bill Beaumont Cup

The 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division One, was the 114th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organized by the RFU for the top tier 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 with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the competition were the two finalists from the 2013 County Championship Plate final – Northumberland (winners) and North Midlands (runners-up) who replaced Durham and Kent.[1] Lancashire were the defending champions.[2]

2014 Bill Beaumont Cup (County Championship)
Countries England
Date10 May 2014 - 1 June 2014
ChampionsLancashire (23rd title)
Runners-upCornwall
RelegatedNorth Midlands, Northumberland
Matches played13
Attendance12,006
(average 924 per match)
Highest attendance4,000 Lancashire v Cornwall (1 June 2014)
Lowest attendance164 Hertfordshire v North Midlands (17 May 2014)
Top point scorerEngland Chris Johnson
(Lancashire) 60
Top try scorerEngland Lewis Vinnicombe
(Cornwall) 4
← 2013
2015 →

The northern group was won by Lancashire, qualifying for their sixth successive final by winning all three games, although they had some stiff opposition from rivals Yorkshire and Cheshire on the way. They were joined by Cornwall, also making their second successive final, who won the southern section in a similar manner, with close wins against Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire getting them through. Both of the newly promoted counties, Northumberland and North Midlands, made an instant return as they were relegated to the 2015 County Championship Plate at the end of the competition.[3][4]

In what was a repeat of the previous seasons final, Lancashire once again defeated Cornwall. Cornwall who were looking to win the championship for the first time in 14 years, actually led 23-10 at half-time, but fell apart in the second, as a rampant Lancashire side scored four tries to finish as victors 38-26.[5] Lancashire's outstanding player of the tournament was Fylde's Chris Johnson, who scored 60 points over the competition, including 4 tries, while Lewis Vinnicombe, playing for Truro in Tribute Western Counties West, was excellent for Cornwall with 4 tries overall.

Competition format

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The competition format was two regional group stages divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. This meant that two teams in the pool had two home games, while the other two had just one. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 1 June 2014.

Participating Counties and ground locations

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Thurstaston (Cheshire)
 
Sale (Cheshire)
 
Redruth (Cornwall)
 
Camborne (Cornwall)
 
Cinderford (Gloucestershire)
 
St Albans (Hertfordshire)
 
 
Lytham Saint Annes (Lancashire)
 
Whitefield (Lancashire)
 
Bromsgrove (North Midlands)
 
Corbridge (Northumberland)
 
Scarborough (Yorkshire)
Locations of the 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup county teams
County Stadium(s) Capacity City/Area
Cheshire Heywood Road
Paton Field
5,400
4,000
Sale, Greater Manchester
Thurstaston, Merseyside
Cornwall Recreation Ground
Recreation Ground
3,500 (580 seats)
7,000 (780 seats)
Redruth, Cornwall
Camborne, Cornwall
Gloucestershire Dockham Road 2,500 Cinderford, Gloucestershire
Hertfordshire Woollam Playing Fields
Highfields
1,000
N/A
St Albans, Hertfordshire
Ware, Hertfordshire
Lancashire Woodlands Memorial Ground
Park Lane
9,000
3,000
Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
Whitefield, Greater Manchester
North Midlands Finstall Park N/A Bromsgrove, Worcestershire
Northumberland Tynedale 2,000 (400 seats) Corbridge, Northumberland
Yorkshire Silver Royd 1,950 (322 seats) Scalby, North Yorkshire

Group stage

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Division 1 North

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2014 Beaumont Cup Division 1 North Table
County Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Lancashire (Q) 3 3 0 0 111 61 50 2 0 14
2 Yorkshire 3 2 0 1 83 54 29 0 1 9
3 Cheshire 3 1 0 2 57 80 -23 1 1 6
4 Northumberland (R) 3 0 0 3 72 128 -56 1 1 2
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. 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. Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 North of the County Championship Plate for the following season. Updated: 24 May 2014
Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.

Round 1

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10 May 2014
15:00
Cheshire3 - 24Yorkshire
Heywood Road, Sale
Attendance: 330
Referee: Andrew Rawson
10 May 2014
15:00
(BP) Lancashire57 - 19Northumberland
Woodlands Memorial Ground, Lytham St Annes
Attendance: 425
Referee: Wayne Falla

[6][7]


Round 2

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17 May 2014
(BP) Cheshire35 - 31Northumberland (2BP)
Paton Field, Thurstaston
Attendance: 281
Referee: Brendan MacGaffney
17 May 2014
(BP) Yorkshire23 - 29Lancashire (BP)
Silver Royd, Scalby
Attendance: 1,850
Referee: Llyr Apgeraint-Roberts

[8][7]


Round 3

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24 May 2014
Lancashire25 - 19Cheshire (BP)
Park Lane, Whitefield
Attendance: 450
Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick
24 May 2014
Northumberland22 - 36Yorkshire (BP)
Tynedale Park, Corbridge
Attendance: 258
Referee: Andrew Rawson

[9][7]

Division 1 South

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2014 Beaumont Cup Division 1 South Table
County Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Cornwall (Q) 3 3 0 0 111 58 53 2 0 14
2 Hertfordshire 3 2 0 1 93 52 41 2 1 11
3 Gloucestershire 3 1 0 2 91 82 9 1 1 6
4 North Midlands (R) 3 0 0 3 61 164 -103 0 0 0
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. 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. Pink background means the county were en demoted to Division 2 South of the County Championship Plate for the following season. Updated: 24 May 2014
Source: "County Championships". englandrugby.com.

Round 1

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10 May 2014
15:00
(BP) Cornwall65 - 22North Midlands
The Recreation Ground, Redruth
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Nick Williams
10 May 2014
15:00
Gloucestershire19 - 30Hertfordshire (BP)
Dockham Road, Cinderford
Attendance: 218
Referee: Graham Dickens

[6][7][10]


Round 2

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17 May 2014
(BP) Cornwall33 - 27Gloucestershire (BP)
Recreation Ground, Camborne
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Paul Kimber
17 May 2014
(BP) Hertfordshire54 - 20North Midlands
Woollam Playing Fields, St Albans
Attendance: 164
Referee: Veryan Boscawen

[8][7][10]


Round 3

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24 May 2014
(BP) Hertfordshire9 - 13Cornwall
Highfields, Ware
Attendance: 580
Referee: James Clarke
24 May 2014
North Midlands19 - 45Gloucestershire (BP)
Finstall Park, Bromsgrove
Attendance: 250
Referee: Jamie Leahy

[9][7][10]

Final

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1 June 2014
12:15
Lancashire36–26Cornwall
Try: Rylance, Stewart, Johnson, Lamprey, Burtonwood
Con: Johnson (4)
Pen: Johnson
ReportTry: Vinnicombe, Ford-Robinson
Con: Lewitt (2)
Pen: Lewitt (4)
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 4,000[11]
Referee: Andrew Rawson
15 Sean Taylor Preston Grasshoppers
14 Warren Spragg Fylde
13 Chris Briers Fylde
12 Matt Riley Sedgley Park
11 Oliver Brennand Fylde
10 Chris Johnson (capt) Fylde
9 Ryan De la Harpe Fylde
1 Adam Lewis Fylde
2 Mark Rylance Fylde
3 Ben Black Sedgley Park
4 Louis McGowan Sedgley Park
5 Gareth Gore Fylde
6 Gareth Rawlings Longton
7 Evan Stewart Fylde
8 Matthew Lamprey Sedgley Park
Replacements:
16 Simon Griffiths Fylde
17 Peter Altham Preston Grasshoppers
18 David Fairbrother Fleetwood
19 Paul Arnold Fylde
20 Tom Burtonwood Fylde
21 Phil Baines Preston Grasshoppers
22 Steve Collins Sedgley Park
15 Kieron Lewitt Cornish All Blacks
14 Lewis Vinnicombe Truro
13 Ryan Westren Cornish All Blacks
12 Nielson Webber Cornish All Blacks
11 Tom Notman Redruth
10 Lewis Webb Cornish All Blacks
9 Greg Goodfellow Redruth
1 Darren Jacques Truro
2 Jamie Salter Cornish All Blacks
3 Craig Williams Redruth
4 Damien Cook Redruth
5 Ben Hilton (capt) Cornish All Blacks
6 Chris Fuca Redruth
7 Tom Rawlings Cornish All Blacks
8 Barrie-John Chapman Cornish All Blacks
Replacements:
16 Jamal Ford-Robinson Cambridge
17 Bryn Jenkins Cornish All Blacks
18 Sam Parsons Redruth
19 Tony Whittle Falmouth
20 Steven Johns Birmingham Solihull
21 Matthew Shepherd St Austell
22 Richard Brown Redruth

[7]

Total season attendances

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  • Does not include final at Twickenham which is a neutral venue and involves teams from all three county divisions on the same day
County Home
Games
Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity
Cheshire 2 611 306 330 281 7%
Cornwall 2 3,200 1,600 2,000 1,200 31%
Gloucestershire 1 218 218 218 218 9%
Hertfordshire 2 744 372 580 164 16%
Lancashire 2 875 438 450 425 10%
North Midlands 1 250 250 250 250
Northumberland 1 258 258 258 258 13%
Yorkshire 1 1,850 1,850 1,850 1,850 95%

Individual statistics

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "North Midlands 10 Northumberland 45". yoursportpages.com. 27 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "County Championship: Cornwall 25-36 Lancashire". BBC South-West Sport. 26 May 2013.
  3. ^ "North Midlands relegated". North Midlands RFU. 24 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Northumberland 22 Yorkshire 36: Relegation blow for beaten North". Chronicle Live. 25 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Cornwall fall short in County Championship final at Twickenham". Western Morning News. 1 June 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 295. Rugby Paper Ltd. 11 May 2014. pp. 30–32.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "County Championships Results: 2013-14". englandrugby.com. 1 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 296. Rugby Paper Ltd. 18 May 2014. pp. 26–27 & 34.
  9. ^ a b c d "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper. No. 297. Rugby Paper Ltd. 25 May 2014. pp. 28–29.
  10. ^ a b c "CORNWALL GAMES 2014 SEASON". Trelawny's Army. 1 June 2014.
  11. ^ "County Championship: Lancashire fight back to beat Cornwall". BBC Sport. 1 June 2014.
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