2013 County Championship Plate Explained

2013 County Championship Plate
Date:	4 May 2013 – 26 May 2013
Champions:	Northumberland
Count:	4
Runnersup:	North Midlands
Attendance:	1,271 (average 106 per match)
Highest Attendance:	360 East Midlands v Northumberland (4 May 2013)
Lowest Attendance:	140 Northumberland v Eastern Counties (18 May 2013)
Top Point Scorer:	Caolan Ryan (North Midlands) 30
Top Try Scorer:	Brett Daynes (East Midlands) 4
Prevseason:	2012
Nextseason:	2014

The 2013 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 12th version of the annual English rugby union, County Championship organized by the RFU for the tier 2 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 (north/south) with three teams in the north division and three in the south, with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New teams to the division included Northumberland (north)) and North Midlands (south) who were relegated from the 2012 Bill Beaumont Cup.^[1]

Both Northumberland and North Midlands would make an instant return to the 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup as they won their respective pools, with North Midlands having a more difficult time of it as they were run close by Somerset. In the final at Twickenham, Northumberland proved to be a class apart, scoring six tries as they beat North Midlands 45–10 to claim their 4th title in the plate competition.^[2]

Competition format

The competition format involved six teams divided into two regional group stages of three teams each, divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 26 May 2013.

Participating Counties and ground locations

width=25%	County	width=25%	Stadium(s)	width=25%	Capacity	width=25%	City/Area
	Coronation Road	750	Tiverton, Devon
East Midlands	Greens Norton Road	N/A	Towcester, Northamptonshire
Eastern Counties	Grantchester Road	1,250	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
North Midlands	Stourton Park	3,500	Stourbridge, West Midlands
Northumberland	Greensfield	1,200 (200 in stand)	Alnwick, Northumberland
Somerset	Bath Road	5,000	Bridgwater, Somerset

Group stage

Division 1 North

<															-- --> width=20% style="border:0px" 2013 Beaumont Cup Division 1 North Table width=20% style="border:0px" align=right
	County	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Northumberland (P)	2	2	0	0	68	20	48	2	0	10
2		2	1	0	1	37	51	-14	0	0	4
3		2	0	0	2	23	57	-34	0	1	1
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams 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 and is also promoted to the Division 1 North of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 18 May 2013 Source: Web site: County Championships . englandrugby.com.

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Division 2 South

<															-- --> width=20% style="border:0px" 2013 Beaumont Cup Division 1 South Table width=20% style="border:0px" align=right
	County	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	North Midlands (P)	2	2	0	0	90	70	20	2	0	10
2		2	1	0	1	66	51	15	2	1	7
3		2	0	0	2	45	80	-35	1	0	1
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams 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 and is also promoted to the Division 1 South of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 18 May 2013 Source: Web site: County Championships . englandrugby.com.

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Total season attendances

• 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
Devon	1	204	204	204	204	29%
East Midlands	1	360	360	360	360
Eastern Counties	1	194	194	194	194	16%
North Midlands	1	143	143	143	143	4%
Northumberland	1	140	140	140	140	12%
Somerset	1	230	230	230	230	5%

Individual statistics

• 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.

Top points scorers

Rank	Player	County	Club Side	Appearances	Points
1				3	30
2				2	22
3				2	20
4				3	20
				3	20

^{[3] [5] [6] [4]}

Top try scorers

Rank	Player	County	Club Side	Appearances	Tries
1				2	4
2				3	4
				3	4
3				2	3
				2	3

^{[3] [5] [6] [4]}

See also

• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

External links

• NCA Rugby

Notes and References

1. Web site: County Championships Results: 2011–12. englandrugby.com . 18 May 2012 .
2. Web site: Northumberland 45 North Midlands 10 . The Journal . 27 May 2013 .
3. News: Bill Beaumont Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 242. Rugby Paper Ltd. 5 May 2014. 34–35 & 37.
4. Web site: County Championships Results: 2012–13. englandrugby.com . 18 May 2013 .
5. News: Bill Beaumont Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 243. Rugby Paper Ltd. 11 May 2014. 28–29 & 32.
6. News: Bill Beaumont Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 244. Rugby Paper Ltd. 19 May 2014. 28–29 & 32.