| 2015 Bill Beaumont Cup (County Championship) | |
| Date: | 9 May 2015 - 31 May 2015 |
| Count: | 4 |
| Matches: | 13 |
| Attendance: | 9803 |
| Highest Attendance: | 2,800 Cornwall v Hertfordshire (23 May 2015) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 250 Cheshire v Lancashire (9 May 2015) |
| Top Point Scorer: | Matthew Shepherd Cornwall 64 |
| Top Try Scorer: | Forbes Edwards Cheshire 4 |
| Prevseason: | 2014 |
| Nextseason: | 2016 |
The 2015 Bill Beaumont Cup, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division One, was the 115th 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 2014 County Championship Plate – Kent (winners) and Durham County (runners-up) who replaced North Midlands and Northumberland.[1] [2] [3] [4] Lancashire were the defending champions.[5]
At the end of the group stage, Lancashire won the northern division with relative ease to book their place in the final for the seventh successive year while Cornwall joined them, squeezing through by defeating Hertfordshire in the last game of the southern group having trailed 18 - 6 at half time. Both Durham County and Kent made an instant return to the 2016 County Championship Plate after being relegated by coming bottom of their respective groups.[6] [7] The 2015 final was a repeat of the previous two seasons with Cornwall this time turning the tables on holders Lancashire and winning their first county title since 1999 in an 18 - 13 victory. Cornish All Black scrum half Matthew Shepherd was man of the match with two tries and also finished as the competition's top scorer.[8]
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 31 May 2015.[9] The bottom side in each group was relegated to the second tier of the county championships for the following season, with the finalists from that division replacing them.
| width=25% | County | width=25% | Stadium(s) | width=25% | Capacity | width=25% | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | Hare Lane | 2,000 | Chester, Cheshire | ||||
| Cornwall | Recreation Ground | 3,500 (580 seats) | Redruth, Cornwall | ||||
| Durham County | 2,000 25,000 | Swalwell, Tyne and Wear Darlington, County Durham | |||||
| Gloucestershire | Dockham Road The Hayfields | 2,500 N/A | Cinderford, Gloucestershire Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire | ||||
| Hertfordshire | Highfields | N/A | Ware, Hertfordshire | ||||
| Kent | Merton Lane Rectory Field | 1,075 (75 seats) N/A | Canterbury, Kent Gravesend, Kent | ||||
| Lancashire | Woodlands Memorial Ground | 9,000 | Lytham St Annes, Lancashire | ||||
| Yorkshire | Lockwood Park Castle Park | 1,500 (500 seats) 5,000 (1,650 seats) | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Doncaster, South Yorkshire | ||||
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||||||
| 1 | Lancashire (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 24 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 95 | 80 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 66 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Durham County (R) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 102 | –44 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
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| 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: 12 May 2015 Source: Web site: County Championships . englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||||||
| 1 | Cornwall (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 42 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 69 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 75 | –22 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Kent (R) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 73 | –27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
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| 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: 12 May 2015 Source: Web site: County Championships . englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| County | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 13% |
| Cornwall | 1 | 2,800 | 2,800 | 2,800 | 2,800 | 80% |
| Durham County | 2 | 700 | 350 | 380 | 320 | 9% |
| Gloucestershire | 2 | 887 | 444 | 562 | 325 | 22% |
| Hertfordshire | 1 | 620 | 620 | 620 | 620 | |
| Kent | 2 | 850 | 425 | 600 | 250 | 23% |
| Lancashire | 1 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 13% |
| Yorkshire | 2 | 996 | 498 | 550 | 446 | 20% |
| Rank | Player | County | Club Side | Appearances | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 64 | |||
| 2 | 3 | 31 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 28 | |||
| 4 | 3 | 21 | |||
| 5 | 3 | 20 | |||
| Rank | Player | County | Club Side | Appearances | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 5 | 3 | 3 | |||