| 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup (County Championship) | |
| Date: | 7 May 2016 - 29 May 2016 |
| Champions: | Cornwall |
| Count: | 5 |
| Runnersup: | Cheshire |
| Relegated: | Yorkshire, Surrey |
| Matches: | 13 |
| Attendance: | 13563 |
| Highest Attendance: | 3,125 Cornwall v Surrey (21 May 2016) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 200 Surrey v Gloucestershire (4 May 2016) |
| Top Point Scorer: | Jack Lavin Cheshire 49 |
| Top Try Scorer: | Sam Baker Gloucestershire 5 |
| Prevseason: | 2015 |
| Nextseason: | 2017 |
The 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division One, was the 116th 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 North or National League 2 South). The counties were divided into two regional pools with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the competition were the two finalists from the 2015 County Championship Plate – Surrey (winners) and Eastern Counties (runners-up) who replaced Kent and Durham who were relegated from their respective groups.[1] [2] [3] Cornwall were the defending champions.[4] The two pool winners, Cheshire (north) and holders Cornwall met in the final. Cheshire had beaten 2015's runners up, Lancashire, in the pool stage, but came up short against a Cornish side managed once more by Graham Dawe who had lost his job at Plymouth Albion at the end of the season. The bulk of his team were Albion players, and they beat Cheshire, 35–13, to retain their title, with Matthew Shepherd having another good final by getting 20 of Cornwall's points including a last minute try.[5] [6] Due to changes to the County Championship format for the 2017 competition, no teams would be relegated to the second tier of the county championships for the following season.[7]
The competition format is two regional group stages divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. This means that two teams in the pool have two home games, while the other two had just one. The top side in each group goes through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Unlike previous seasons, due to changes to the following seasons championships there would be no relegation.[7]
| width=25% | County | width=25% | Stadium(s) | width=25% | Capacity | width=25% | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | Hare Lane Heywood Road | 2,000 5,400 | Chester, Cheshire Sale, Greater Manchester | ||||
| Cornwall | The Recreation Ground Recreation Ground | 3,500 (580 seats) 7,000 (780 seats) | Redruth, Cornwall Camborne, Cornwall | ||||
| Eastern Counties | University Football Ground | 1,000 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | ||||
| Gloucestershire | Station Road | 2,500 (400 seats) | Cribbs Causeway, Patchway, Bristol | ||||
| Hertfordshire | Woollam Playing Fields Silver Leys | 1,000 1,600 | St Albans, Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire | ||||
| Lancashire | Woodlands Memorial Ground Park Lane | 9,000 3,000 | Lytham St Annes, Lancashire Whitefield, Greater Manchester | ||||
| Surrey | Hazelwood | N/A | Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey | ||||
| Yorkshire | Silver Royd | 1,950 (322 seats) | Scalby, North Yorkshire | ||||
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||||||
| 1 | Cheshire (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 29 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 14 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 64 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 98 | -32 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 114 | -47 | 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: 21 May 2016 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 | 88 | 56 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 14 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 56 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 78 | -8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 64 | 101 | -37 | 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: 21 May 2016 Source: Web site: County Championships . englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| County | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | 2 | 823 | 412 | 523 | 300 | 12% |
| Cornwall | 2 | 4,975 | 2,488 | 3,125 | 1,850 | 49% |
| Eastern Counties | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 25% |
| Gloucestershire | 1 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 14% |
| Hertfordshire | 2 | 850 | 425 | 490 | 360 | 36% |
| Lancashire | 2 | 1,219 | 610 | 719 | 500 | 12% |
| Surrey | 1 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | |
| Yorkshire | 1 | 1,896 | 1,896 | 1,896 | 1,896 | 97% |
| Rank | Player | County | Club Side | Appearances | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 49 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 48 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 32 | |||
| 4 | 3 | 27 | |||
| 5 | 3 | 26 | |||
| Rank | Player | County | Club Side | Appearances | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 4 | 3 | |||
| 5 | 2 | 2 | |||