| 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 | |
| Date: | 5 May 2017 - 27 May 2018 |
| Champions: | Lancashire |
| Count: | 25 |
| Runnersup: | Hertfordshire |
| Relegated: | Northumberland, Surrey |
| Matches: | 18 |
| Attendance: | 6967 |
| Highest Attendance: | 1,515 Cornwall v Devon (6 May 2018) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 150 Northumberland v East Midlands (19 May 2018) |
| Tries: | 150 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Chris Johnson (Lancashire) 55 points |
| Top Try Scorer: | Anthony Bingham (Lancashire) 5 tries |
| Prevseason: | 2017 |
| Nextseason: | 2019 |
The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 118th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organised by the Rugby Football Union (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 sections (each divided into two pools, for a total of four) with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Lancashire are the reigning champions having defeated Cornwall in the previous year's final.[1]
Once again Lancashire finished as winners of the northern group stage with a 100% record to qualify for their second successive final, although group runners-up Yorkshire could feel aggrieved as they also had a 100% record, but lost out on points for/against. It showcased a real weakness in the new competition format as neither county had faced each other over the past two years, despite being the best sides in the northern group. Lancashire were joined by Hertfordshire who took advantage of a slip-up by Gloucestershire at Surrey to win the southern group and cement their place in the final - the county's first since 2012. By contrast last season's finalists Cornwall had a dire campaign, managing only one draw in their three games and finishing bottom of their group. Unlike Yorkshire, Cornwall can thank the RFU for the new format as promotion/relegation is over two seasons, saving Cornwall from the drop due to their excellent tournament the previous season.
In the Twickenham final Lancashire finished as deserving champions beating Hertfordshire 32-16, with 22 points coming from the boot Chris Johnson who also finished as the competition's top points scorer, while a try from his team-mate, Anthony Bingham, made him the top try scorer with 5 tries.[2] [3] It was the 25th cup win for a Lancashire side that has dominated the competition through its history. Relegated sides from the 2018 competition included East Midlands from the north and Surrey from the south. In Surrey's case they had actually looked safe, having finished a point clear of relegation rivals, Devon, but ultimately went down due to a 2 points deduction for fielding an ineligible player in their 15-15 draw with Cornwall earlier in the campaign.[4] In East Midlands case they actually finished 3rd overall in the northern group competition over the two seasons but decided to take voluntary relegation due to difficulties in getting the top eligible clubs in their union to provide players for future competitions. Both East Midlands and Surrey will play in the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 next season.
The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 consists of twelve county sides, with six counties in the northern group, and six in the southern group. Each county plays three games per group, which means that some counties get two home games, and the others just the one home game. The RFU have taken fixtures from the previous year into account so that county sides that only played one home game in that competition now get two games and vice versa. At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group (north and south) advance to the final held on 27 May 2018 at Twickenham Stadium.
A continuation from the 2017 competition is that promotion/relegation occurs every two seasons instead of one, with points accumulated over the two seasons (2017 and 2018) taken into consideration. The two lowest ranked counties (one from the north/one from the south) will be relegated into the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 competition, with the two highest aggregate ranked sides of that tournament being promoted to take their place.
| width=25% | County | width=25% | Stadium(s) | width=25% | Capacity | width=25% | City/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | Hartsfield | 2,000 | Moreton, Merseyside | ||||
| Cornwall | The Recreation Ground Recreation Ground | 3,500 (580 seats) 7,000 (780 seats) | Redruth, Cornwall Camborne, Cornwall | ||||
| Devon | Astley Park | 1,800 (300 in stand) | Brixham, Devon | ||||
| East Midlands | Dillingham Park Goldington Road | 3,000 6,000 (1,700 seats) | Ampthill, Bedfordshire Bedford, Bedfordshire | ||||
| Eastern Counties | University Football Ground | 1,500 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | ||||
| Gloucestershire | 1,500 | Lydney, Gloucestershire | |||||
| Hertfordshire | Rosedale Sports Club Silver Leys | N/A 1,600 | Cheshunt, Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire | ||||
| Kent | 3,200 (200 seats) N/A | Orpington, London Aylesford, Kent | |||||
| Lancashire | Park Lane Woodlands Memorial Ground | 3,000 9,000 | Whitefield, Greater Manchester Lytham St Annes, Lancashire | ||||
| Northumberland | Preston Avenue Tynedale Park | N/A 2,000 (400 seats) | North Shields, Tyne and Wear Corbridge, Northumberland | ||||
| Surrey | 3,500 (1,200 seats) | Hersham, Surrey | |||||
| Yorkshire | Silver Royd | 4,500 (425 seats) | Scarborough, North 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 | 180 | 74 | 106 | 3 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 72 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 15 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 122 | -31 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 98 | -21 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 114 | -38 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 6 | East Midlands (R) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 98 | -43 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
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| Green background means the county qualified for the final Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 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 | Hertfordshire (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 138 | 52 | 86 | 3 | 1 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 80 | 68 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 101 | -29 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 86 | -13 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Surrey (R) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 48 | -5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 85 | -51 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
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| Green background means the county qualified for the final. Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 Source: Web site: County Championships . englandrugby.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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In order to determine relegation to the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2, results from the 2017 and 2018 competitions will be combined, with the lowest ranked team from each group being relegated.
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||||||
| 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 295 | 120 | 175 | 6 | 0 | 30 | |||||||||||
| 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 220 | 126 | 94 | 5 | 0 | 29 | |||||||||||
| 3 | East Midlands (R) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 139 | 165 | -26 | 3 | 1 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 145 | 201 | -56 | 3 | 1 | 12 | |||||||||||
| 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 128 | 221 | -93 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 138 | 232 | -94 | 3 | 0 | 7 | |||||||||||
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| Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season.Updated: 12 May 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| County | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points | |||||||||||
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 210 | 138 | 72 | 4 | 1 | 21 | |||||||||||
| 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 231 | 128 | 103 | 5 | 1 | 20 | |||||||||||
| 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 130 | 157 | -27 | 2 | 1 | 19 | |||||||||||
| 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 169 | 138 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 18 | |||||||||||
| 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 116 | 225 | -109 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Surrey (R) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 86 | 156 | -70 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||
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| Pink background means the county were demoted to Division 2 for the following season. Updated: 19 May 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| County | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | 1 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 11% |
| Cornwall | 2 | 2,330 | 1,165 | 1,515 | 815 | 22% |
| Devon | 1 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 19% |
| East Midlands | 2 | 570 | 285 | 350 | 220 | 8% |
| Eastern Counties | 1 | 309 | 309 | 309 | 309 | 21% |
| Gloucestershire | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 17% |
| Hertfordshire | 2 | 934 | 467 | 610 | 324 | 38% |
| Kent | 2 | 325 | 163 | 172 | 153 | 5% |
| Lancashire | 2 | 754 | 377 | 453 | 301 | 8% |
| Northumberland | 2 | 400 | 200 | 250 | 150 | 8% |
| Surrey | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 7% |
| Yorkshire | 1 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 6% |
| Rank | Player | County | Club Side | Appearances | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 55 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 44 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 29 | |||
| 4 | 3 | 24 | |||
| 5 | 2 | 23 | |||
| Rank | Player | County | Club Side | Appearances | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 4 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 3 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 3 | ||||