The 2015 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 14th 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 four in the south, with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the division included North Midlands and Northumberland who were demoted from the 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup while Surrey came up from the 2014 County Championship Shield having beaten Leicestershire the previous year in the Shield final having won the competition three years in a row.
At the end of the group stage the northern division was won by Eastern Counties who edged out Northumberland while the southern division was won with ease by Surrey who steamrolled through their group. The counties went through to the final and as group winners will be promoted to the top tier with Surrey making it two promotions in a row. Surrey then defeated Eastern Counties in the early kickoff at Twickenham Stadium, winning 17 – 3, in what was their fourth consecutive Twickenham appearance. In terms of individual player performances the top try scorer was Surrey's Ryan Jeffrey who got six tries in the tournament – all coming in the one game against North Midlands.
Competition format The competition format was two regional group stages divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. In the north group each team played one home game (there were three teams in the group) while in the south group, two teams in the group had two home games, while the other two had just the one. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 31 May 2015, with both teams also being promoted to the top tier for the following season. Typically there was no relegation although teams have dropped out of the division in the past.
Participating counties and ground locations
CountyStadium(s) CapacityCity/Area East MidlandsPutnoe Woods500Bedford, BedfordshireEastern CountiesUniversity Football Ground1,500Cambridge, CambridgeshireDevonAstley ParkShowground1,8001,120 (120 seats)Brixham, DevonOkehampton, DevonNorth MidlandsStourton Park3,500 (499 seats)Stourbridge, West MidlandsNorthumberlandKingston Park10,200Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and WearSomersetHyde Park2,000 (198 seats)Taunton, SomersetSurreyHazelwood 2,000Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
Group stage
Division 2 North
2015 County Championship Plate Division 2 North TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Eastern Counties (P) 2 2 0 0 64 37 27 1 0 9 2 Northumberland 2 1 0 1 55 36 19 1 1 6 3 East Midlands 2 0 0 2 28 74 −46 0 0 0 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: 13 May 2015Source: Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Division 2 South
2015 County Championship Plate Division 2 South TableCountyPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Surrey (P) 3 3 0 0 152 81 71 3 0 15 2 North Midlands 3 2 0 1 99 103 −4 2 0 10 3 Somerset 3 1 0 2 86 138 −52 2 0 6 4 Devon 3 0 0 3 86 101 −13 2 2 4 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: 13 May 2015Source: Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Final
Total season attendances Does not include final at Twickenham which was a neutral venue and involved teams from all three county divisions on the same day CountyHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity Devon 2 882 441 640 242 29% Eastern Counties 1 250 250 250 250 17% East Midlands 1 152 152 152 152 30% North Midlands 2 287 144 175 112 4% Northumberland 1 258 258 258 258 3% Somerset 1 203 203 203 203 10% Surrey 1 278 278 278 278 14%
Individual statistics Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances comes 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 also include final.
Top points scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Points 1 Matt Noble Surrey Dorking 4 39 2 Joe Simmons Devon Teignmouth 3 36 3 Ryan Jeffrey Surrey Dorking 1 30 4 Joe Hall Somerset Cleve 3 26 5 James Stokes Eastern Counties Cambridge 3 22
Top try scorers Rank Player County Club Side Appearances Tries 1 Ryan Jeffrey Surrey Dorking 1 6 2 Will Crow Surrey Dorking 3 3 Tom Goodman Devon Brixham 3 3 Sam Montieri North Midlands Bromsgrove 3 3 5 Mike Terelak Surrey Dorking 4 3
See also English rugby union system Rugby union in England
References
External links NCA Rugby