For the second tier of the English Counties competition, see County Championship Shield.
For the third tier of the English Counties competition, see County Championship Plate.
The County Championship is an annual [1] Teams also compete for the County Championship Shield and County Championship Plate.
The English County Championship has a long history, being first officially recognised by the Rugby Football Union in 1889. The 2013 Championship was the 113th competition. The most successful county, Lancashire, has won the competition 22 times, followed by Gloucestershire (17) and Yorkshire (15). Gloucestershire (33) and Lancashire (31) have made the most appearances in contested finals.
On four occasions the tournament final has been tied at full time and a second leg rematch has been played. Two of these rematches were also tied and on these occasions (1907 and 1967) the finalists were declared joint winners. In 1991 the final match between Cornwall and Yorkshire was tied at full time and extra time was played, with Cornwall winning 29-20.
In 2001 the Championship did not take place due to foot and mouth. Instead Yorkshire and Cornwall were invited to play at Twickenham.
Structure
There was little formal structure to the first official years of the competition, with teams playing different numbers of matches and different opposition from across England. The winners were determined by a panel of judges from the RFU Committee. From 1892-1895, the four winners of four regional Championships (North East, North West, South East and South West) played a round robin to determine the overall winner of the County Championship.
A restructure in 1896, led to the creation of North and South regions only, the winners of these regional competitions playing a final for the County Championship. Another restructure in 1921 saw the formation of 5 regions and the knock-out stage of the championship extend to semi-finals and a final. The winners of the North East, North West and South East regions were entered into a semi-final draw along with the winners of a playoff between the winners of the South and South West regions.
Since 2007, the top 8 counties have been split into two regions of 4 teams, North and South, who play a round robin tournament, the winners of which compete for the English County Championship in the final. This format is repeated for the 8 counties that compete for the County Championship Shield. The 11 counties which compete for the County Championship Plate are split into 3 pools from which the winners and runner-up with the best record meet in semi-final matches.
Past winners
| Year
|
Winner
|
Regional Winners
|
| 1889
|
Yorkshire
|
|
| 1890
|
Yorkshire
|
|
| 1891
|
Lancashire
|
|
| 1892
|
Yorkshire
|
Kent, Lancashire, Midlands
|
| 1893
|
Yorkshire
|
Cumberland, Devon, Middlesex
|
| 1894
|
Yorkshire
|
Lancashire, Midlands, Somerset
|
| 1895
|
Yorkshire
|
Cumberland, Devon, Midlands
|
| Year
|
Winners
|
Home Team
|
Score
|
Away Team
|
Venue
|
Notes
|
| 1896
|
Yorkshire
|
Surrey
|
4-16
|
Yorkshire
|
Richmond
|
|
| 1897
|
Kent
|
Cumberland
|
3-9
|
Kent
|
Carlisle
|
|
| 1898
|
Northumberland
|
Midlands
|
3-24
|
Northumberland
|
Coventry
|
|
| 1899
|
Devon
|
Northumberland
|
0-5
|
Devon
|
Newcastle
|
|
| 1900
|
Durham County
|
Devon
|
3-11
|
Durham County
|
Exeter
|
|
| 1901
|
Devon
|
Durham County
|
3-14
|
Devon
|
West Hartlepool
|
|
| 1902
|
Durham County
|
Gloucestershire
|
3-9
|
Durham County
|
Gloucester
|
|
| 1903
|
Durham County
|
Durham County
|
4-3
|
Kent
|
West Hartlepool
|
|
| 1904
|
Kent
|
Kent
|
8-6
|
Durham County
|
Blackheath
|
|
| 1905
|
Durham County
|
Durham County
|
9-8
|
Middlesex
|
West Hartlepool
|
|
| 1906
|
Devon
|
Devon
|
16-3
|
Durham County
|
Exeter
|
|
| 1907
|
Title shared after replay drawn
|
Durham County
|
3-3
|
Devon
|
West Hartlepool
|
|
| Devon
|
0-0
|
Durham County
|
Exeter
|
|
| 1908
|
Cornwall
|
Cornwall
|
17-3
|
Durham County
|
Redruth
|
|
| 1909
|
Durham County
|
Durham County
|
12-0
|
Cornwall
|
West Hartlepool
|
|
| 1910
|
Gloucestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
23-0
|
Yorkshire
|
Gloucester
|
|
| 1911
|
Devon
|
Yorkshire
|
3-12
|
Devon
|
Kirkstall, Leeds
|
|
| 1912
|
Devon
|
Devon
|
29-0
|
Northumberland
|
Devonport
|
|
| 1913
|
Gloucestershire
|
Cumberland
|
3-14
|
Gloucestershire
|
Carlisle
|
|
| 1914
|
Midlands
|
Midlands
|
22-5
|
Durham County
|
Leicester
|
|
| 1915-19
|
Competition suspended for WWI
|
| 1920
|
Gloucestershire
|
Yorkshire
|
3-27
|
Gloucestershire
|
Bradford
|
|
| 1921
|
Gloucestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
31-4
|
Leicestershire
|
Kingsholm
|
|
| 1922
|
Gloucestershire
|
North Midlands
|
0-19
|
Gloucestershire
|
Aston Villa
|
|
| 1923
|
Somerset
|
Somerset
|
8-6
|
Leicestershire
|
Bridgwater
|
|
| 1924
|
Cumberland
|
Cumberland
|
14-3
|
Kent
|
Carlisle
|
|
| 1925
|
Leicestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
6-14
|
Leicestershire
|
Bristol
|
|
| 1926
|
Yorkshire
|
Yorkshire
|
15-14
|
Hampshire
|
Bradford
|
|
| 1927
|
Kent
|
Kent
|
22-12
|
Leicestershire
|
Blackheath
|
|
| 1928
|
Yorkshire
|
Yorkshire
|
12-8
|
Cornwall
|
Bradford
|
|
| 1929
|
Middlesex
|
Middlesex
|
8-8
|
Lancashire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| Lancashire
|
8-9
|
Middlesex
|
Blundellsands
|
Replay match
|
| 1930
|
Gloucestershire
|
Lancashire
|
7-13
|
Gloucestershire
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1931
|
Gloucestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
10-9
|
Warwickshire
|
Gloucester
|
|
| 1932
|
Gloucestershire
|
Durham County
|
3-9
|
Gloucestershire
|
Blaydon-on-Tyne
|
|
| 1933
|
Hampshire
|
Hampshire
|
18-7
|
Lancashire
|
Boscombe
|
|
| 1934
|
East Midlands
|
East Midlands
|
10-0
|
Gloucestershire
|
Northampton
|
|
| 1935
|
Lancashire
|
Somerset
|
0-14
|
Lancashire
|
Bath
|
|
| 1936
|
Hampshire
|
Northumberland
|
6-13
|
Hampshire
|
Gosforth
|
|
| 1937
|
Gloucestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
5-0
|
East Midlands
|
Bristol
|
|
| 1938
|
Lancashire
|
Lancashire
|
24-12
|
Surrey
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1939
|
Warwickshire
|
Somerset
|
3-8
|
Warwickshire
|
Weston-Super-Mare
|
|
| 1940-46
|
Competition suspended for WWII
|
| 1947
|
Lancashire
|
Lancashire
|
8-8
|
Gloucestershire
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| Gloucestershire
|
3-14
|
Lancashire
|
Kingsholm
|
Replay match
|
| 1948
|
Lancashire
|
Eastern Counties
|
0-5
|
Lancashire
|
Cambridge
|
|
| 1949
|
Lancashire
|
Lancashire
|
9-3
|
Gloucestershire
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1950
|
Cheshire
|
Cheshire
|
5-0
|
East Midlands
|
Birkenhead Park
|
|
| 1951
|
East Midlands
|
East Midlands
|
10-0
|
Middlesex
|
Northampton
|
|
| 1952
|
Middlesex
|
Middlesex
|
9-6
|
Lancashire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1953
|
Yorkshire
|
Yorkshire
|
11-3
|
East Midlands
|
Bradford
|
|
| 1954
|
Middlesex
|
Lancashire
|
6-24
|
Middlesex
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1955
|
Lancashire
|
Middlesex
|
8-14
|
Lancashire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1956
|
Middlesex
|
Middlesex
|
13-9
|
Devon
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1957
|
Devon
|
Devon
|
12-3
|
Yorkshire
|
Home Park, Plymouth
|
|
| 1958
|
Warwickshire
|
Warwickshire
|
16-8
|
Cornwall
|
Coundon Road, Coventry
|
|
| 1959
|
Warwickshire
|
Gloucestershire
|
9-14
|
Warwickshire
|
Memorial Ground Bristol
|
|
| 1960
|
Warwickshire
|
Warwickshire
|
9-6
|
Surrey
|
Coundon Road, Coventry
|
|
| 1961
|
Cheshire
|
Devon
|
0-0
|
Cheshire
|
Home Park, Plymouth
|
|
| Cheshire
|
5-3
|
Devon
|
Birkenhead Park
|
Replay match
|
| 1962
|
Warwickshire
|
Hampshire
|
6-11
|
Warwickshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1963
|
Warwickshire
|
Warwickshire
|
13-10
|
Yorkshire
|
Coundon Road, Coventry
|
|
| 1964
|
Warwickshire
|
Warwickshire
|
8-6
|
Lancashire
|
Coundon Road, Coventry
|
|
| 1965
|
Warwickshire
|
Durham County
|
9-15
|
Warwickshire
|
Hartlepool
|
|
| 1966
|
Middlesex
|
Lancashire
|
0-6
|
Middlesex
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1967
|
Title shared after replay drawn
|
Surrey
|
14-14
|
Durham County
|
Twickenham
|
|
| Durham County
|
0-0
|
Surrey
|
Hartlepool
|
|
| 1968
|
Middlesex
|
Middlesex
|
9-6
|
Warwickshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1969
|
Lancashire
|
Cornwall
|
9-11
|
Lancashire
|
Redruth
|
|
| 1970
|
Staffordshire
|
Staffordshire
|
11-9
|
Gloucestershire
|
Burton on Trent
|
|
| 1971
|
Surrey
|
Gloucestershire
|
3-14
|
Surrey
|
Kingsholm
|
|
| 1972
|
Gloucestershire
|
Warwickshire
|
6-11
|
Gloucestershire
|
Coundon Road, Coventry
|
|
| 1973
|
Lancashire
|
Gloucestershire
|
12-17
|
Lancashire
|
Memorial Ground Bristol
|
|
| 1974
|
Gloucestershire
|
Lancashire
|
12-22
|
Gloucestershire
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1975
|
Gloucestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
13-9
|
East Counties
|
Kingsholm
|
|
| 1976
|
Gloucestershire
|
Middlesex
|
9-24
|
Gloucestershire
|
Richmond Athletic Ground
|
|
| 1977
|
Lancashire
|
Lancashire
|
17-6
|
Middlesex
|
Blundellsands
|
|
| 1978
|
North Midlands
|
North Midlands
|
10-7
|
Gloucestershire
|
The Reddings, Moseley
|
|
| 1979
|
Middlesex
|
Middlesex
|
19-6
|
Northumberland
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1980
|
Lancashire
|
Lancashire
|
21-15
|
Gloucestershire
|
Vale of Lune
|
|
| 1981
|
Lancashire
|
North Midlands
|
3-7
|
Lancashire
|
The Reddings, Moseley
|
|
| 1982
|
Northumberland
|
Gloucestershire
|
6-15
|
Northumberland
|
Kingsholm
|
|
| 1983
|
Gloucestershire
|
Gloucestershire
|
19-7
|
Yorkshire
|
Memorial Ground Bristol
|
|
From 1984 all Championship finals were played at Twickenham.
| Year
|
Winners
|
Score
|
Runner's Up
|
Venue
|
Notes
|
| 1984
|
Gloucestershire
|
36-18
|
Somerset
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1985
|
Middlesex
|
12-9
|
Notts, Lincs & Derby
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1986
|
Warwickshire
|
16-6
|
Kent
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1987
|
Yorkshire
|
22-11
|
Middlesex
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1988
|
Lancashire
|
23-18
|
Warwickshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1989
|
Durham County
|
13-9
|
Cornwall
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1990
|
Lancashire
|
32-9
|
Middlesex
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1991
|
Cornwall
|
29-20
|
Yorkshire
|
Twickenham
|
AET
|
| 1992
|
Lancashire
|
9-6
|
Cornwall
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1993
|
Lancashire
|
9-6
|
Yorkshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1994
|
Yorkshire
|
26-3
|
Durham County
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1995
|
Warwickshire
|
15-9
|
Northumberland
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1996
|
Gloucestershire
|
17-13
|
Warwickshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1997
|
Cumbria
|
21-13
|
Somerset
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1998
|
Cheshire
|
21-14
|
Cornwall
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 1999
|
Cornwall
|
25-15
|
Gloucestershire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2000
|
Yorkshire
|
16-9
|
Devon
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2001
|
Yorkshire
|
47-19
|
Cornwall
|
Twickenham
|
Challenge match
|
| 2002
|
Gloucestershire
|
26-23
|
Cheshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2003
|
Lancashire
|
24-18
|
Gloucestershire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2004
|
Devon
|
43-14
|
Gloucestershire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2005
|
Devon
|
22-16
|
Lancashire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2006
|
Lancashire
|
32-26
|
Devon
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2007
|
Devon
|
27-6
|
Lancashire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2008
|
Yorkshire
|
33-13
|
Devon
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2009
|
Lancashire
|
32-18
|
Gloucestershire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2010
|
Lancashire
|
36-6
|
Gloucestershire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2011
|
Lancashire
|
32-23
|
Hertfordshire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2012
|
Hertfordshire
|
38-20
|
Lancashire
|
Twickenham
|
|
| 2013
|
Lancashire
|
35-26
|
Cornwall
|
Twickenham
|
|
Championships by county
| County
|
Outright
|
Shared
|
Total
|
Runners-up
|
Last won
|
| Cheshire |
3 |
|
3 |
1 |
1998
|
| Cornwall |
3 |
|
3 |
8 |
1999
|
| Cumberland |
1 |
|
1 |
2 |
1924
|
| Cumbria |
1 |
|
1 |
0 |
1997
|
| Devon |
9 |
1 |
10 |
6 |
2007
|
| Durham |
6 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
1989
|
| East Midlands |
2 |
|
2 |
3 |
1951
|
| Eastern Counties |
|
|
|
2 |
|
| Gloucestershire |
17 |
|
17 |
16 |
2002
|
| Hampshire |
2 |
|
2 |
2 |
1936
|
| Hertfordshire |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
2012
|
| Kent |
3 |
|
3 |
3 |
1927
|
| Lancashire |
22 |
|
22 |
10 |
2013
|
| Leicestershire |
1 |
|
1 |
3 |
1925
|
| Middlesex |
8 |
|
8 |
7 |
1985
|
| Midlands |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1914
|
| North Midlands |
1 |
|
1 |
2 |
1978
|
| Northumberland |
2 |
|
2 |
5 |
1982
|
| Notts, Lincs & Derby |
|
|
|
1 |
|
| Somerset |
1 |
|
1 |
4 |
1923
|
| Staffordshire |
1 |
|
1 |
0 |
1970
|
| Surrey |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1971
|
| Warwickshire |
10 |
|
10 |
5 |
1995
|
| Yorkshire |
15 |
|
15 |
8 |
2008
|
Cumbria, a 1974 almagamation of the former counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, is shown separately from Cumberland.
Eastern Counties and Notts, Lincs & Derby have reached the final but have never won the championship.
External links
- http://countyrugby.com/index.html
- http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/RFUHome.Community_Detail/StoryID/19903
|
|---|
| | Governing body | |
|---|
| | National teams | |
|---|
| | Competition divisions | |
|---|
| | National competitions | |
|---|
| | London and South East competitions | |
|---|
| | Midland competitions | |
|---|
| | Northern competitions |
- North 1 East
- North 1 West
- North Lancashire/Cumbria
- North Lancashire 1
- North Lancashire 2
- Cumbria
- South Lancs/Cheshire 1
- South Lancs/Cheshire 2
- South Lancs/Cheshire 3
- Durham/Northumberland 1
- Durham/Northumberland 2
- Durham/Northumberland 3
- Yorkshire 1
- Yorkshire 2
- Yorkshire 3
- Yorkshire 4
- Yorkshire 5
- Yorkshire 6
|
|---|
| | South West competitions | |
|---|
| | County competitions |
- County Championship Cup
- County Championship Shield
- County Championship Plate
|
|---|
| | Related articles | |
|---|
|
English counties rugby unions |
|---|
| | County rugby unions |
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cheshire
- Cornwall
- Cumbria
- Devon
- Dorset & Wilts
- Durham
- East Midlands
- Eastern Counties
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Hertfordshire
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Middlesex
- North Midlands
- Northumberland
- Notts, Lincs & Derby
- Oxfordshire
- Somerset
- Staffordshire
- Surrey
- Sussex
- Warwickshire
- Yorkshire
|
|---|
| | Defunct county unions |
- Cumberland
- Midlands Counties
- Westmoreland
|
|---|
| | Major competitions |
- County Championship
- County Championship Shield
- County Championship Plate
|
|---|
|
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