For the first tier of the English Counties competition, see 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup . For the second tier of the English Counties competition, see 2016 County Championship Plate .
The 2016 County Championship Shield was the 12th version of the annual English rugby union County Championship , organised by the RFU for the tier 3 English counties . Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the fifth tier and below of the English rugby union league system . The counties were divided into three pools - one pool with four teams, the others with three teams each, with the winner of each group plus the best runner-up going through to the semi-finals, and the winners of those games meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium . Due to competition changes for the 2017 season (more on this below) a number of teams in the division would be promoted to tier 2 for the following season, joining the 2015 Shield champions Leicestershire who had already been promoted at the start of this season.
After winning their respective pools and semi-final games, Staffordshire and Hampshire met in the final. In the end it was Hampshire who finished as the champions, defeating Staffordshire, 33–11.
Competition format
The competition format consisted of three groups (one with four teams, two with three teams), based roughly on regional lines where possible. The four team group consisted of six games, with two teams playing two home games and the others one home game each, while the three team groups saw each team play one home game. The top side of each group automatically qualified for the semi-finals, as did the best group runner-up. The winners of the semi-finals met in the final at Twickenham Stadium held on 29 May 2016. Due to changes to the County Championship format for the 2017 competition, four teams from the division would end up being promoted to the tier 2 for the following season, based on performances in the Shield over the past couple of seasons.
Participating counties and ground locations
Berks )Bucs )Cumbria )Essex )Essex )D&W )Hamps )NLD )Oxon )Staffs )Warks )class=notpageimage| Locations of the 2016 County Championship Shield county teams
County
Stadium(s)
Capacity
City/Area
Berkshire
Holme Park
N/A
Sonning , Reading , Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Ostler's Field
N/A
Aylesbury , Buckinghamshire
Cumbria
Bower Park
N/A
Aspatria , Cumbria
Dorset & Wilts
Ballard's Ash Sports Ground
N/A
Wootton Bassett , Wiltshire
Essex
Memorial Park The New Wilderness
N/A
Newham , Greater London Redbridge , Greater London
Hampshire
Gosport Park
N/A
Gosport , Hampshire
Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire
Eakring Road
1,000
Mansfield , Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Bodicote Park
2,500 (250 seats)
Banbury , Oxfordshire
Staffordshire
Esterchem Park
N/A
Leek , Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Webb Ellis Road
4,000 (200 seats)
Rugby , Warwickshire
Group stage
Pool 1
2016 County Championship Shield Pool 1 Table
County
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points For
Points Against
Points Difference
Try Bonus
Losing Bonus
Points
1
Buckinghamshire (Q) 3
2
1
0
99
72
27
2
0
12
2
Warwickshire (Q) 3
2
1
0
89
81
8
2
0
12
3
Essex 3
1
0
2
71
75
-4
1
1
6
4
Oxfordshire 3
0
0
3
78
109
-31
1
1
2
If teams were level at any stage, tiebreakers were 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 Shield semi finals. Updated: 14 May 2016 "County Championships" . englandrugby.com.
Round 1
(BP) Warwickshire 27 - 21 Oxfordshire (BP) Report
Buckinghamshire 20 - 8 Essex Report
Ostler's Field, Aylesbury
Round 2
(BP) Essex 22 - 24 Warwickshire Report
Memorial Park, Newham, Greater London
Oxfordshire 26 - 41 Buckinghamshire (BP)
Round 3
(BP) Essex 41 - 31 Oxfordshire (BP)
The New Wilderness, Waltham Forest, Greater London
(BP) Warwickshire 38 - 38 Buckinghamshire (BP)
Pool 2
2016 County Championship Shield Pool 2 Table
County
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points For
Points Against
Points Difference
Try Bonus
Losing Bonus
Points
1
Staffordshire (Q) 2
2
0
0
68
51
17
1
0
9
2
Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire 2
1
0
1
52
50
2
1
0
5
3
Cumbria 2
0
0
2
63
83
-20
2
0
2
If teams were level at any stage, tiebreakers were 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 Shield semi finals. Updated: 14 May 2016 "County Championships" . englandrugby.com.
Round 1
Staffordshire 23 - 15 Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire Report
Round 2
(BP) Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire 37 - 27 Cumbria (BP)
Round 3
(BP) Cumbria 36 - 45 Staffordshire (BP)
Pool 3
2016 County Championship Shield Pool 3 Table
County
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points For
Points Against
Points Difference
Try Bonus
Losing Bonus
Points
1
Hampshire (Q) 2
2
0
0
90
13
77
2
0
10
2
Berkshire 2
1
0
1
35
60
-25
1
0
5
2
Dorset & Wilts 2
0
0
2
27
79
-52
0
0
0
If teams were level at any stage, tiebreakers were 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 Shield semi finals. Updated: 14 May 2016 "County Championships" . englandrugby.com.
Round 1
(BP) Hampshire 44 - 13 Dorset & Wilts Report
Round 2
Berkshire 0 - 46 Hampshire (BP)
Round 3
Dorset & Wilts 14 - 35 Berkshire (BP)
Ballard’s Ash Sports Ground, Wootton Bassett
Knock-out Stage
Semi-finals
Warwickshire 15 - 23 Hampshire
Staffordshire 6 - 3 Buckinghamshire
Final
Hampshire 33 - 11 Staffordshire
Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, Greater London
See also
References
^ "Full Men's County Championship fixture list 2016-17" (PDF). England Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
"Rugby: Leicestershire lift County Championship Shield after win over Cumbria at Twickenham" . Leicester Mercury. 1 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2016-05-05."Staffordshire beaten by Hampshire in County Shield final at Twickenham" . Staffordshire Newsletter. 29 May 2016."Warwickshire RFU" . Rugby Network. 26 April 2016.^ "County Championships" . England Rugby. 30 April 2016.
^ "County Championships" . England Rugby. 7 May 2016.
^ "Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper . No. 400. Rugby Paper Ltd. 15 May 2016. pp. 31 & 36.
"COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD SEMI FINAL" . Warwickshire RFU. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016."Staffordshire v Buckinghamshire on 21 May 2016" . Staffordshire RFU. 20 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016."Bill Beaumont Cup". The RUGBYPaper . No. 401. Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 May 2016. pp. 30-31 & 32.
External links
Rugby union in England Governing body
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Northern competitions
South West competitions
County competitions
Discontinued competitions
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