2017 Bill Beaumont Cup: New Format, Same Teams at the Top

Despite the introduction of a brand new format to restructure the English Counties Championship as it continues to expand across three separate tiers of competition, the recent dominance of the Lancashire and Cornwall county teams has continued to go unchallenged, with the two representative sides set to meet at Twickenham for the tournament final on Sunday for the fourth time in five years.

This year’s championship, the 117th edition of one of the most abiding representative competitions in global rugby, saw the expansion of county rugby’s top tier – who compete for the Bill Beaumont Cup – from eight to twelve teams split equally between a North and a South conference. Ahead of the 2017 Championship, East Midlands and Northumberland joined the Northern conference with Kent and Devon joining the Southern.

The expansion of the respective conferences has meant that the traditional round robin format which saw teams play all three of their fellow conference in an attempt to qualify for the final at HQ has had to be reformed. This year each county team now plays three out of their five conference rivals, with fixtures being reshuffled each year to ensure every team plays one other at least once in a two-year cycle.

But the new format and the inclusion of four additional teams has not inhibited both Lancashire and Cornwall – who have both won the competition twice since 2013 - steamrolling their way to a fourth grudge match at Twickenham on Sunday.

Both sides eased their way to the Championship final with the maximum haul of fifteen points from their three games. Cornwall were especially prolific; the former Olympic silver medallists (look it up – they were Great Britain’s representatives at the 1908 Olympics in London) racked up a tournament-leading 135 points in only three games, beating Surrey (34-14) Devon (56-11) and Hertfordshire (45-28) en route to a comfortable fifth consecutive Southern Championship.

Lancashire meanwhile, who will be reprising their status as Northern conference champions for the sixth time in seven years (Cheshire were losing finalists in 2016), held off a formidable challenge from Yorkshire to seize back their county rugby crown. Despite Yorkshire’s impressive total of 14 points from three games, it was the Red Rose who ultimately prevailed with a single try bonus-point proving the difference between the two sides. Lancashire triumphed over Northumberland (48-28), Eastern Counties (15-38) and Cheshire (5-29) to book their place in London on Sunday evening.

The prospect of Lancashire and Cornwall renewing niceties once again following the completion of the England-Barbarians game, is an intriguing prospect. Whilst both sides have alternated at the top of the County rugby pile in recent years, Lancashire, with 23 championships to their name, will go into the game as the Goliath to be slayed. They are at once, both the old guard of this tier of rugby – their first championship win came all the way back in 1891 – and an indisputable modern dynasty having won the competition in five of the last eight years.

Conversely, a tournament victory for Cornwall on Sunday then - which would be their third in a row - would also cement their status as the competition’s other dynasty. Having lost twice to Lancashire in 2013 and 2014, Cornwall got the proverbial monkey off their back with an 18-13 win in 2015 and go into the final with a firm desire to match Lancashire’s threepeat of tournament wins (2009, 2010, 2011).

Both teams can be considered favourites; Cornwall go into the game as two-time reigning champions whilst Lancashire will be desperate to add to their illustrious history after an uncharacteristic down year in 2016.

Even in its 117th year and with a new format, a County Championship win remains a significant symbol of regional and sporting pride within the English game, especially for Lancastrians and Cornishmen. And with over 55,000 tickets already sold, the match will be a firm remainder of the continuing vitality of the English amateur game.