2016 Bill Beaumont Cup
The 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division One, was the 116th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organized by the 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 pools with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the competition were the two finalists from the 2015 County Championship Plate – Surrey (winners) and Eastern Counties (runners-up) who replaced Kent and Durham who were relegated from their respective groups. Cornwall were the defending champions.
| 2016 Bill Beaumont Cup (County Championship) | |
|---|---|
| Countries | England |
| Date | 7 May 2016 - 29 May 2016 |
| Champions | Cornwall (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Cheshire |
| Relegated | Yorkshire, Surrey |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Attendance | 13,563 (average 1,043 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 3,125 Cornwall v Surrey (21 May 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 200 Surrey v Gloucestershire (4 May 2016) |
| Top point scorer | Jack Lavin Cheshire 49 |
| Top try scorer | Sam Baker Gloucestershire 5 |
The two pool winners, Cheshire (north) and holders Cornwall met in the final. Cheshire had beaten 2015's runners up, Lancashire, in the pool stage, but came up short against a Cornish side managed once more by Graham Dawe who had lost his job at Plymouth Albion at the end of the season. The bulk of his team were Albion players, and they beat Cheshire, 35–13, to retain their title, with Matthew Shepherd having another good final by getting 20 of Cornwall's points including a last minute try. Due to changes to the County Championship format for the 2017 competition, no teams would be relegated to the second tier of the county championships for the following season.