2013 County Championship Plate


The 2013 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 12th 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. The counties were divided into two regional pools with three teams in the north division and three in the south, with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New teams to the division included Northumberland ) and North Midlands who were relegated from the 2012 Bill Beaumont Cup.
Both Northumberland and North Midlands would make an instant return to the 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup as they won their respective pools, with North Midlands having a more difficult time of it as they were run close by Somerset. In the final at Twickenham, Northumberland proved to be a class apart, scoring six tries as they beat North Midlands 45–10 to claim their 4th title in the plate competition.

Competition format

The competition format involved six teams divided into two regional group stages of three teams each, divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 26 May 2013.

Participating Counties and ground locations

CountyStadiumCapacityCity/Area
DevonCoronation Road750Tiverton, Devon
East MidlandsGreens Norton RoadN/ATowcester, Northamptonshire
Eastern CountiesGrantchester Road1,250Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
North MidlandsStourton Park3,500Stourbridge, West Midlands
NorthumberlandGreensfield1,200 Alnwick, Northumberland
SomersetBath Road5,000Bridgwater, Somerset

Group stage

Division 1 North

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

Division 2 South

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

Final

Total season attendances

CountyHome
Games
TotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity
Devon120420420420429%
East Midlands1360360360360
Eastern Counties119419419419416%
North Midlands11431431431434%
Northumberland114014014014012%
Somerset12302302302305%

Individual statistics

Top try scorers