2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1
The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 118th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organised by the Rugby Football Union 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. The counties were divided into two regional sections with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Lancashire are the reigning champions having defeated Cornwall in the previous year's final.
Once again Lancashire finished as winners of the northern group stage with a 100% record to qualify for their second successive final, although group runners-up Yorkshire could feel aggrieved as they also had a 100% record, but lost out on points for/against. It showcased a real weakness in the new competition format as neither county had faced each other over the past two years, despite being the best sides in the northern group. Lancashire were joined by Hertfordshire who took advantage of a slip-up by Gloucestershire at Surrey to win the southern group and cement their place in the final - the county's first since 2012. By contrast last season's finalists Cornwall had a dire campaign, managing only one draw in their three games and finishing bottom of their group. Unlike Yorkshire, Cornwall can thank the RFU for the new format as promotion/relegation is over two seasons, saving Cornwall from the drop due to their excellent tournament the previous season.
In the Twickenham final Lancashire finished as deserving champions beating Hertfordshire 32-16, with 22 points coming from the boot Chris Johnson who also finished as the competitions top points scorer, while a try from his team-mate, Anthony Bingham, made him the top try scorer with 5 tries. It was the 25th cup win for a Lancashire side that has dominated the competition through its history. Relegated sides from the 2018 competition included East Midlands from the north and Surrey from the south. In Surrey's case they had actually looked safe, having finished a point clear of relegation rivals, Devon, but ultimately went down due to a 2 points deduction for fielding an ineligible player in their 15-15 draw with Cornwall earlier in the campaign. In East Midlands case they actually finished 3rd overall in the northern group competition over the two seasons but decided to take voluntary relegation due to difficulties in getting the top eligible clubs in their union to provide players for future competitions. Both East Midlands and Surrey will play in the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 next season.
Competition format
The 2018 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 consists of twelve county sides, with six counties in the northern group, and six in the southern group. Each county plays three games per group, which means that some counties get two home games, and the others just the one home game. The RFU have taken fixtures from the previous year into account so that county sides that only played one home game in that competition now get two games and vice versa. At the end of the group stage the top teams with the best record from each group advance to the final held on 27 May 2018 at Twickenham Stadium.A continuation from the 2017 competition is that promotion/relegation occurs every two seasons instead of one, with points accumulated over the two seasons taken into consideration. The two lowest ranked counties will be relegated into the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 competition, with the two highest aggregate ranked sides of that tournament being promoted to take their place.
Participating Counties and ground locations
| County | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Cheshire | Hartsfield | 2,000 | Moreton, Merseyside |
| Cornwall | The Recreation Ground Recreation Ground | 3,500 7,000 | Redruth, Cornwall Camborne, Cornwall |
| Devon | Astley Park | 1,800 | Brixham, Devon |
| East Midlands | Dillingham Park Goldington Road | 3,000 6,000 | Ampthill, Bedfordshire Bedford, Bedfordshire |
| Eastern Counties | University Football Ground | 1,000 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire |
| Gloucestershire | Regentsholme | 1,500 | Lydney, Gloucestershire |
| Hertfordshire | Rosedale Sports Club Silver Leys | N/A 1,600 | Cheshunt, Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire |
| Kent | Goddington Dene Jack Williams Ground | 3,200 N/A | Orpington, London Aylesford, Kent |
| Lancashire | Park Lane Woodlands Memorial Ground | 3,000 9,000 | Whitefield, Greater Manchester Lytham St Annes, Lancashire |
| Northumberland | Preston Avenue Tynedale Park | N/A 2,000 | North Shields, Tyne and Wear Corbridge, Northumberland |
| Surrey | Molesey Road | 3,500 | Hersham, Surrey |
| Yorkshire | Silver Royd | 1,950 | Scarborough, North Yorkshire |
Group stage
Division 1 North
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
Division 1 South
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
Final
Relegation aggregate table
In order to determine relegation to the 2019 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2, results from the 2017 and 2018 competitions will be combined, with the lowest ranked team from each group being relegated.Total season attendances
- Does not include final at Twickenham which is a neutral venue and involves teams from all three county divisions on the same day
| County | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Cheshire | 1 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 11% |
| Cornwall | 2 | 2,330 | 1,165 | 1,515 | 815 | 22% |
| Devon | 1 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 19% |
| East Midlands | 2 | 570 | 285 | 350 | 220 | 8% |
| Eastern Counties | 1 | 309 | 309 | 309 | 309 | 31% |
| Gloucestershire | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 17% |
| Hertfordshire | 2 | 934 | 467 | 610 | 324 | 38% |
| Kent | 2 | 325 | 163 | 172 | 153 | 5% |
| Lancashire | 2 | 754 | 377 | 453 | 301 | 8% |
| Northumberland | 2 | 400 | 200 | 250 | 150 | 8% |
| Surrey | 1 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 7% |
| Yorkshire | 1 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 14% |
Individual statistics
- Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes. Statistics also include final.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Competition records
Team
;Largest home win — 50 points50 - 0 Hertfordshire at home to Cornwall on 19 May 2018
;Largest away win — 44 points
64 - 20 Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018
;Most points scored — 64 points
Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018
Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018
;Most tries in a match — 10
Lancashire away to Northumberland on 5 May 2018
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018
Lancashire at home to Eastern Counties on 12 May 2018
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018
Attendances
;Highest — 1,515Cornwall at home to Devon on 12 May 2018
;Lowest — 150
Northumberland at home to East Midlands on 19 May 2018
;Highest Average Attendance — 1,183
Cornwall
;Lowest Average Attendance — 163
Kent
Player
;Most points in a match — 22Chris Johnson for Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018
;Most tries in a match — 3
Anthony Bingham for Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018
;Most conversions in a match — 8
Chris Johnson for Lancashire at home to Cheshire on 19 May 2018
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Chris Johnson for Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
Chris Johnson for Lancashire versus Hertfordshire at Twickenham on 27 May 2018