The 2015 County Championship Shield was the 11th version of the annual
Englishrugby unionCounty Championship, organized by the
RFU for the
tier 3English 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 of four teams each, based roughly on regional lines, with the winner of each group plus the best runner-up going through to the semi-finals, with the winners of those games meeting in the final held at
Twickenham Stadium. At the moment there is no promotion or relegation out of or into the County Championship Shield, although the 2014 champions
Surrey moved up into
tier 2, having won the competition three years in a row.[1][2]
After winning their respective groups and semi final matches
Leicestershire faced
Cumbria in the late kick off game at
Twickenham Stadium. Leicestershire made up for their defeat the previous season by defeating Cumbria 34 – 17 to win their first ever Shield trophy.[3]
Competition format
The competition format consisted of three groups of four counties each, based roughly on regional lines where possible, with each team playing each other once. 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 played in the final held at
Twickenham Stadium on 31 May 2015,[4] As the lowest tier in the county championship there is no relegation while promotion is not given every season, although outstanding county performances (such as
Surrey's) can lead to counties moving up to
tier 2.
The 2015 County Championship Shield was the 11th version of the annual
Englishrugby unionCounty Championship, organized by the
RFU for the
tier 3English 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 of four teams each, based roughly on regional lines, with the winner of each group plus the best runner-up going through to the semi-finals, with the winners of those games meeting in the final held at
Twickenham Stadium. At the moment there is no promotion or relegation out of or into the County Championship Shield, although the 2014 champions
Surrey moved up into
tier 2, having won the competition three years in a row.[1][2]
After winning their respective groups and semi final matches
Leicestershire faced
Cumbria in the late kick off game at
Twickenham Stadium. Leicestershire made up for their defeat the previous season by defeating Cumbria 34 – 17 to win their first ever Shield trophy.[3]
Competition format
The competition format consisted of three groups of four counties each, based roughly on regional lines where possible, with each team playing each other once. 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 played in the final held at
Twickenham Stadium on 31 May 2015,[4] As the lowest tier in the county championship there is no relegation while promotion is not given every season, although outstanding county performances (such as
Surrey's) can lead to counties moving up to
tier 2.