At the end of the group stage the northern division was won by Eastern Counties who edged out Northumberland while the southern division was won with ease by Surrey who steamrolled through their group. The counties went through to the final and as group winners will be promoted to the top tier with Surrey making it two promotions in a row. Surrey then defeated Eastern Counties in the early kickoff at Twickenham Stadium, winning 17 – 3, in what was their fourth consecutive Twickenham appearance. In terms of individual player performances the top try scorer was Surrey's Ryan Jeffrey who got six tries in the tournament – all coming in the one game against North Midlands.
Competition format
The competition format was two regional group stages divided into north and south, with each team playing each other once. In the north group each team played one home game (there were three teams in the group) while in the south group, two teams in the group had two home games, while the other two had just the one. The top side in each group went through to the final held at Twickenham Stadium on 31 May 2015, with both teams also being promoted to the top tier for the following season. Typically there was no relegation although teams have dropped out of the division in the past.
Participating counties and ground locations
Locations of the 2015 County Championship Plate county teams
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background means the county qualified for the final and is also promoted to the Division 1 North of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 13 May 2015 Source: . englandrugby.com.
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background means the county qualified for the final and is also promoted to the Division 1 South of the Bill Beaumont Cup for the following season. Updated: 13 May 2015 Source: . englandrugby.com.
Round 1
9 May 2015 15:00
North Midlands
17–60
Surrey (BP)
Stourton Park, Stourbridge Attendance: 112 Referee: Chris Bennett
9 May 2015 15:00
(BP) Somerset
34–31
Devon (2BP)
Hyde Park, Taunton Attendance: 203 Referee: Phil Davies
Round 2
16 May 2015 15:00
(BP) Devon
24–34
North Midlands (BP)
Astley Park, Brixham Attendance: 640 Referee: Benedict Wiles
16 May 2015 15:00
(BP) Surrey
59–33
Somerset (BP)
Hazelwood, Sunbury-on-Thames Attendance: 278 Referee: John Scully
Round 3
23 May 2015 15:00
(BP) Devon
31–33
Surrey (BP)
Showground, Okehampton Attendance: 242 Referee: Adam Leal
23 May 2015 15:00
(BP) North Midlands
48–19
Somerset
Stourton Park, Stourbridge Attendance: 175 Referee: Alex Thomas
Final
31 May 2015 10:00
Surrey
17–3
Eastern Counties
Twickenham Stadium, London
Total season attendances
Does not include final at Twickenham which was a neutral venue and involved teams from all three county divisions on the same day
County
Home Games
Total
Average
Highest
Lowest
% Capacity
Devon
2
882
441
640
242
29%
Eastern Counties
1
250
250
250
250
17%
East Midlands
1
152
152
152
152
30%
North Midlands
2
287
144
175
112
4%
Northumberland
1
258
258
258
258
3%
Somerset
1
203
203
203
203
10%
Surrey
1
278
278
278
278
14%
Individual statistics
Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances comes first. Also note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included). Statistics also include final.
