1980–81 Rugby Union County Championship

1980–81 Thorn EMI County Championship
Countries	England
Champions	Northumberland (2nd title)
Runners-up	Gloucestershire

The 1980–81 Thorn EMI Rugby Union County Championship was the 81st edition of England's County Championship rugby union club competition.

Northumberland won their second title (but first since 1898) after defeating Gloucestershire in the final.

First Round

Pos	Northern Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Northumberland	5	5	0	0	99	44	10
2	Lancashire	5	4	0	1	107	31	8
3	Yorkshire	5	3	0	2	70	81	6
4	Durham	5	1	0	4	39	60	2
5	Cheshire	5	1	0	4	36	79	2
6	Cumberland & Westmorland	5	1	0	4	37	93	2

Pos	Midlands Group A	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	North Midlands	2	2	0	0	22	3	4
2	Staffordshire	2	1	0	1	9	10	2
3	East Midlands	2	0	0	2	6	24	0

Pos	Midlands Group B	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Warwickshire	2	2	0	0	46	19	4
2	Leicestershire	2	1	0	1	33	39	2
3	Notts, Lincs & Derby	2	0	0	2	20	41	0

Pos	London Group A	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Surrey	2	2	0	0	40	18	4
2	Middlesex	2	1	0	1	51	26	2
3	Eastern Counties	2	0	0	2	15	62	0

Pos	London Group B	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Hertfordshire	3	3	0	0	55	17	6
2	Kent	3	2	0	1	73	38	4
3	Sussex	3	1	0	2	45	35	2
4	Hampshire	3	0	0	3	20	103	0

Pos	South-West Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Gloucestershire	3	3	0	0	43	25	6
2	Cornwall	3	2	0	1	35	17	4
3	Devon	3	1	0	2	34	41	2
4	Somerset	3	0	0	3	22	51	0

Pos	Southern Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Buckinghamshire	3	3	0	0	75	28	6
2	Oxfordshire	3	2	0	1	59	28	4
3	Berkshire	3	1	0	2	25	39	2
4	Dorset & Wilts	3	0	0	3	19	31	0

Second Round

Venue	Team One	Team Two	Score
Coventry	Warwickshire	North Midlands	13-0
Old Deer Park	Surrey	Hertfordshire	14-12
Gloucester	Gloucestershire	Buckinghamshire	19-0

Semi finals

Date	Venue	Team One	Team Two	Score
22 Nov	Bristol	Gloucestershire	Warwickshire	3-0
22 Nov	Gosforth	Northumberland	Surrey	12-6

Final

31 January 1981

Gloucestershire	6-15	Northumberland
Pen: Butler (2)		Try: Roberts, Pollock Con: Johnson, Young Drop: Johnson

Kingsholm, Gloucester Referee: Roger Quittenton (London)

15 Peter Butler Gloucester 14 Lewis Dick Cheltenham 13 Phil Cue Bristol 12 Paul Taylor Gloucester 11 Richard Mogg Gloucester 10 Dave Sorrell Bristol 9 Peter Kingston Gloucester 8 Bob Hesford Bristol 7 Paul Wood Gloucester 6 Mike Rafter (capt) Bristol 5 John Fidler Gloucester 4 Nigel Pomphrey Bristol 3 Austin Sheppard Bristol 2 Kevin Bogira Bristol 1 Gordon Sargent Gloucester Replacements: 16 John Carr Bristol University 17 Paul Howell Gloucester 18 Steve Baker Gloucester 19 Kevin White Gloucester 20 Phil Blakeway Gloucester 21 Steve Boyle Gloucester

15 Brian Patrick Gosforth 14 Jim Pollock Northern 13 Alastair Tindle Northern 12 Richard Breakey Gosforth 11 Steve Gustard (capt) Gosforth 10 David Johnson Gosforth 9 Malcolm Young Gosforth 8 Giles Smallwood Northern 7 Bob Anderson Gosforth 6 Iain Richardson Gosforth 5 Steve Bainbridge Gosforth 4 Terry Roberts Gosforth 3 Jeff Bell Gosforth 2 Bob Cunningham Gosforth 1 Colin White Gosforth Replacements: 16 W Telford Alnwick 17 T Bell Alnwick 18 I Pringle Morpeth 19 Ian Ramage Gosforth 20 P Holden Northern 21 C Dixon Tynedale

See also

• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England