The Cumbria Shield is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Cumbria Rugby Union. It was introduced during the 1888-89 season, when it was known as the Cumberland Challenge Shield, and the inaugural winners were Millom. Initially it was open only to junior club sides in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

(senior sides played in the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

) but in 1974, as a result of the

1972 Local Government Act The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Cumberland,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

and Furness merged to form what we now know as Cumbria, and the competition would ultimately be renamed as the Cumbria Shield. It is the third most important cup competition in Cumbria, behind the Cumbria Cup and

Cumbria League Cup The Cumbria League Cup is an annual rugby union knockout club competition organized by the Cumbria Rugby Union. It was first introduced during the 2011-12 season and the inaugural winners were Keswick RFC, Keswick. It is the second most import ...

. Originally the Shield was a knock-out cup played by the 1st teams of junior clubs, along with the 2nd teams of senior clubs, before becoming mostly a 2nd team competition. In later years the format switched back and forth between a knock-out cup and league cup-hybrid, but has most recently switched to being awarded to the winners of the Cumbria Shield League - a regional league for 2nd and 3rd teams in Cumbria. A secondary competition known as the Cumbria Vase was introduced in 2007 initially for sides knocked out of the early rounds of the Shield competition, although in recent years it seems to have become a stand-alone cup competition for 2nd teams in the region.

Cumbria Shield winners

Cumbria Vase winners

Number of wins

Shield

* Workington II (19) * Aspatria II (16) * Wigton II (10) * Netherhall II (9) * St Benedict's (9) * Millom (6) * Silloth (6) * Cockermouth II (5) * Egremont II (5) * Penrith (5) * Whitehaven II (4) * Moresby (3) * Blennerhasset II (1) * Border Regiment (1) * Carlisle 'A' (1) *

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

(1) * Cumberland & Westmorland Police (1) * High Moor Rovers Dearham (1) * Kendal II (1) * Kirkby Lonsdale II (1) * Maryport II (1) * United Steels S.O (1) * Wath Brow (1) * Whitehaven Recreation (1) *

Wigton Hornets Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells a ...

(1) * Workington Trades (1)

Vase

* Kendal 'A' (3) * Carlisle 'A' (2) * Creighton (1) * Penrith III (1)

Notes

References

External links

Cumbria RU
{{Rugby union in England Recurring sporting events established in 1888 1888 establishments in England Rugby union cup competitions in England Rugby union in Cumbria