The Cumbria Shield is an annual

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

knock-out club competition organized by the

Cumbria Rugby Union The Cumbria Rugby Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Cumbria in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Cumbria, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and ...

. It was introduced during the 1888-89 season, when it was known as the Cumberland Challenge Shield, and the inaugural winners were

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Fur ...

. Initially it was open only to junior club sides in Cumberland (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 a ...

) 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 and

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vil ...

merged to form what we now know as

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

, 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. 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) *

(6) *

Silloth Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Cumberland, the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of Englan ...

(6) * Cockermouth II (5) * Egremont II (5) * Penrith (5) * Whitehaven II (4) * Moresby (3) * Blennerhasset II (1) *

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

(1) * Carlisle 'A' (1) * Clifton (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