a) County Junior Competitions shall be held annually for clubs that have teams within the age groups designated by the subcommittee.
b) Each Competition and the format of the competition shall be under the control of a subCommittee appointed by the Gloucestershire RFU Management Board. Its decisions concerning any matter relating to the competitions shall be final and binding on the participating clubs.
c) Subject to the discretion of the SubCommittee, any infringement of these rules may debar an offending club from further participation in any related competition.
d) Inclusion in to this or any other competition is not automatic and will be at the discretion of the SubCommittee.
e) A club may enter more than one team in an age group, the club will provide a squad list of registered players for each team it is entering with the entry form before the draw is done. Failure to do so may exclude that clubs teams from that age group competition.
Clubs are responsible for the behaviour of their players, coaches and spectators at all times. Incidents involving bad behaviour and/or referee abuse are at variance from the core values of our game. In addition to any formal disciplinary action which may result from an unsavoury incident, consideration will also be given to excluding the club from further competitions, be they within the county or national.
a) Junior sections of clubs who are fully paid up members of the Gloucestershire RFU shall be entitled to enter the competitions.
b) All players must, at the start of any competition, be bona fide members of the clubs, which they represent. No player may represent more than one club in any competition under these rules, during the same season, and anyone belonging to more than one club must elect the one for the relevant competition prior to its commencement.
c) All players in the competitions must be under the relevant age on 1st September in the related season. All players must play in their age correct group, with the exception of the under 19’s competition where players may be a minimum of 16 years of age.
d) All players in the competitions must be registered under the RFU Youth Registration Scheme. Before the start of the Competitions a squad list must be supplied to the appropriate Age Group Administrator, this must include name, date of birth and RFU Registration Number. Names may be added to this list and must be submitted in writing to the Age Group Administrator for the approval of the Cup Committee before being eligible to play.
e) If there should be any doubt as to a player's eligibility, the matter must be referred to the competition administrator, in writing, prior to the date of the related match.
a) Written applications to enter the competitions together with an entry fee to be decided by the Competitions Sub Committee must be received by the Competitions Secretary by midSeptember. Where teams are not able to take part in the competition having paid their entry fee, the entry fee may be returnable at the discretion of the Competitions Sub Committee at the end of the competitions. Clubs will be notified of the draw by the end of December.
b) The competitions will take place in the second half of the season on dates to be specified by the Competitions Sub Committee. Matches may be played prior to the due date by mutual agreement between both clubs. All postponed matches must be played on the next available date. The date of the Final shall be decided by the SubCommittee.
Registration of players to be received by the appropriate Age Group Administrator no later than the first pool fixtures.
Registrations received after a pool fixture has been played may result in forfeit of match or points.
Any registrations not received by the end of pool fixtures may result in team/s being withdrawn from the competition.
a) All matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the game. Players must wear their own club Colours and, in the event of a clash, the home side shall provide and wear distinctive jerseys.
b) Where possible the referee for all matches shall be appointed by one of the two Divisions of the Gloucestershire RFU Referees' Society, in their respective areas. Touch judges for the SemiFinals (if available) and Finals will also be appointed by one of the Societies but, in preceding rounds, a competent person must be provided by both involved clubs. The home side is responsible for confirming the match with the appointed referee by the Thursday of the week preceding the fixture.
c) Exchange of registrations must be on bone fide RFU registration cards. All team coaches / managers / registration officers should make sure they are available / accessible for each age group fixtures. Anything other than bone fide RFU registration cards is not acceptable. Registration card pictures should be up to date, and taken in the last three years.
d) Not later than 30 minutes prior to each match, club officials must exchange team lists with names, dates of birth and RFU Registration numbers together with the facility to review the up to date registration cards. These shall include the currently permitted number of replacements. This must be adhered through every fixture of the county cup competition. If 30 minutes prior to a match registrations are not exchanged, or are accepted on non bone fide RFU cards and the fixture is played, then the result will stand and any dispute will not be entered into.
e) Teams may refuse to play a fixture if non bone fide registrations are produced or none at all. The non offending team will not be penalized.
f) Any team that does not produce bone fide registrations may result in a forfeit of points / result from the match/es.
g) The competitions in each Age Group will be in two parts:
This will be run as leagues in each Age Group. If teams pull out prior to the start of this stage the Cup Committee reserve the right to reschedule the groupings. The top two teams in each league go into Cup competition. The 3rd & 4th placed teams in each league go into Plate competition. 5th placed teams and below are reserves for teams that withdraw from the Plate prior to the Quarter Final stage. Selection of replacement will be done by a random draw by the Age Group Competition Administrator.
In the Leagues Format there will be 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and Nil for a loss. If teams are level after all the league games have being played, Points Difference will be used to decide who goes forward to the Knockout stage. If teams are still level the result of the league match against each other will determine who goes forward. If there is still no result a toss of a coin by the Competitions sub Committee will determine the result.
If a team does not fulfil its league fixture 2 points will be awarded to the opposition for that fixture with an effective score of 0 – 0. The results of other league matches against this team will stand with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, nil points for a loss. Whilst the scores from such will not be counted towards the points difference.
Winning teams will be credited with no more than 50 points difference in any one game i.e. a side winning 63 – 5 will have a score 55 – 5 entered into the league tables. The game does not have to be stopped if a 50 points difference is reached before no side.
This is the Knockout stage for the Cup & Plate Competitions.
All games must be played on or before the date given. All games may be played with less than 15 players (minimum 12) both teams must start with equal numbers and the game may also start with uncontested scrums. (All games must be played if both sides can field 12 players)
If a team is incomplete, the scrum formation must be as follows:
The side with a full squad will still be able to use all 22 players with rolling subs as per Paragraph K below.
In the Cup Knockout Stage Quarter Final if a team does not play the other team receives a walkover. In the SemiFinal if a team does not play the other team receives a walkover.
In the Plate Knockout Stage Quarter Final if a team does not play and a replacement team is not available then the opposition receives a walkover. In the SemiFinal if a team does not play the other team receives a walkover.
If the scores are level at the end of a match, the team that has scored the more tries shall proceed to the next round. If this does not produce a result, the team that has scored more goals from tries shall go forward. If a result has still not been achieved then, except in the Finals (where the cups shall be shared), the visiting team shall go forward.
h) The winning club must notify the Age Group Competition Administrator of the result, within 48 hours of a match being played. Each club must supply a team sheet after each game with name, date of birth and RFU registration number of each player and replacement.
i) The teams in positions 1 & 2 in the group table go forward to the knockout competition and the teams in positions 3 & 4 to the plate competition.
j) Any protest, together with the grounds therefore and remittance of £50 (drawn on a club cheque and refundable at the discretion of the SubCommittee) must be received by the Competitions Secretary (not the Age Group Competition Administrator) within 72 hours of a match being played. Within the same period, a copy of the protest must also be supplied to the opposing club.
k) For all age groups (U13 to U19 inclusive) a squad can consist of up to 22 players. Rolling substitutions in accordance with RFU age group law variations will apply. Players may be exchanged at any time during the match, when the ball is dead and with the knowledge of the referee. A player who has been substituted may replace any player, whether or not that player has been injured.
From Under 15's and above, if a team nominates a squad of 22 players, it must have at least six players who can play in the front row in order that there is replacement cover for the loosehead prop, hooker and tight head prop.
A player who has been substituted may replace an injured player.
A trophy for permanent retention by the Cup & Plate Finalists club shall be provided by the Gloucestershire RFU.
The expenses of all officials appointed by the Referees' Society to the Finals shall be paid by the Gloucestershire RFU.