North West Leagues Cup Rules
North West Leagues Cup Rules
Rule 1 There will be six CUP competitions.
The Cup will be played for by Premier and Championship teams League teams.
The Jug will be played for by teams from Division 1.
The Trophy will be played for by teams from Division 2's.
The Bowl will be played for by teams from Division 3's.
The Shield will be played for by teams from Division 4's
The Plate will be played for by teams from Division 5's
These will be prefixed by the sponsor.
Rule 2 Entry
Cup entry will be optional. Teams can OPT OUT of the Cup before the 1st August by informing John Powell by Email sent by the Club’s Fixtures Secretary.
Teams that leave the Leagues due to concedes will be allowed to remain in the Cup Competitions if they wish to.
Rule 3 Cup Organisation
For Season 2023-2024 the Cup Competitions will be run as with a Knockout format.
However, The Competitions can be held on either a knockout basis or if agreed by the League’s Committee on a Mini League basis. All ties will be played as drawn.
For the Mini Leagues the following Rules will be used to decide the outcome of these mini-Leagues.
Points will be awarded as follows;-
5 for a win or walkover.
3 for a draw
1 for playing
0 for a concede
1 for losing within 7 points
In the Premier Cup only 1 point for scoring four tries.
Positions in the Mini-Leagues would decide progression to the next stages. These positions will be decided by;-
- League points awarded. Should this be equal
- Team with least concedes take higher position. Should this be equal
- Head to Head results where points for and against will be taken into account. Should this be equal
- A Toss of a coin.
Rule 4
A player must be a bona fide member of a Club to play in the competition.
Rule 5
All matches will be played on the grounds of the first drawn except by special permission of the Committee. The finals will be played at a nominated Club. Each round will be drawn after completion of the previous round. The draw will be published on the Web Site.
Rule 6
Confirmation of fixtures should be made as per RFU competitions with the away team confirming the game and Ko time. It is suggested that in Sept/Oct/Mar/April it is 3pm and Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb it is 2-15pm.
By agreement between the teams KO times can vary from those suggested.
Rule 7 Replacements
Replacements will be allowed as for our present League Rules with rolling subs being allowed. They being
In the Premier a maximum of 20 players can be in the squad
In the Championship, Division 1, Divisions 2N & 2S, Divisions 3N & 3S. A maximum of 3 NOMINATED replacements will be allowed in any match.
In Divisions 4 & 5 an open number of replacements can be agreed by both captains and referee before the commencement of the game. If agreement cannot be agreed a maximum of 5 NOMINATED replacements will apply.
Rolling Subs to be allowed. An unlimited number of changes will be allowed.
If a game goes uncontested for any reason the opposition do NOT need to remove a player as per the Man off Rule.
Where the lowest team in a club is in Division 3 or above, they are allowed to negotiate with their opponents to nominate more replacements than the number allowed. An agreement must be made before the game commences or even earlier.
At the semi-Final stage in all Cups WITHIN THE SQUAD OF PLAYERS THE TEAM MUST BE ABLE TO COVER FOR INJURY TO ANY FRONT ROW PLAYER ON ONE OCCASION.
In all Finals 5 replacements will be allowed. WITHIN THE SQUAD OF PLAYERS THE TEAM MUST BE ABLE TO COVER FOR INJURY TO ANY FRONT ROW PLAYERS ON TWO OCCASIONS. Man off Rule does not apply in the Cup Competition
Teams using more than the allowed number of replacements in the Cup Competitions will be out of the competition and their opponents will go through.
Rule 8
All matches will be played under the Laws of The Rugby Football Union. Referees where possible must be society or Association Referees although as in our Leagues where a Society or Association Referee cannot be appointed usual arrangements must be made. It is the Home Clubs responsibility to pay expenses.
Rule 9 Dates
Cup matches to be played on dates reserved for the purpose. The schedule will be published on the website.
Rule 10 Postponements In the event of inclement weather or a ground unfit to play THE HOST CLUB SHOULD EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF PLAYING THE GAME AT THE AWAY VENUE or on a neutral ground on the nominated date. If this is not possible the Leagues Fixtures Secretary will nominate the date for rearranging the game.
Cup games will take priority over League games when rearranging games. In the event of both Captains not agreeing to the condition of the ground the final decision will be made by the referee
Rule 11 IN THE EVENT OF A DRAW AT FULL TIME.
Ties up to and including the Semi-Finals: The winners shall be decided by the team which has scored the most tries. If still undecided then the team that has scored the most goals from tries. If still undecided then the away team will be declared the winner. NO EXTRA TIME TO BE PLAYED.
FINAL TIES: Extra time of ten minutes each way to be played, choice of ends to be decided by toss of a coin. In the event of scores still being equal at the conclusion of extra time the winners will be decided by the team which has scored most tries over the 100 minutes played. If still undecided then by the team which has scored the most goals from the tries. If no result the Trophy will be shared.
In the event of an abandonment during the match due to the weather then provided 60 minutes have been played the score and result stands, otherwise the game must be replayed. League Manager should be informed immediately
Rule 12
The home Club will change strip in the event of a colour clash.
Rule 13
It is the responsibility of both Clubs to forward the Match Result to the Secretary of that league in line with our strict League Rules.
Rule 14 Concedes
Any team conceding a match will NOT have that game added to the number conceded in the league. Any team failing to fulfil a fixture in the semi-final will have 10 points deducted from their League total. If failure to fulfil a fixture in a final the team will have 15 points deducted from their League total at the start of the following season.
The Senior fixture in a Club’s list MUST ALWAYS, UNLESS THE SENIOR MATCH IS NOT PLAYED FOR SOME VALID REASON, be honoured at the expense of a lower team’s fixture. If this happens on a weekend that involves a Cup Competition, all teams from that Club winning a Cup match that day will be eliminated from the Cup Competitions and their opponents will replace them in the next round. This includes teams who had a bye that day.
Rule 15 Player Numbers
In all Cup Competitions each side shall supply a minimum of 12 players for a game to go ahead. There will be no more than ONE man advantage to any team at the start of the game. Failure to supply a minimum of 12 players will result in elimination from the Cup Competition.
Teams must have a full complement of Front Row to start a game.
Rule 16 Front Row:
A Team without a recognised front row will not be allowed to fulfil the Cup fixture and such fixture will be counted as a conceded game. Uncontested scrums will not be allowed from the start of the game. If uncontested scrums are required through injury after the start of the game then the result will stand. The Committee cannot accept any responsibility for any Team that may try to fulfil a fixture with an unrecognised front row.
Rule 17: Double Headers
Consideration will be given to any proposal sent to the Rules Committee regarding League games in the North West Leagues being used as Double Headers with another League game or Cup games.
Permission to do so must be sought from the Rules Committee and agreed by both sides
Rule 18: Appeals
- The Rules Committee (at present, Chairman and Fixtures Secretary) are the sole interpreters of these rules.
- All complaints received by the Leagues Secretary re infringement of League Rules by other teams/clubs MUST be in writing and received within 7 days of the incident/s occurring. Such complaints must be accompanied by documentary evidence including any referee’s report and written statements from officers of the complainant club. On receipt of the complaint the Leagues Secretary shall forward details of the complaint to the club the subject of the complaint, who shall respond within seven days. The Committee shall then issue their findings within 7 days and inform all involved.
- Should a team wish to appeal against a decision of the Rules Committee notice of the appeal together with a £50 remittance payable to "North West Leagues" must be forwarded to the Leagues Secretary within 7 days of the Rule’s Committee’s decision (time being of the essence). The matter would then be considered by the full Committee (excluding Members of the Rules Committee) for their decision.
- Should a team be dissatisfied with the decision of the Committee they may (on payment of the appropriate fee) appeal to a RFU Disciplinary Panel by written notice to the Disciplinary Manager, Twickenham.
- All appeal costs to be borne by the team making the appeal.
Rule 19: Discipline
The Committee expects the highest standards of discipline from all participating Clubs, their players, officials, members and spectators. All breaches will be dealt with by the appropriate County Disciplinary Committee in accordance with the RFU’s Disciplinary Regulations, which are set out in the RFU Handbook and are on the RFU website. A County Disciplinary Committee has jurisdiction to deal with, and impose sanctions for, the following disciplinary offences:
(i) Sendings off, where a player has been dismissed from the field of play by the referee. In all such cases, the referee must, within 48 hours after the end of the match, send a completed copy of the sending off report to the Secretary of the appropriate County Disciplinary Committee and to his own Referees’ Society or Organisation.
(ii) Abuse of a match official, where a player, Club official or member is reported by a match official for abuse during the game or after it while he is still on or at a Club’s premises. Again, a written report should be completed by the match official and sent to the persons named in (i) above within 7 days from the day of the match.
(iii) Citings by a Club or an Accredited Referee Assessor/ Advisor, ie where a player is alleged to have committed an act of foul play but has not been sent off for that act. In such case, a written citing complaint must be made to the appropriate County Disciplinary Secretary and received by him not later than the first post on the 14th day immediately following the match in which the incident took place. Clubs should note that this time limit cannot be extended under any circumstances and the full Citing Procedures are set out in Appendix 7 of the RFU’s Disciplinary Regulations.
(iv) Breach of Rule 5.12 of the Rules of the RFU, ie any words or conduct of any kind, which is prejudicial to the interests of the Union or the game. Such a breach may be by a Club, a team, an individual player, an official or member. Clubs should note that, although a County Disciplinary Committee may not have jurisdiction to sanction a spectator, who is not a member of a Club, the Club itself is responsible for controlling the behaviour, and ensuring the good conduct, of its spectators. Thus, a Club itself may be sanctioned for the misconduct of a non-member spectator. Any complaint relating to a breach of Rule 5.12 must be in writing and made to the appropriate County Disciplinary Secretary within a reasonable time. Any Club or individual, whether a member of a Club or not, may make such a complaint.
(v) Bad disciplinary record. Clubs should note that where players from or other members of a Club or people linked to a Club appear before a Disciplinary Committee (which includes a Club Disciplinary Committee and, thus, junior players) on more than 5 separate occasions in any one season, then that Club may be deemed to have a bad disciplinary record and sanctions may then be imposed on the Club itself or any of its teams.
Amended at AGM
20th June 2019