DEFINITIONS:

Committee	means the County Union’s Competitions Sub-Committee
Competitions Administrator	means the person to whom the Committee delegate the administration of a Competition
County Union	means the Somerset County Rugby Football Union Limited
Home Club	means the first named club to be drawn in respect of a fixture or as otherwise determined by the Committee
iRB	means the International Rugby Board
RFU	means the Rugby Football Union
Society	means the Somerset County Rugby Football Union Referees Society Limited

DESCRIPTION & FORM:

1.1 All matches shall be played under the iRB Laws of the Game (as appropriate to the Age Grade) and the Regulations of the iRB and the RFU in so far as the same are not varied by or inconsistent with these Regulations. Where there is any such variation or inconsistency then these Regulations shall prevail.

1.2. All matches in each Competition shall be played on Saturday or Sunday as determined by the Committee. Clubs may mutually agree to play a match (other than a semi-final or final) prior to any fixed date and on any other day of the week.

1.2.1 Any club refusing to play a match on the date determined by the Committee shall not be eligible to enter a Competition or to continue participation as the case may be.

1.3. Matches shall be played on the ground of the club drawn first in each round except for the finals which shall be played on neutral grounds to be determined by the Committee.

1.4. A Home club is responsible for the correct and clear marking of its pitch and must make proper provision to ensure (that with the exception of touch judges, fourth official, Registered Medical Practitioner or other suitably medically qualified person and one water carrier from each team) all spectators, coaches replacements and others are kept a proper distance from the field of play.  

ORGANISING COMMITTEE:

2.1. The Competitions shall be organized and administered by the Committee.

2.2. The Committee shall have the power to delegate any of its duties, powers or obligations under these Regulations to a Competition Administrator.

2.3. Decisions of the Committee or the Competitions Administrator shall be final and binding.

ELIGIBILITY OF CLUBS & PLAYERS:

3.1. All clubs in membership of the County Union shall be eligible to enter a team in any Competition but must signify to the Competition Administrator their wish to do so on the offical entry form by the date stated

3.2. The Committee shall have the power to exclude any team from any Competition at any time.

3.3. Players shall be eligible to play in any Competition provided that they are under the relevant age at midnight on 31st August.

3.4.1. Players must be properly registered under the Rugby Union’s Youth Registration Scheme (as administered by the County Union) or hold Effective Registration (as the case may be) with the team/club for which they play.

3.4.2. Any club wishing to enter a Competition shall provide to the Competition Administrator a list of its Registered Players prior to the premliminary round being played.

3.4.3. Prior to any match in any Competition all players’ Registration Lists shall be mutually inspected by the coach (es)/team manager(s) of each team and unjustifiable failure to produce such cards for inspection will lead to expulsion from the Competition.

Note: the home club should, when confirming kick-off times and other arrangements, remind the away team of the need to produce their players’ registration lists on the day of the match.

3.5. Clubs shall not be represented by a player who has played for another club in any Competition.

3.6. A maximum of seven replacements are allowed in any match.

MATCH OFFICIALS:

4.1. The Society shall wherever possible appoint a referee plus two touch judges for the finals.

4.2. The home team is responsible for obtaining a suitable qualified referee from the society (for all rounds apart from the final). If one is not available the referee is to be appointed by mutual agreement prior to the start of the match.

DETERMINATION OF MATCH RESULTS:

5.1. If the scores in a match (other than a final) are level at the end of normal playing time the following shall apply:-

5.2. If the scores in a final are level at the end of normal playing time and neither a. or b. above produce a result then the Competition trophy shall be shared. Which club shall hold the trophy for the first six months and which the second six months shall be decided by the toss of a coin. The winner of the “coin toss” shall have the option to decide for which six month period the trophy will be held.

NOTIFICATION OF MATCH RESULTS:

6.1. Results of all matches in the any Competition (save for the finals) shall be notified to the Competitions Administrator within 48 hours of the end of the match.

CLASH OF COLOURS:

7.1. In the event of clubs having similar or clashing colours the home club shall be responsible for changing its colours subject to the satisfaction of the match referee.

7.2. The shirts of teams shall be numbered in accordance with iRB requirements to ensure the correct identification of all players and replacements during a match.

KICK-OFFS AND DELAYED ARRIVALS:

8.2. Matches (except the finals) shall start at a time notified by the home club to their opponents (not less than 3 days prior to the date prescribed for the playing of the match) but it shall not be later than 2.30pm unless the opponents agree otherwise. A kick-off time may be determined by the Committee if, upon appeal by an opponent club, the Committee deem the time specified by the home club to be unreasonable.

Any delay in kicking-off from the agreed or pre-determined time may be reported by the non-offending club and the Committee may impose any sanction it sees fit, which may, for the avoidance of doubt, mean the expulsion from the Competition of the offending club.

DISPUTES:

9.1. Any matter in dispute between participating clubs shall be notified to the Competitions Administrator as soon as it becomes apparent or, if occurring during a match, within 24 hours of the end thereof. Written confirmation of a complaint or dispute must reach the Competitions Administrator within 72 hours after the initial notification and shall set out fully the nature of the complaint or dispute. The Committee shall have full power to determine any such matter (using any procedure in its absolute discretion it considers appropriate) and it may decline to investigate any such matter if it considers doing so to be in the best interest of the Competition generally or the game of Rugby Football.

POSTPONED AND ABANDONED MATCHES:

10.1. If ground or weather conditions prevent a match being played at the ground of the Club designated as the “home” side, every effort must be made to play the match either a) at the grounds of the designated “away” side, should that Club have a suitable pitch available or b) at a neutral venue (in which case the first named team will be deemed the “home side”.)

10.2. If ground or weather conditions prevent a match being played at the grounds of either Club, (or neutral venue) it may be re-scheduled by agreement between the two Clubs and the Divisional Organiser or RFU Rugby Events & Competitions Department, dependent on the stage of the Competition. In the event of the Clubs being unable to agree to a revised date, the Divisional Organiser or RFU Rugby Events & Competitions Department may specify the date on which the match is to be played or award the match to one side or the other, dependant on the circumstances of the postponement. A rescheduled match must be played before the due date of the next round of the Competition.

10.3.  If a match is abandoned because of weather conditions (including bad light) when fifty or more minutes have been played, then the score at the moment of abandonment shall stand and be deemed the final score in the match. The Referee’s decision as to the necessity for abandonment and the number of minutes played at the moment of abandonment shall be final.

10.4. Teams will concede the match if they are unable to field a full side on the stipulated date of play

Addendum:

11.1. For the U18 Somerset cup competition only - any match (other than the final) that includes a team that participates in the Somerset U18 Saturday league will be played on a Saturday irrespective of the home or away status of the Somerset U18 Saturday league team.

11.2. Clubs must ensure that all teams are insured in accordance with RFU Guidelines.

11.3. For the quarter-final and semi-final games, the Home team will be the team that had the greatest winning margin from the previous round. If this is equal then the home team will be selected by coin toss.

11.4. In the interests of all parties if during a match one team is leading by at least 50 points then the game should finish irrespective of the time played. The home team for the next round, should both winning teams from the prior round have scored 50 points or more will be the team that has conceeded the fewest points, should this be equal then the home team will be selected by a draw undertaken by the cup committee.

11.5. All teams will submit a list of registered prior to their first match either by post or email, and no additional players can be added to the squad after this date. Any team found to be playing none eligible players will forfeit and be removed from the competition.

11.6. The dates below are the last dates the matches can be played on, it is up to both teams to agree a date prior to this date. If neither team can agree a date then both teams will forfeit. The only exception to playing a match after the prescribed last date will be exceptional weather and this must be agreed  by the Cup Committee prior to the game being delayed.

11.7. It is up to the home team to organise a suitably qualified referee apart from the final.

11.8. The winning team responsible for getting the trophy engraved and must return it by 1st April. If the team fails to return the trophy then they will be responisble for providing an equivelent alternative at their own cost.

NOTES:

12.1. The Schools & Youth Regulations (including Age Grade Variations) can be found in the current RFU Handbook p.399 et seqq.

12.2. Effective Registration is defined on p.116 of the Handbook.