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Tribute Team of the Month - September 2021

Berkshire Bracknell III
Buckinghamshire Beaconsfield
Cornwall Wadebridge Camels
Devon Teignmouth
Dorset & Wilts Teignmouth
Gloucestershire Matson
Oxfordshire Oxford Harlequins
Somerset Chew Valley

Tribute renew and expand SW support

The South West is delighted to announce that St Austell Brewery under their Tribute brand have not only renewed their sponsorship but widened it to include all 33 leagues in the Division.

Final details are being worked on but all clubs will receive playing equipment and be in with a chance of winning a Team of the Month award. League officials will choose one team from each of the eight constituent bodies (CBs) and they will receive 24 cans of Tribute to celebrate.

Funds will also be made available to each CB.

We are delighted to have been able to reach this agreement at such a difficult time.

(L-R Mike Gee - SW Co-ordinating Secretary, Denis Preece - SW Competitions Committee Deputy Chairman, Laura McKay - Head of Marketing St Austell Brewery)

07 Oct 21

Covid-19

With the season about to start please make sure your club is aware of what to do in the event of a Covid outbreak at your club.

Details of the process to follow are here .

29 Aug 21

Travel Funding

As outlined in a recent Community Game Update, there is a chnage in the procedure for applying for financial assistance for long distance travel.

Clubs need to apply by the 23rd July 2021 outlining any journey for a league match which involves a trip greater than 150 miles there and back.

Details are here and the application form is here.

8 Jul 21

2021-2022 Fixtures published

 

Fixtures for the 2021-2022 season have been released. The newsletter which accompanied them is available here.

Clubs now have a number of tasks

  • Confirm their nominated league contact - this should be done by 1st July 2021. Go here.
  • Decide if they want to move or reverse any fixtures. This must be done by mutual consent with your opponents. Both clubs need to complete the online form here. (Please note the instructions at the top of that page if you are reversing the venues of games.)
  • If playing in leagues of 12 or less decide if you want to apply for a free weekend. The form (and details of what you can apply for) is here. Every weekend between the start of the season and the end of April (except 25th/26th Dec and 1st/2nd Jan) is available for re-arranged matches - it is only a free weekend if you have successfully applied for it.
South West Premier Tribute Devon 1 Tribute Somerset 2 South Dorset & Wilts 1 North
South West 1 East   Tribute Somerset 3 North Dorset & Wilts 1 South
Tribute South West 1 West Gloucestershire Premier Tribute Somerset 3 South Dorset & Wilts 2 North
Southern Counties North Gloucestershire 1 North Berks, Bucks & Oxon Premier Dorset & Wilts 2 South
Southern Counties South Gloucestershire 1 South Berks, Bucks & Oxon 1 Dorset & Wilts 2 Central
Tribute Western Counties North Gloucestershire 2 North Berks, Bucks & Oxon 2N  
Tribute Western Counties West Gloucestershire 2 South Berks, Bucks & Oxon 2S

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Tribute Cornwall/Devon Tribute Somerset Premier Berks, Bucks & Oxon 3 North  
Tribute Cornwall 1 Tribute Somerset 1 Berks, Bucks & Oxon 3 South Complete SW Fixture List
Tribute Cornwall 2 Tribute Somerset 2 North    

 

Club Officials: Remember you must confirm your league contact by 1st July 2021 by going here.

2021-2022 Fixtures

Work has been going on over the last few weeks to draw up the fixtures for the 2021-2022 Season.

It is planned that they will be issued by the 31st May at the latest.

The dates being used by the various leagues (the structured season) have been agreed and can be found on the Guidance section of this website.

Further updates will appear here as the process moves on.

12 May 2021

RFU Clusters update 2 - Jan 2021

Due to the additional restrictions announced yesterday to combat the spread of Covid-19, the RFU has regretfully decided to cancel both the adult male & female Cluster Fixtures (for teams that play in RFU Leagues).

The focus will now switch to the following:

• Facilitating fixtures through local organising committees as and when conditions allow a return to playing rugby which could extend into the summer months.

• Ensuring any extension does not encroach on the 2021/22 season start date.

Any further announcements will be made following the next Government review.

05 Jan 21

RFU Clusters update

In light of Government’s announcement over the weekend of new restrictions on travel and participation in adult grass roots sport for many areas, the publication of the Cluster fixtures planned for today, 22 December, will be held over until early in the New Year.

This pause will allow the Adult Competition Management Sub Committee to take on board the very latest Government guidance, which is due on 30 December, before finalising the fixture schedule.

We are keen for rugby communities who wish to play to have this opportunity and hope it will still be possible for clubs in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 to commence Cluster Competitions as planned on 23 and 24 January. However, we will need to take Government guidance following their review.

Our next communication will be in the Community Game Update on Tuesday 5 January 2021.

Teams in Tiers 1, 2 and 3, may still organise local friendlies ahead of the Cluster fixtures being confirmed, as long as they are within Tier & Area parameters, follow Stage E law adaptations and adhere to RFU and Government Covid-19 guidance.

For the avoidance of doubt, adult community rugby is not permitted in Tier 4 areas. The government’s Tier 4 guidance states organised outdoor sport for under-18s and disabled people will be allowed. The government’s guidelines on travel between tiers should be adhered to. These players cannot move in or out of Tier 4 to train or play.

A number of queries have been received about whether CBs can and should be cancelling rugby activity. If the rugby activity is organised by the CBs (such as a county representative programme), the decision as to whether such activity should continue or not rests with the CB. This is in the same way that organisers of rugby activity can decide in their own discretion as to whether activity should go ahead, provided that such activity remains permitted by the RFU and Government.

However, for rugby activity which is not organised by the CB, clubs and players can continue to participate in such rugby activity provided it has not been cancelled or postponed by the RFU and/or Government.

22 Dec 20

RFU Clusters announced for Spring Competition

Please see the finalised clusters and below for some further update on how we will proceed with the clusters in the new year:

  • Please be aware that some clusters may have changed from those initially sent out, this is in response to clubs opting-out. However these changes are in line with the principles previously communicated.
  • Given the complexities with current Tier systems, and the earliest update to Tiers in the new year being the 13th Jan, we have scheduled the start date of the clusters to allow for any potential changes, i.e. fixture changes and movement of teams between clusters, to be made with enough notice for clubs.
  • The first round of games will now take place on the weekend of 23rd/24th Jan. This does not mean teams cannot play fixtures they have organised themselves before the weekend of 23rd/24th Jan.  Additionally, CBs and/or other non-RFU locally organised clusters can start before this date.
  • Teams unable to start on the 23rd/24th because of Tier restrictions will have their affected games moved to another place in the fixture list. These fixtures may be bolted on to the back of the fixture list or to break/reserve weeks or a mix of both – this will be determined between the teams involved.
  • Teams unable to play in their clusters will be encouraged to arrange games locally amongst themselves (within their Tier and area parameters).
  • Cluster fixtures lists will be available to teams on 22nd December. They will be uploaded to GMS and also sent to teams via their respective Organising Committees.

 

11 Dec 20

RFU Spring 2021 Competition

Following the decision from the RFU Council to cancel the 20/21 League Season for Men’s (Level 3 and below) and Women’s (Level 2 and below) competitions, plans have been developed to instigate ‘local cluster’ fixtures to help facilitate a return to contact rugby match play when we are able (hopefully in the New Year).

This proposal is based around five principles;

  • Providing Clubs with structured local competitive fixtures
  • Based on contact rugby (either full contact or adapted variations dependent on HM Government advice)
  • Minimised travel times
  • Local Clusters of up to 7 teams (the number will vary according to specific regions and on agreed local needs)
  • Relaxed regulations to remove barriers to participation

The make-up of these clusters are here. To ease travel and in support of player welfare they are constructed based on geography and current level of play and will offer a number of both home and away matches. Some of the Women’s clusters are smaller due to the lower density in teams within the league pyramid. Clubs in these smaller clusters will have the ability to play each other multiple times as well as crossing over with other local clusters.

Participation is optional and the results of any matches will have no impact on promotion or relegation in the league pyramid.  Clubs are free to opt out of being included if they wish to play in another locally organised model or to simply arrange matches on an ad-hoc basis. By opting in clubs can support each other by travelling to respective grounds and selecting appropriate squads of players to ensure meaningful and enjoyable games. We believe that this engagement can play a critical role in the game’s recovery after nine months without activity.

The format of the game will be that agreed between the RFU and Government under return to contact rugby protocols and is likely, at least initially, to involve law adaptations.

Clubs can opt-in or out of their proposed clusters by filling in the following short survey here. Please be aware that clubs with multiple teams in the pyramid will need to fill out a response for each team.

Based on the attached initial detail, clubs are requested to confirm their ‘opt-in’ by 30th November to enable Organising Committees time to finalise the clusters and develop fixture lists.

The use of “Game On” principles will be encouraged at Levels 5 and below in the Men’s game and at all levels in the Women’s game. This enables further adaptations to be made where both teams agree to enable games to be played, for example, with less than 15 players or with a shorter playing duration.  In addition, and on agreement, clubs will have the flexibility to change fixture dates and playing format according to what format of the game may be permissible at the time of a fixture.

 

 

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