Latest News

Cheltenham North

Cheltenham North have successfully applied to return to the South West Leagues from the start of Season 2016-2017.

In accordance with the South West’s policy of giving a full season’s notice, we are writing to inform you that an extra relegation may be required at some, or all, levels from Level 7 down, at the end of the 2015/16 season.

Cheltenham North currently play at Level 8 in the Midlands. Subsequently, ,they will come across to Level 8 into the South West, should they not finish in a promotion or relegation position at the end of this season

However, should they achieve promotion in 2015/16, they will play at Level 7 or, if they are relegated, they will come in at Level 9.

It is not possible at this stage to be more specific.

 

19 Aug 15

Student Pass

The RFU has been working to develop ways to make it easier for students to play for local rugby clubs and is introducing the Student Pass this season 2015-16 as a trial period.

The Student Pass is intended to encourage students to play more rugby more regularly by introducing greater flexibility with the registration of players. This will enable genuine students to play for their home club and the club local to their higher/further education institution by undergoing a simplified and less onerous player registration process.

Full details of the conditions are here.

Full details of the registration process are here.

16 Aug 15

Result Cards

A supply of result cards and, where appropriate, a list of registered players have been sent to all clubs for the new season.

Where the nominated league contact is responsible for more than one team within a club please take care when distributing the cards.  Take note of which team features on the envelope as different leagues use different cards

Newsletter 2 has also been published - see under Newsletters & Forms above.

14 Aug 15

Mike Gee honoured for lifetime devotion to the game

Long serving South West League Co-ordinating Secretary Mike Gee has been honoured in the Queens Birthday Honours List published this morning.

Mike's more than 50 years involvement with rugby union as a player and administrator has been recognised with the award of the British Empire Medal (BEM). 

Cornwall born and bred, Mike played around 600 games for St Ives over 13 seasons and scored nearly 200 tries, including 45 in one season.  After hanging up his boots he has held various administrative posts.  He served on the Cornwall RFU Committee in the 1970s and with the start of the Leagues in 1987 he became one of the first league secretaries.  Following the retirement of founder League Co-ordinating Secretary Jack Wooldridge in 1995 he took over the role and has overseen the running of the competition in the South West for the last 20 years.

He has also contributed to the wider running of the game as a member of the RFU's Competition Committee, where he is the longest serving member.

Mike, who will be 71 in a few weeks, said "I'm delighted and deeply honoured but I could not have achieved this award without the support of all the League Officials in the South West, past and present."

13 Jun 15

 

Fixtures 2015-2016

Work is starting on the fixtures for next season.

We are still awaiting details of the structure of some leagues but it is hoped that the fixtures will be issued before the bank holiday at the end of May.

As a guide we hope to offer local fixtures where possible during the opening round of the Rugby World Cup so that away teams can get home before the 8pm kick off. There will be no games planned on the weekend of the final - 31st October.

14 club leagues will start on the 5th September.

06 May 15

End of season playoffs

With all league games in the South West completed on schedule, we can now confirm the promotion playoffs

Exmouth v Barnes
Newent v Kingsbridge
Salisbury v Aylesbury
Towcestrians v Ivybridge
Veor v Plymstock Albion Oaks
Winscombe v Whitehall

Matches to be played on the 25th/26th April. The venues have been decided under the regulations regarding Best Playing Record - ie the number of points gained as a percentage of the number possible in the club's league.
Clubs involved have been posted a match card.

19 Apr 15

Exeter University lose appeal

An RFU Disciplinary Panel has upheld the South West’s decision to deduct 50 points from Exeter University for a series of breaches of the conditions applicable to their participation in the English Clubs Championship.

The panel, chaired by High Court Judge Sir James Dingemans, heard the club had agreed to conditions when it joined the leagues in 2011 that it would not use players who had played in the BUCS League in the same season. At the start of this season the club had applied to have these removed but had been turned down. The club acknowledged it had then breached the conditions rather than challenge them further.

The panel noted the League Secretary’s decision to deduct the club on the basis of five points per game rather than five points per player was designed to punish the University but not relegate them.

The South West and the University will discuss what conditions, if any, should apply to the team for Season 2015-2016.

24 Mar 15

Exeter University

Exeter University have been deducted 50 competition points for breach of league conditions. The South West Organising Committee responsible for running the English Clubs Championship in the South West took the decision after discovering there were some 40 occasions the rules had been broken this season. Under the terms agreed when the team joined the leagues in 2011 the University should not play players who had featured in the university’s first XV in the University's National inter university Competition.

The breaches took place over 10 matches and the deduction was calculated at 5 points per match.

The University, who originally accepted the terms, now feel the conditions to be “perverse and unfair”. They have admitted fielding players in breach of those conditions.

In accordance with League Regulations the University appealed to the South West Organising Committee which appointed an independent and experienced panel of experts from Somerset, Dorset & Wilts and Devon who rejected the appeal upholding the original decision. They commented that if the University objected to the conditions (which they had originally agreed) an appeal should have been lodged to the Rugby Football Union at the time rather than just ignoring and breaching them.

The University has now appealed to the Rugby Football Union against the points deduction which if upheld would mean it will not be promoted this year. The hearing will be held on Wednesday 18th March..

07 Mar 15 (updated 13 Mar 15)

Transfer Deadline

For those who are not "Permitted Players" the transfer deadline is the 27th February - that means the players must complete their waiting period by then. So for seven day registrations we must have them in the post no later than Friday 20th February and for expedited ones by 12 noon on Friday 27th.

For full details see the latest newsletter from the menu above.

08 Feb 15

League Travel Payments

We have been informed the RFU Finance Department are currently going through the travel payments to make sure everything is in order.

Once completed the payments will be made and should be in club accounts next Tuesday (18th November).

Clubs are entitled to payments for any league games where the travel involved is over 150 miles as defined by the RFU Regulations. These are identified by the South West and do not require the clubs to apply for them.

13 Nov 14

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