SECTION 2: YOUTH RUGBY

THESE RULES APPLY TO ALL MATCHES

FOR  MALE AND FEMALE U7 – U18

RULES OF THE CORNWALL RFU YOUTH COMPETITIONS

These rules apply to all youth league and cup competitions and Colts.

1. The competition shall be known as the Cornwall RFU knockout Cup or league

Competition and shall be open to all clubs in membership with the

Cornwall RFU. Clubs wishing to enter must inform the Youth Competition

Secretary by the 1 st of August.

2. Cornwall RFU committee shall appoint a Youth Competition Secretary

Who shall run all competitions and have the final decision on any conflicts.

An appeal on the competitions secretary’s decision must be put in writing to the Youth

Chairman within 7 days of the decision for the Youth committee to discuss.

3. The competitions Secretary shall decide upon the format, depending on the number

of teams entered and a draw made accordingly.

The Competition Secretary shall issue results of the draw, including dates of matches to participating clubs.

4. Matches will normally be played on the weekend of the dates stated in the draw. However mid-week/floodlight games are permissible provided mutually agreed to overcome any fixture problems. Should a club need to alter a scheduled date they must contact the Youth Competition Secretary 3 weeks priorto the scheduled date. Should the reason for postponement be granted, the Youth Competition Secretary will reschedule the game within 4 weeks of theoriginal date. Failure to accept the Secretary’s decision may result in a penalty.

5. Players must have a current registration with their respective club, any players playing out of age grade must have the necessary paperwork completed and the opposition informed 24 hours before kick-off, the. All players, including replacements, are deemed cup tied once they appear in a league or cup fixture.

Team sheets are provided by the Youth Competition Secretary, they will include players

name, date of birth and RFU registration number. A player who is not a registered

member of any club participating in the competition may join, providing they do

register. Any player wishing to Join another club and is not cup tied (3 games or less)

may do so with the relevant “COP” (player transfer request) completed and signed off,

no registered player may transfer after the deadline date which is the 1 st of March

without express permission from the CRFU youth committee. Any players not covered

by the above regarding eligibility must prior to appearing in the competition contact the

Youth Competition Secretary.

6. Should a pitch be deemed unplayable within 24 hours of the kick off, a local

member of the Cornwall Referees Society must be asked to confirm this decision.

The opponents and the Youth Competition Secretary must be notified

immediately. The Youth Competition Secretary will reschedule the game,

Failure to accept the Secretary’s decision will result in points or game deduction for the offending club.

7. All games shall have a duration of (age grade) minutes each way, with no extra time

to be played at any stage of the competition. In the event of an abandoned match, for

whatever reason, the result must be notified to the Youth Competition Secretary.

The Youth Competition Committee / discipline committee will make the final decision.

8. Points for pool matches will be awarded as follows:

4 points for a win

2 points for a draw

1 bonus point for a team scoring four or more tries

1 bonus point for a team losing by 7 points or less.

Should a game not be played, with no fault attributed to either side, then 2 points will be awarded to both. Where a club concedes a game and does not play as a friendly they will be deducted 5 points and their opponents will be awarded 5 points, should a club withdraw from the Competition, the points together with for and against scores in matches already played shall be removed from their opponent’s total.

Pool positions will be determined firstly, by the number of pool points accrued. In the event of a tie, the pool position will be determined by points scored and points conceded. Should there still be a tie then the result of the game between the two teams will count.

9. Should a team be short of players,”GAME ON” principles are compulsory, opponents should attempt to loan their players. Any loaned player will not be cup tied. Failure to agree this compromise  will result in the game being played with reduced numbers on both teams (minimum of 10 players).

Both teams MUST play with equal numbers always except for a yellow or red card being issued by the referee.

Substitutes: unlimited rolling substitutions with unlimited interchanges permitted, all

substitutes must play for at least 35 minutes, the RFU age grade “half time rule” will apply to all cup and league games.

we strongly advise that substitutes be used in a fair and even way, if a team has 15 or

less players the opposition are encouraged to use their substitutes on both sides giving

every player game time and playing in the “spirit” of the game.

10. Positions in the qualifying stages (if any) of the competition shall be based firstly on

The group points awarded (as 9 above). Should there be a tie then the difference

between match points for and against shall count. If still equal then by the results

of the game between the two teams, and if still equal, then by the total number of

tries scored.

In the knockout stages of the competition, should teams be level at full time the

team scoring the most tries shall be deemed the winner. If equal, then the team

with most conversations shall win, and if still equal, the team scoring the first try shall be

deemed the winner.

11. The finals of the competition will be played at a venue organised by the competitions

committee; the date of the finals WILL NOT be changed to accommodate clubs.

Should a game end in a draw, the side with the most tries will be deemed the winner. If

level, the side scoring the most conversions will be deemed the winner, if still level, the

teams will share the trophy.

12. For all matches in the competition, the Cornwall Referees Society shall appoint a

referee. Should no appointed referee be available clubs should mutually agree to

obtain a suitable qualified/trained replacement. If a suitable replacement is

agreed this must be noted on the team sheet before the game commences and

signed by both team managers. If no agreement can be reached the Youth Competition

Secretary must be notified immediately. The Youth Competition Secretary may make a ruling or reschedule the game within 4 weeks of the original date. Failure to accept the Secretary’s decision will result in points deduction for the offending club.

Results: all sides must advise the competitions secretary by 5.00pm of the match date,

result by text or email

Sanction: no points awarded.

Both sides must return their league card within 6 days of the match.

Sanction: no points awarded.

Discipline: In the event of a player being sent off the committee must be informed

within 48 hours of the offence, the CRFU discipline secretary will be informed and have

final say after the club has held its own internal hearing.

Sanction: for not informing the committee of the sending off 5 points deduction. For

playing a player after he has been sent off and before the discipline process has been

concluded 10 points deduction.

Registration: a player registered with a club on the 1 st of September of every season

can play for that club at any time, player registration closes on the 1 st of March and any

player wishing to play for a Cornish club after that time can only do so if

 They are unregistered with any other club

 Moving into the area and joining their new club

 The team they were playing for is no longer running a team.

 The completion secretary has been informed and makes a dispensation for a player.

Front Row: In the event of a side not having suitably qualified props before a game a

front row player may be borrowed from another team with no sanctions.

In the event a prop cannot be borrowed then the game will continue with uncontested

scrums.

Sanction: the offending team are deducted 1 point for a league game or start with a 7

point penalty in a cup game.

Postponed games:

A game may be postponed if a National cup game is played on the same weekend

Outcome: rearranged for the following Wednesday or 2pts each.

A game may be postponed if the referee determines before the game that the pitch is

unplayable

Outcome: rearrangement on a catch-up week or 2 pts. Each.

If a pitch is unplayable the home team must give the away team a “heads up” on the

Friday evening with a pitch inspection taking place by 9.00am on the morning of the

match, if the away team have a playable pitch, then the home team are obliged to

travel.

Outcome: no pitch available, rearrangement on a catch-up weekend or 2 pts. Each.

If the home team fails to travel, no points awarded to the non-traveling side, the other

side awarded 5pts.

Appeal process:

A decision made by the league secretary may be appealed against. Notification of your

wish to appeal must be made within 48 hours of the original decision and sent to the

group secretary for the committee to decide upon, a meeting may be called at the

discretion of the group secretary / Chairman.

A further appeal is permitted, your complaint must be put in writing within 7 days of the

committee’s decision. Your complaint will then be passed to an independent panel (to

be decided) for a final decision.

Any points not covered above must be verified by the Youth Competition

Secretary or Youth Competition Committee.

The Youth Competition Committee consists of the Chairman, the Secretary and the

Competition Secretary

CLUBS PLEASE NOTE:

All CRFU Youth group trophies, including the sevens competition, must be returned engraved to the Competitions Secretary two weeks in advance of finals or your club will be invoiced for a replacement cup.

Note. Amendment for 2023-2024

With the reported rise in cases of match official abuse from parents, spectators, and

coaches we feel we need to do more to promote and enforce the values of our game.

Therefore, in addition to the normal discipline process the competitions committee

reserve the right to penalise teams by way of points deduction for league games and forfeiting wins in cup matches.

It is all of our responsibility to come down heavy of cases of ill-discipline and lack of respect and we will punish any cases that are reported to us.

In accordance with the RFU age grade ruling, any club may select in their COLTS

squad a player from the, U16s, U17s, U18s and U19s age groups (subject to the correct

playing up or down assessment).

Girls banding = U12’s / U14’s / U16’s and U18’s

U16’s boys = U15’s / U16’s / U17’s

COLTS boys = U16’s / U17’s / U18’s / U19’s

The opposition must be notified of any player playing out of age grade in the match day

squad no later than 48 hours prior to kick off, no U16 is allowed on the field of play if an

U19 is playing, no U15 is allowed on the field of play if an U17 is playing, the half game

rule still applies,, the opposition will reserve the right to refuse players to play if notification has not been given.

Failure to notify the opposition will result in a penalty -5 league points or the win being

stripped if it’s a cup game.

Combined playing squads.

In line with RFU regs regarding combined age groups, all CRFU competitions endorse

combined age groups and will not be excluded from playing in any cup or league

competitions.

However, the CRFU are fully aware of the concerns of some clubs in relation to

safeguarding. Please see the code of practice below.

Code of Practice when arranging fixture for a combined team

Any combining of teams, U12-18’s, must gain CB approval prior to any fixture. The form

can be found at RFU regulations>reg15>combining out of age grade form. After

completing all sections, paying particular attention to the “group player assessment”

section, click on the submit box at the bottom of the form. If the application is approved,

you will receive confirmation by email.

Prior to the fixture:

.You must contact the opposition fixtures secretary in good time, by Thursday at

the latest, to advise that you have a combined age team. Have a discussion with

the opposition coach and make sure they are aware of how you intend to

manage any of the larger older players. This discussion needs to be player

centred and development driven. Remember these are children and we have no

wish to exclude any player.

· If you have good numbers in the younger group, please ensure you include them

all in the match day squad and use the older players as rolling subs, ensuring

they get at least half a game. (this can be in ten-minute segments)

· Do not use the larger older players as “crash ball carriers” this will do nothing for their own personal development nor that of their teammates.

Remember, combining of age groups allows clubs who are struggling with low numbers

to give their players the opportunity to continue to play rugby where otherwise players and teams would be lost to the sport.