A message from Mike Wild in regards to changes in the cup competitions
Dear all,
You should by now have received your league fixtures for the coming season from First Eleven.
As a result of the restructure, clubs at level 6 and above now play 26 league matches, a consequence of which is that there's no longer time to play RFU Cup competitions. As a result of these changes the old RFU knockout cup competitions have been scrapped, so there will no longer be a Trophy place for our County Cup winners. Instead there will be RFU Cup competitions for 1st XVs of clubs at Level 7 and below.
To avoid the problem of mismatches and to encourage clubs to participate, entry to the new RFU knockout cups is being restricted to clubs only of the same league level. As a result the new Intermediate Cup will be contested only by clubs at level 7, the new RFU Senior Vase by clubs at level 8 and the RFU Junior Vase by Ist XVs of clubs at level 9 and below.
The format of the Intermediate Cup (level 7) will at first be between clubs from Southern Counties North and Southern Counties South, until a last 2 are achieved. These 2 will then play regional semi finals against 2 clubs from Western Counties North and Western Counties West to provide finalists for a South West champion. This champion club will then compete against the champion club of London's level 7 leagues to contest a place in the final against the champion level 7 club of North & Midlands divisions. The winner will be crowned Level 7 Champion club of England.
The Senior and Junior Vases will be run along similar lines, except that the early rounds will be restricted to clubs within the BBO leagues to keep travelling to a minimum. The Senior Cup will then see 2 level 8 clubs compete against 2 qualifiers from the Dorset & Wilts parallel league, with the regional winner taking on the winner of the level 8 competition in the western half of the division to establish a South West Senior Vase winner. The same will happen as the Junior Vase with 1st XVs of clubs at level 9 and below. As with the Intermediate Cup both the Senior and Junior Vase South West winners will compete a national semi final against the champion club of London, with the winner meeting the winner of the North & Midlands sections in a final to establish the national champions.
There will be no prize money for any of these competitions, the allocated monies going instead to offset teams' travel costs once the competition moves from a local to a regional basis. No decision has yet been reached but the intention is that the regional & national finals be played at neutral venues of National League clubs, for example Newbury, Bridgewater and Albion or Henley in the South West.
The intentions is for these cups to be completed within each division by 6th Feb 2010 so that the national finals can be held in March. The practicality will be that as in previous years the cups will require fixtures to be played in early season.
By limiting these cups to clubs of a similar standing the RFU hopes that many clubs who have previously withdrawn from the Intermediate Cup and Senior or Junior Vase will wish to return. However, all clubs must elect to be included, hence the "heads up" now. First Eleven Sport are about to write to every league club in Bucks next season (Risborough are included in this competition) asking them to respond if they intend to enter. Bucks clubs are therefore urged to contact First Eleven as soon as possibly to confirm their entry.
With the expected increased participation in these RFU competitions and possibility that Bucks Clubs may still be involved in February, it might not be possible to start the Bucks Cup and Shield as early as we might like. Indeed we may have to look at a changed format for our domestic competitions. County Competitions will work on this and present ideas for consideration at the AGM.
Meantime can I urge you to get your applications in to First Eleven as soon as is practically possible.
Thanks
Mike
Mike Wild
Hon. Secretary, Buckinghamshire RFU
RFU.com 
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