THE SENIOR DEVON CUP RULES
1. The Competition.
A competition shall be run throughout each season to include only clubs considered eligible and which conform to the Rugby Football Union Club Knockout Competition Regulations.
2. Administration.
The Devon RFU shall elect annually a sub-committee of six persons to administer the competition. One of the members of this sub-committee shall act as Competitions Chairman and one member shall act as Competitions Secretary. The sub-committee shall have full powers of adjudicating on all matters relating to the Competition and their decisions shall be final
3. Eligible Clubs.
Eligible clubs are the top 16 Devon Clubs participating in the English Club Championship at Level 5 and below which hold Section 1 membership of the Devon RFU. The rank order of Clubs shall be established after promotion and relegation for the previous season has taken place.
4. Draw.
The draw shall be made at the AGM of the Devon RFU. Clubs ranked 9 – 16 shall contest the first round. Clubs ranked 5 – 8 and the four winners from the first round shall contest the second round. Clubs ranked 1 – 4 and the four winners from the second round shall contest the third round (quarter-finals). The four winners of the third round shall contest the semi-finals.
5. Venue and Match Dates.
(i) The latest date for the completion of the first three rounds and the semi-finals will be set at the start of the season and a date for the Final will be specified. Clubs are encouraged to play before the latest date.
(ii) The draw will specify the venue at which each match is to be played.
(iii) Not later than fourteen days before the latest date for completion of each round, the home club shall inform the Devon RFU Competitions secretary of the date agreed with their opponents for each tie. If the two clubs fail to reach agreement, the Competitions sub-committee shall decide on which day the match will be played.
(iv) A match shall only be played after the latest date if weather conditions or some other exceptional circumstance (approved by the Devon RFU Competitions sub-committee) have prevented a tie being played. Within 48 hours of any such postponement, the match shall be re-arranged on a date agreed between the two clubs or, in the absence of such an agreement, as directed by the sub-committee.
(v) Unless both clubs agree to an earlier or later kick-off, a match shall start at 3 p.m. in September, October, March, April and May and at 2.30 p.m. in November, December. January and February.
6. Abandoned matches
(i) If a match is abandoned for safety reasons or weather conditions, it shall be re-arranged within 48 hours in accordance with 5(iv) above unless more than 60 minutes have been played, in which case the score at the moment of abandonment shall stand and be deemed to be the final score. If a match is abandoned for foul play at any time, the tie will be void and neither club shall progress into the next round unless in his report the referee indicates that the conduct of only one club caused him to abandon the match. In this case the other club shall advance into the next round. The referee's decision for the necessity of abandonment and the number of minutes played shall be final.
(ii) If a match is abandoned for any reason other than in 6(i) above, then, irrespective of the number of minutes played, the result of that match may be determined by the Competitions sub-committee or it may order the match to be replayed.
(iii) If on the first or second occasion a front row player requires to be replaced and his team cannot provide a replacement or other player capable of playing in the front row of the scrum, the referee, having confirmed this fact with the Captain of the team, will order uncontested scrums and the team shall be deemed to have lost the game.
(iv) If on the third or subsequent occasion a front row player requires to be replaced and his team cannot provide a replacement or other player capable of playing in the front row, the referee having made enquiry, the match shall be deemed to be abandoned and the provisions of 6(i) above shall apply.
7. Awards.
The winning club in the final shall become the holders of the Devon Senior Cup and the losing club shall be awarded the President’s Plate. All players in the final, including replacements, will be presented with suitable mementos, as will the referee and touch judges. The trophies shall be returned, suitably engraved, to the Devon RFU Competitions Secretary by 1st April in the following year.
8. Entry.
All eligible clubs in the previous season’s competition will be drawn in the ties unless they notify the Competitions Secretary in writing by not later than 1st June that they do not intend to play in the competition in the following season. Eligible clubs wishing to join the competition must apply in writing to the Competitions secretary by 1st June. There is currently no entry fee.
9. Withdrawal.
Any Club that fails to play a tie in any round of this competition shall within 48 hours send a written explanation for that withdrawal to the Competitions Secretary. A Club which does not comply with this requirement or which provides an explanation which the Sub-Committee considers to be unsatisfactory, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £100 and/or to disqualification from the competition in the following season. Devon RFU will exercise its right to block entry to the national cup competitions in the following season for any club failing to fulfil its fixtures in the county cup competitions.
10. Eligibility of Players.
(i) No player may represent a club in the competition unless he is registered with that club on the day of the match.
(ii) A player who has played for a club in any round of the competition may not play for another club in the competition in the same season.
(iii) A club may not in any one match in the competition be represented by and may not select as a replacement more than two Foreign Players.
(iv) Any club with any doubt concerning the eligibility of a player shall apply to the Competitions sub-committee for a decision which shall be binding on that club.
(v) A maximum of four replacements up to and including the quarter final and seven in the semi-final and final shall be nominated which must enable Clubs to comply with 6(iii) and 6(iv) above.
11. Final.
The Final shall be played on a date and at a venue to be decided by the Devon RFU.
12. Referees.
The Devon Rugby Referees Society shall appoint a referee for matches in the competition throughout the season and shall appoint touch judges for all quarter-final and semi-final matches and the final. Referees may be invited from outside the County on the official exchange system.
13. Drawn Games.
(i) In all rounds, except the final, if after 40 minutes of play each way the scores are level, there shall be a five minute break. After this break, the teams will change ends and there shall be a period of extra time of 10 minutes each way with a one minute interval. If the scores are then still equal, the team that has scored the most tries will go forward to the next round. If this does not produce a result, the team that has scored the most goals from tries will go forward. If a result is still not forthcoming, the away team shall go forward to the next round.
(ii) In the final the same sequence of procedures as in 13(i) above will be used to resolve drawn matches except that, should no result be achieved after considering goals from tries, the result will be a draw.
14. Colours
If the colours of the jerseys should be considered too alike, the home team must arrange to change its own colours.
15. Results
The secretary of the home club involved in a competition match shall be provided with a card on which he shall ensure that the names of the players and nominated replacements in both teams are recorded and the result of the match is noted. The card should be signed by the referee and sent to the Competitions Secretary or administrator within 48 hours after the match.
16. Finance.
(i) Clubs shall share equally the gross gate receipts at each cup tie, unless they decide mutually some other division
(ii) The gate receipts of the semi-final and the final including income from the sale of programmes shall be divided equally among the DRFU and the two participating clubs after deduction of charges for the referee and touch judges and the costs of producing a programme. Not fewer than ten days before the final, the Secretary of the home club shall be responsible for submitting draft arrangements for the match to the Competitions Secretary for approval by the sub committee and within fourteen days of the match being played for submitting to the Hon Treasurer of the DRFU a balance sheet showing all receipts, permitted expenditure and distribution of income.
(iii) Clubs should ensure that a realistic charge is made for spectators attending matches particularly in the latter stages of the competition. Matches should be considered as ALL PAY.
17. Disputes.
All objections must reach the Competitions Secretary not later than seven days after the end of the match in question and must be in writing accompanied by a deposit of £25. This deposit will be forfeited if the Committee consider the objection frivolous or groundless.
18. Laws.
All matches shall be played under the Laws of the Game as published by the RFU and the regulations contained therein or otherwise in force in respect of replacements and substitutions shall apply
19. Review.
These rules will be reviewed by the sub-committee at the termination of each competition
ENTRY INTO THE NATIONAL SENIOR CUP COMPETITION
The winners of the Senior Devon Cup Competition will be the Devon RFU nominated club for entry into the National Senior Cup. The runners up will be the second nomination if more than one club is to enter the National Senior Cup. Should it be necessary to have a play off to determine such a nomination, the match will be regarded as a semi-final for financial purposes and Rule 16 of the Senior Devon Cup Rules will apply.
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