Surrey Rugby League Rules

a. The Competition shall take the form of a series of matches played under the Laws of Rugby Union Football.

b. The Competition shall be administered and organised by the Surrey County RFU Competitions Sub-Committee, (hereafter referred to as the “Committee”).

2. Eligibility

a. Clubs

Entrance to the Competition shall be by invitation of the Committee.

b. Players:

A Club in a Competition match may play, or select as a replacement, only players who are bona-fide regular playing members of their club. The majority of matches will take place on 1st XV National Club Championship dates so there is no specific restriction within the competition rules regarding the selection of players who have played for more senior sides within their own clubs, to play in lower XV’s involved in the competition. This notwithstanding, clubs are requested not to field regular 1st XV or other players from more senior sides in the lower XV’s involved in the competition. In the event of any dispute the committee will consider a “regular senior player” to be defined as a player who has started 6 or more games for a higher side during the current season.

c. Veterans:

For the purposes of the Veterans competition a Veteran is defined as a player who is or will be 35 years of age during the current season. It is acknowledged that Clubs may not always be able to field a full XV of players over the age of 35: Clubs are asked to adhere to the spirit of the competition in fielding whenever possible as many age qualified players as possible at all times. For guidance, as a minimum requirement a Veterans XV taking part in a competition match should contain a minimum of 10 over 35’s on the pitch at any one time.

d. Player Registration:

There is no requirement for players to be registered under the current Player Registration scheme applicable to the national clubs championship, to be eligible for this competition, although clubs are reminded of the requirement for players to be current bona-fide regular playing members of their club.

3. The Competition

The Competitions will be known as:

The “London 1 South Reserve”, the “Surrey Premier”, the “Surrey Alliance”, the “Surrey Conference” and the “Surrey Combination”, and the “Surrey Foundation” which will involve principally the 2nd XV & 3rd XV’s of clubs placed within the London and Surrey Leagues of the National Club Competition.

The “Surrey Veterans Competition”

The Competitions are to be played as follows:

The London 1 South Reserve, Premier, Alliance, Conference and Combination Leagues will play "home and away" against each team in a league format. The Foundation and Veterans Leagues will play 'once only'
The winners of each league will receive a trophy from Surrey RFU.

The "Leagues":

a. For the purposes of the competition, the Committee will allocate Clubs to one of the Levels and leagues, taking into consideration the status of the clubs within the existing 1st XV national club championship and their performance in previous competitions.

b. The Committee will allocate to each league a number of clubs, considered by the Committee to be of comparable strength and league standing; the Committee having taken into consideration at its unfettered discretion the league status of Clubs within the existing National Clubs Championship, existing 1st XV fixture lists, the record of the team from the previous season and whether promotion or relegation is applicable, comparative historical strengths, and geographic location, as and where these may be a factor.

c. The Committee will issue a fixture list for the competition. Games should be played on the appointed dates and can only be rearranged due to bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances by agreement of the clubs and with the prior agreement of the Committee.

d. Points will be awarded as per the "Points and Fines System"

e. The Committee may award a “walkover” in the event of a club failing to fulfil a scheduled fixture, for whatever reason. Points will be awarded as per the attached "Points System" on page 5.

f. Any club unable to field a team must confirm this to their opposition before Midday on the Friday preceding the game. This must be done via a phone call to a representative of the opposition club. Voice mail messages or unacknowledged emails (before Midday) are not acceptable. This phone call MUST be confirmed by an e mail to the opposition which must also be copied to the league manager. Failure to confirm a ‘scratch’ before Midday WILL result in a 1 point penalty against the club AND a financial fine as outlined in the "Points and Fines System".

g. The positions of the clubs within their respective leagues will be calculated according firstly to the number of "league" points acquired, and thereafter, by match points difference. In the event of two or more clubs being equal in terms of both league points and match points difference. If these results do not produce the required placings, then the clubs will be placed according to the number of match points scored. In the event that this is inconclusive then positions will be decided by a clubs "Away" fixture record alone; by Pool points, points difference and finally points for, in sequence, as above. If even this calculation proves inconclusive, the Committee will look at the aggregate score of the games between the two clubs and finally if this still fails to produce a difference the committee will place clubs by whatever method it considers appropriate.

Postponed, Cancelled and Abandoned Matches

a) If ground or weather conditions, or any other circumstances prevent a match being played at the grounds of the club designated as the “home” side, every effort should be made to play the match at the grounds of the designated “away” side, should that club have a suitable pitch available. The Committee retains the right to award a “walkover” in the event of two clubs failing to agree in this regard.

b) If ground or weather conditions, or any other circumstances prevent a match being played at the grounds of either club, or if a match has to be abandoned before 60 minutes of playing time has elapsed, it may be re-scheduled by agreement between the two clubs and the Committee. In the event of the clubs being unable to agree to a revised date, the Committee may award the match to one side or the other, dependant on the circumstances of the cancellation or the Committee may consider the match null and void with no result recorded or league points awarded to either side.

c) Should a match be abandoned on or after 60 minutes of play, the result will stand as at the abandonment.

Replacements

a) Replacement of injured players and substitutes will be permitted up to a maximum of 7 players as per the IRB laws of the game. except that:

b) There is no specific requirement for clubs to have specialised front-row replacements in the event of injury.

c) A previously substituted player may return to the field in the case of any injury to another player as per the IRB law relating to blood injuries.

d) Rolling substitutions are not allowed except with the agreement of both Captains and the referee PRIOR to the kick off.

e) In the event of a Competition League match being started and played for more than half a game with uncontested scrums through the inability of one of the clubs to field a full front row, the offending team will be deducted one ‘league point’ from the points awarded for that match, and will also be obliged to play with one less player (ie with a maximum of 14) as per rule 7(b). Should they subsequently be able to contest scrums they can bring on the missing player.

f) The Committee is at liberty to investigate any games played uncontested or the misuse of substitutes and award further points penalties, financial penalties or award a walkover to the non offending team.

g) Should a Competition League match take place where neither club is able to field a full front row, and the match takes place with uncontested scrums throughout, the game may proceed as usual and the result and score will stand.

Numbers of players

a. Teams are encouraged to play games with any number of players. No team may play a team with more than one extra player. The minimum number allowed to start a game is 10 players vs. 11 players. Teams are encouraged to lend players to make the numbers greater (11 v 12, 12 v 13, 13 v 14, etc).

b. A team responsible for a game going to uncontested scrums shall have a player removed from the pitch for the remainder of the game, unless the reason for going to uncontested scrums is to treat a blood injury. A time limit of 15 minutes applies for a blood injury in these circumstances. The August 2009 RFU directions for League matches on this will be followed.

Clash of Colours

In the event of Clubs having similar or clashing colours, the home team will be responsible for changing its colours

Reporting of Results:

a. BOTH clubs in any fixture are obliged to report the results to the Committee as instructed, within 3 days of the match taking place. Any results that remain unreported by either club within 21 days of the match taking place will be regarded as null and void and no result or match points will be recorded. An E mail copy will be regarded as proof that a message was sent.

b. In the event of Rule 6(e or f), both clubs MUST report the matter to the Committee as instructed. Failure to do so by either club may result in a further penalty point deduction up to a maximum of 2 league points.

Referees

a. Every effort should be made to ensure the availability of a Society Referee. The home club must confirm the referee 48 hours before the match. It is appreciated that due to the demands the Societies may not find it possible to appoint a referee or that an appointed referee could fail to turn up. In these circumstances the Home club is expected to provide a referee. If this is not possible the away side should be asked if they are able to provide a referee. Any non-society referee should be deemed competent by the side providing the referee, and thereby covered by that club’s RFU insurance. If neither side can provide a competent referee the game should be cancelled. If both sides are in agreement, the match may be rearranged at a later date. The Competitions Committee will look into the reasons for the non-provision of a referee and reserve the rights to award points for the non played game.

4. Disputes and Appeals

a. In the event of any breach of regulation the manager of the league concerned will rule on the outcome of any dispute.

b The manager’s decision can be appealed by any party effected to the Committee within 7 days of his decision.
c. E mail is an acceptable method of communication both of the outcome and of any appeal.

d. A further appeal is possible to the Surrey Management Committee by writing to the Surrey County Secretary.

e. A final appeal process is available via the London DOC and ultimately the RFU. Details are available on request.

POINTS AND FINES SYSTEM

Points are awarded as follows:

Win     4 points
Draw    3 points
Loss    2 points
Walkover    4 points
Scratched team     0 points

Penalties

No front row or inability to replace a front row prior to half time:           -1 point

Cancelling a fixture between Midday and 4pm on Friday before match:           -1 point    AND £50

Cancelling a fixture after 4.30pm on Friday before match:                                 -1 point    AND £75

Cancelling a fixture after Midday on Saturday of match or failure to turn up     -1 point    AND £100

Wilful failure to notify lack of front row in result declaration:                               £50

Failing to send email confirmation of cancellation to club AND league manager: -1 point AND £50

Repeated failure to notify result to league manager.                                            £50

Financial penalties can be varied by the committee.

Further financial penalties or points deductions may be imposed on any team that contravenes the spirit or the letter of the Surrey Reserve League Competition 2010/2011 Rules.