THE WELSH RUGBY UNION NATIONAL LEAGUE RULES 2012/2013
1. Description:
The Competition shall be called:-
i) In respect of the Premier Division “The Principality Premiership”
ii) In respect of the Championship & Divisions 1 to 7 and Divisions 1, 2 and 3 North “The SWALEC National Leagues”
2. Interpretation:
For the purposes of this competition, the following terms have the meaning assigned to them:
- THE UNION means the Welsh Rugby Union Limited.
- THE REGULATORY COMMITTEE means the Committee appointed by the Board of Directors in accordance with the provisions contained in the Articles of Association of the Welsh Rugby Union Limited (the “Articles”)
CLUB means the Club being a member of the Union only and does not include Affiliated Organisations (as defined in the Articles) or other entity which may be admitted to membership of the Union.
- CRITERIA APPEALS PANEL means a sub-committee of the WRU Board that shall determine matters pertaining to the application of the Premier Division Criteria.
- DISTRICT MEMBER shall have the definition given in the WRU Articles of Association.
- PREMIER DIVISION CRITERIA means the A Licence criteria for entry into and prerequisite to remaining in the Premier Division as set out on the Annexure 1 to these League Rules
- DISCIPLINARY REGULATIONS means the disciplinary regulations approved by the Board of Directors of the Union for Season 2012/2013
All other defined terms must be interpreted in accordance with the Memorandum and the Articles of Association of the Welsh Rugby Union Limited.
3. Form
The League comprises 27 Divisions formed as follows:
Premier Division - 12 Clubs [1] [2]
Championship - Up to 15 Clubs
Division 1 East - 12 Clubs
Division 1 West - 12 Clubs
Division 2 East - 13 Clubs
Division 2 West - 11 Clubs
Division 3 East - 12 Clubs
Division 3 South East - 12 Clubs
Division 3 South West - 12 Clubs
Division 3 West - 12 Clubs
Division 4 East - 12 Clubs
Division 4 South East - 12 Clubs
Division 4 South West - 12 Clubs
Division 4 West - 12 Clubs
Division 5 East - 12 Clubs
Division 5 South East - 12 Clubs
Division 5 South Central - 11 Clubs
Division 5 South West - 12 Clubs
Division 5 West - 12 Clubs
Division 6 East - 8 Clubs
Division 6 South East - 8 Clubs
Division 6 Central - 9 Clubs
Division 6 West - 9 Clubs
Division 7 - 9 Clubs
Division 1 North - 10 Clubs
Division 2 North - 10 Clubs
Division 3 North - 11 Clubs
Division / Promotion and relegation at the end of 2012/2013 / Number of Clubs in DivisionPremier / There shall be no promotion into or relegation from the Premier Division (see footnotes on page 1 of these Rules).See Annexure 2 re play off matches to decide the Champion Club / Up to 12 Clubs (see footnotes on page 1 of these Rules).
Championship / The top Club in the Division at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season will be declared the Champion Club.
There will be no promotion to the Premier Division at the end of the 2012/2013 Season.
The bottom 2 Clubs at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season will be relegated to Division 1 level save that the Club(s) relegated from the Premier Division in the 2011/2012 Season shall be exempt from relegation from the Championship in the 2012/2013 Season. In the event that a Club relegated from the Premier Division in the 2011/2012 Season finishes in one of the bottom 2 positions in the Championship in the 2012/2013 Season, the next lowest ranked Club will be relegated to Division 1. / Up to 15 Clubs.
If Carmarthen Quins are to be included in the Championship for the 2012/2013 Season (see footnote 1 above), consequential amendments to the Championship and the Leagues below will be communicated by the WRU.
Division 1 East and 1 West / The Champion Club from each of Divisions 1 East and 1 West will be promoted to the Championship at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
The bottom 2 Clubs in each of Divisions 1 East and 1 West at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season will be relegated to Division 2 level. / 12 Clubs in each Division.
(24 Clubs)
Division 2 East and 2 West / The top 2 Clubs in Division 2 East and Division 2 West will be promoted to either Division 1 East or Division 1 West at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
The bottom 3 Clubs in each of Divisions 2 East and 2 West at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season will be relegated to Division 3 level. / 13 and 11 Clubs respectively.
(24 Clubs)
Division 3 East, 3 South East, 3 South West and 3 West / The Champion Club in each of Division 3 East, 3 South East, 3 South West and 3 West will be promoted to Division 2 level at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
The two remaining promotion places will be determined by way of two play off fixtures. The runners up will be drawn to create two fixtures. The winner of each fixture will be promoted to Division 2 level at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
The bottom 2 Clubs in each Division 3 East, 3 South East, 3 South West and 3 West will be relegated to Division 4 level at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season. / 12 Clubs in each Division.
(48 Clubs)
Division 4 East, 4 South East, 4 South West and 4 West / The top 2 Clubs in each of Division 4 East, 4 South East, 4 South West and 4 West will be promoted to one of the Divisions 3 at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
The bottom 2 Clubs in each of Division 4 East, 4 South East, 4 South West and 4 West will be relegated to Division 5 level at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season. / 12 Clubs in each Division. Clubs will be distributed amongst 4 Divisions at Division 4 level (aligned as far as possible on a Regional basis).
(48 Clubs)
Division 5 East, 5 South East, 5 South Central, 5 South West and 5 West / The Champion Club in each of Divisions 5 East, 5 South East, 5 South Central, 5 South West and 5 West will be promoted to Division 4 level at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
In addition, the runner up with the best playing record, from Divisions 5 East, 5 South East, 5 South Central, 5 South West and 5 West, will be promoted to Division 4 level at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season.
The remaining two promotion places will be determined by way of play off matches between the other four runners up. The Clubs will be drawn to create two fixtures. The winner of each fixture will be promoted to Division 4 level.
To determine which of the runners up shall have the best playing record there will be a straightforward comparison, where the Divisions are of equal sizes, of playing records in the following order:-
League points
where equal Number of Wins where equal Number of Tries where equal Points ratio.
If the best runner up cannot be determined by this method, or Divisional sizes are different, then the number of matches will be divided into the total number of League points gained to give a ratio. The Club with the highest ratio will be promoted.
If the league point ratio is equal the Clubs will be ranked in order by dividing the number of matches played into the ratio of points recorded, that ratio being determined by dividing the points scored in league matches against the Club into the number of points scored by the Club. The Club with the highest ratio will be promoted.
The bottom Club in each of the five Division 5 Leagues will be relegated to Division 6 in the 2013/2014 Season. / 12 Clubs in each Division apart from 5 South Central of which there will be 11 Clubs.
(59 Clubs)
Division 6 East, 6 South East, 6 Central and 6 West / At the end of the 2012/2013 Season the Champion Clubs in the four Division 6 Leagues will be promoted to Division 5 for the 2013/2014 Season together with a fifth Club that will be determined by a series of play off matches between the Clubs that finish the Leagues as runners up in each of the four Divisions.
There will be no relegation from the Division 6 Leagues at the end of 2012/2013 season. / 8 Clubs in each of Divisions 6 East and 6 South East, 9 Clubs in Division 6 Central and 6 West.
(34 Clubs)
Division 7 / At the end of the
2012/2013 Season the top two clubs in Division 7 will be promoted to Division 6 for the 2013/2014 Season. / 9 Clubs.
Division 1 North / The Club that tops Division 1 North at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season will be the Divisional Champion Club and will be declared the Champion Club of North Wales.
The bottom 2 Clubs in the Division at the end of the 2012 / 2013 season will be relegated to Division 2 North. / 10 Clubs.
Division 2 North / The top 2 Clubs in the Division at the end of the 2012 / 2013 season will be promoted to Division 1 North.
The bottom 2 Clubs in the Division at the end of the Season will be relegated to Division 3 North at the end of the 2012 / 2013 Season. / 10 Clubs.
Division 3 North / The top 2 Clubs in the Division at the end of the 2012 / 2013 season will be promoted to Division 2 North.
There will be no relegation from Division 3 North at the end of the 2012 / 2013 season. / 11 Clubs.
Subject to the Regulatory Committee having a discretion to deal with cases on their merits if a WRU Club in the Premier Division, Championship, Divisions 1, 2, 3 or 4 withdraws from the National League either before the 2012/2013 Season or during that Season, or if a Club in those Divisions fails to complete its League programme, that Club would be relegated to Division 6 Level for the 2013 / 2014 Season. In such a case, to maintain the balance of Clubs in the Divisions of the National League, one additional Club to the number described earlier in rule 3 will be promoted for the 2013 / 2014 Season from the Division which is two below the Division from which the Club withdrew with consequential adjustments in the Divisions below that.
Subject to the Regulatory Committee having a discretion to deal with cases on their merits if a full WRU Club in Division 5 withdraws from the National League or fails to fulfil fixtures in the 2012/2013 season it would be relegated at the end of the Season to Division 6 level. If a District Member club in Division 5 fails to fulfil its fixtures for 2012/2013 it will be relegated to Division 6 in 2013/2014. If a District Member club in Division 6 fails to fulfil its fixtures for 2012/2013 it will be relegated to Division 7 in 2013/2014.
4. Eligibility to Participate
a. Clubs
(i) The Competition will be restricted to those Clubs who are full members of the Union, RGC1404 and Clubs which are District Members of the Union, and who conform to the provisions for the time being of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Union and which, taking part therein, must be represented by each Club’s First XV.
(ii) In order to compete in the Premier Division, Clubs must comply with the Premier Division Criteria.
(iii) In order to compete in leagues below the Premier Division, Clubs and District Members must comply with any licensing requirements promulgated by the WRU from time to time.
b. Players
(i) No player may represent a Club in the National League unless he is a registered or dual registered member of that Club, he is on loan to that Club or a permit has been granted for him to play by his parent Club.
(ii) A player has to be registered in Wales with a Club, a Regional Team or Regional Academy, and his registration must be notified to the Union before he is eligible to play for a Club in the National League.
(iii) All players must be named on the team sheet submitted by the Club to the Match official prior to the match. (see protocol for matches played in Wales)
The team sheet must identify any player(s) on permit, dual registration or on loan and their parent Club.
4.1.1 A Premier Club may register up to 2 non-Welsh qualified players who will at any one time be eligible to play for it in the National League (i.e. if one or both non-Welsh qualified player(s) leave the Club he/ they may be replaced providing the number of non-Welsh qualified players at that Club does not exceed 2). In the case of a professional or semi-professional player from outside the EC and who does not have EC workers rights, a licence to employ the player must be obtained by the Club from the UK Border Agency. An application for a licence to employ a professional or semi-professional rugby player has to be supported by the Union. The WRU will not support an application for a licence to employ a professional or semi-professional rugby player other than an application made by a Professional Region, a Development Region, or a Premier Division Club. The numbers of non-Welsh qualified players which may be registered and/or contracted by a Professional Region is governed by the Participation Agreements between the WRU and the Regional Members.
4.1.2 Clubs in the Championship Division through to Division 7 may register more than 2 non-Welsh qualified players but no overseas players.
4.1.3 For the avoidance of doubt, an overseas player is one who is not qualified to play for Wales at the date of registration and who cannot prove to the satisfaction of the WRU that he is entitled to the rights granted under Title III of the EC Treaty or under the EEA or other European Agreement (i.e. a person who has European workers rights).