1. Description
The competition shall be called the “WRU National Youth League” (hereinafter “The League”)

2. Form
a) The League will be formed in 26 divisions. Within those divisions Clubs shall play each other at home and away during the season. Divisions of the League will be organised on a regional and district basis, with the number of Clubs in each division being determined by the number of teams in membership of each District Youth Rugby Union and that enter the League. If there are sufficient teams there will be two or more divisions formed in each district, the stronger clubs in that district may join with Clubs in the other districts in the region to form a regional  division or divisions. The League champion club will be declared after a series of play off matches between the Clubs that win Division A in the Regions in South Wales and the Club that wins Division GC1 in North Wales to be played at the end of the season.

b) The play off matches will be played as follows:

Play Off 1  - 5th April 2008 - Winners GC1 v Winners SA
Play Off 2 - 10th May 2008 - Winners Play Off 1 v Winners OA
Play Off 3 - 10th May 2008 - Winners BA v Winners DA
Play Off 4 - 17th May 2008 - Winners Play Off 2 v Winners Play Off 3

The venue for play off matches 1, 2 and 3 shall be determined by draw, the first drawn club in each draw playing at home, the venue for play off 4, the Final, shall be a neutral venue and shall be decided by the WRU.

The winner of the final shall be declared to be League champions.

The winners of each play off match shall be:

i. The Club that has scored the greater number of points at the end of a match.

ii. In the event of an equal number of points being scored by each Club at the end of the match the winning Club shall be declared in the following priority:-

• The Club that has scored the greater number of tries
• The Club that has scored the greater number of goals
• If the result is still a tie then the Club that is playing away from home shall be declared to be the winner

In the case of the final if the match remains a tie after applying the above clauses the trophy shall be shared.

No extra time shall be played in play off matches in which the scores are equal at full time.

3. Eligibility
a) Clubs
The Clubs that participate in the League shall be invited to do so by the Welsh Rugby Union.

b) Players
i. To be eligible to play in the League a player must be under 19 years old on 31st August that is born on or after 1st September 1988 and must have attained the age of 16 years. No player will be eligible to play in the League unless he is a registered member of the Club for which he plays and the registration has been properly completed with the Welsh Rugby Union or a permit has been granted by his parent Club allowing him to play for another Club in the League or an “on the day” loan of players has been agreed between the Clubs in the manner hereinafter described.

ii. A player who transfers from one Club to another will be eligible to play for his new Club in the League provided that:

- The transfer and registration form is received by the League Secretary at the WRU’s headquarter offices at least 48 hours prior to the match kick off time.

- The transfer and registration form is received by the League Secretary no later than midnight on 31st January 2008.

A player who transfers after the 31st January 2008 will not be eligible to play for his new Club in the League.

iii. Players may play on permit in the League. Permit must be in writing and completed by the two Clubs, the Club which holds the player’s registration and the Club which requires his services for a match and lodged with the League Secretary before the match is played. A Club may play no more than two players on permit in a match including the WRU Regional Academy players referred to in Sub Clause iv. Permits will not be allowed for a player who is registered only as a Senior player with a Club to play for that Club’s Youth team.

iv. Players who are members of a WRU Regional Academy shall be registered by that Academy with the League Secretary. Players registered with the WRU by the Regional Academies shall not be eligible to play for Clubs in the League unless a permit is granted to a Club by the Manager of the WRU Regional Academy and that permit is lodged with the League Secretary before the match is played.  No more than two players registered with a Regional Academy shall be eligible to play for a Club in a League match.

v. On the day of a match if one Club is short of players it may be loaned players by the opposing Club.

4. Entry conditions
Clubs participating in the League must conform to:

a) the rules contained herein

b) the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Welsh Rugby Union Limited and the Regulations and Resolutions of the Board of the WRU Limited

c) the Bye Laws, Resolutions and Regulations relating to the Game of the International Rugby Board

d) The Laws of the Game (the International Rugby Board Under 19 Laws will apply to this League)

5. Responsibility for Organisation
a) The League will be organised and administered by the Welsh Rugby Union.

b) The Welsh Rugby Union shall carry out the organisation and administration of the League through the appointment of a League Secretary and a League Committee.

c) The League Secretary shall organise the League on a day to day basis.

d) The League Committee, which shall comprise no more than 4 Members, shall consider matters of policy and settle disputes relating to the rules contained herein as they arise.

e) When cases of an urgent nature occur the Chairman of the League Committee, in consultation with the League Secretary, shall have absolute discretion to deal with these cases whether provided for herein or not. Decisions made by the Chairman and the League Secretary in such cases shall be binding.

f) A Club shall have the right to appeal to a Sub Committee appointed by the WRU Board of Directors against a decision of the League Committee provided that the appeal is made in writing, addressed to the WRU Chief Executive accompanied by a cheque for £100 made payable to the WRU and received by the Chief Executive of the WRU no more than 14 days after the decision made by the League Committee is delivered to a Club.

6. General Rules
a) Fixtures

i. All League fixtures must be played and each Club must complete its programme of League fixtures.

ii. In the event of a League fixture not being played on the due date either because of postponement or abandonment the failure to play the fixture must be reported to the League Secretary within 3 days of the original date of the fixture. When the League Secretary receives a report he will enquire as to the reason for the non-completion of the fixture. If the League Secretary deems that further enquiries are necessary he will call a meeting of the League Committee to consider the matter. If the League Committee finds that a Club was at fault for the non-completion of a fixture it may if it deems it appropriate impose, sanctions as hereinafter described.

iii. Matches in the League must be played to full time. Abandoned matches shall be replayed unless the Clubs mutually agree that a result may stand and that agreement is endorsed by the League Secretary.

iv. League matches must be played on the designated dates unless postponed because of ground or weather conditions or postponed by mutual consent of the participating Clubs with the prior agreement of the League Secretary, such agreement to be made at least 3 days before the date of the due fixture.

v. Postponed or abandoned matches must be rearranged and played no later than 30th April 2007, notice of the agreed rearranged date must be sent by both Clubs to the League Secretary within 10 days of the original fixture date. If after 14 days Clubs fail to follow this procedure the League Secretary will set a date for the new fixture and advise both Clubs accordingly.

vi. No postponed or abandoned matches should be rearranged for a designated Schools League date unless the prior authority of the League Secretary has been given for such rearrangement.

b) Declaration of Winners
The winners of a match will be the team that has scored the greater number of points at the end of the match.

League points will be awarded as follows:

Win - 3 points
Draw - 2 points
Loss - 1 point

c) League Placings
Divisional placings will be decided on the basis of League points gained in the season. Where Clubs have gained equal numbers of League points, the Club that has recorded the most wins shall be given preference. If the number of wins is equal the points scored by the Club will be divided by the points against and the Club with the highest factor shall be declared to have the better record.

d) Duration of Play
Each match will be of 70 minutes playing time, that is 35 minutes each half (Laws of the Game - Law 5.1).  At half time an interval of no more than 10 minutes is allowed.

e) Match results
The Home Club must advise the League Secretary of the result of a match played by telephone, fax or email by 10am on the day after next following a match, in the case of a Saturday fixture this will be by 10am on the Monday following the fixture.

Both Clubs playing in a match must send the completed results card by post to the League Secretary no later than 3 days after a match has been played.

f) Protests and Disputes
Protests and disputes arising from League fixtures or the operation of the League must be made in writing to the League Secretary, each protest or dispute must be accompanied by a fee of £100.  This fee may or may not be refunded.  The League Committee will be convened to consider such protest or dispute.

g) Penalties and Sanctions
The League Committee shall in cases where it finds a Club in default of the rules herein have authority to impose sanctions upon a Club.  The range of the available sanctions shall be:

i. The deduction of League points from a Club’s total, the norm being the deduction of 3 points

ii. The imposition of a fine

iii. The suspension of a Club

iv. The relegation of a Club from the Division at the end of a season

v. Expunging a Club’s playing record for the season

h) Miscellaneous Provisions
i. If a Club elects to playing uncontested scrummages that Club will not forfeit the match. League matches may start using uncontested scrummages.

ii. In the event of a team being short of players and there being no “on the day loan” players available matches can be played with a minimum of 12 players per team. In circumstances where one Club is unable to raise 15 players the opposing Club’s team shall comprise the same number of players at the start of a match.

iii. In the event of a Club in a Youth League fixture gaining a points lead over it’s opponent Club of 50 points the match shall stop at that time with the Club that has a lead of 50 points being declared the winner and gaining three League points for that victory.