Student Question

[northamptoncougar]

I’m wondering if anyone can help me out regarding university rugby?

Northampton uni have a game against Nottingham 2’s tomorrow. Nottingham only have 10 men and are still travelling which is great, but, apparently Northampton are also “obliged” to start with 10 men too (according to BUCs rules.)

Northampton are bottom of the league, they need the points, they could lend Nottingham players but should they be punished for doing nothing wrong?

I’m sure a league 1 team travelled with only 12 men very recently?

[dead man inc]

from bucs RL rules…

RUL 10.6 Player matching The following applies to Tier 2 and below league matches and Conference Cup knockout competition matches only:

RUL 10.6.1 If a team informs their opposition via email, at least 24 hours in advance of the advertised kick-off time, that they will be fielding less than 13 players (but at least a minimum of nine in accordance with RUL 10.2) then their opposition shall be obliged to only field the same number of starting players, however they may still bring replacements as per RUL 10.3.2. The RFL Competitions Officer (competitions@rfl.uk.com) and BUCS (discipline@bucs.org.uk) should also be copied in to any such communications. Both teams must also inform the referee before the start of the match of the player matching arrangements.

RUL 10.6.2 Where at least 24 hours notice in advance of the advertised kick-off time is not given, if a team is fielding less than 13 players (but at least a minimum of nine in accordance with RUL 10.2), then their opposition is not obliged to only field the same number of starting players, but they may still agree to do so. In this circumstance, the opposition team may name those players who will no longer be starting as additional replacements to the maximum stated in RUL 10.3.2. Both teams must also inform the referee before the start of the match of the player matching arrangements.

[northamptoncougar]

1 hour ago, dead man inc said:

from bucs RL rules…

RUL 10.6 Player matching The following applies to Tier 2 and below league matches and Conference Cup knockout competition matches only:

RUL 10.6.1 If a team informs their opposition via email, at least 24 hours in advance of the advertised kick-off time, that they will be fielding less than 13 players (but at least a minimum of nine in accordance with RUL 10.2) then their opposition shall be obliged to only field the same number of starting players, however they may still bring replacements as per RUL 10.3.2. The RFL Competitions Officer (competitions@rfl.uk.com) and BUCS (discipline@bucs.org.uk) should also be copied in to any such communications. Both teams must also inform the referee before the start of the match of the player matching arrangements.

RUL 10.6.2 Where at least 24 hours notice in advance of the advertised kick-off time is not given, if a team is fielding less than 13 players (but at least a minimum of nine in accordance with RUL 10.2), then their opposition is not obliged to only field the same number of starting players, but they may still agree to do so. In this circumstance, the opposition team may name those players who will no longer be starting as additional replacements to the maximum stated in RUL 10.3.2. Both teams must also inform the referee before the start of the match of the player matching arrangements.

I've seen these but it doesn't seem right, this is a for competition points, why would one team be penalised for doing nothing wrong?

[V02]

3 hours ago, northamptoncougar said:

I’m wondering if anyone can help me out regarding university rugby?

Northampton uni have a game against Nottingham 2’s tomorrow. Nottingham only have 10 men and are still travelling which is great, but, apparently Northampton are also “obliged” to start with 10 men too (according to BUCs rules.)

Northampton are bottom of the league, they need the points, they could lend Nottingham players but should they be punished for doing nothing wrong?

I’m sure a league 1 team travelled with only 12 men very recently?

The BUCS rules are presumably to encourage games where otherwise teams would be inclined to postpone/concede. Usually teams would just concede with 10-12 players so clearly the rule is an attempt at stopping that, not so much punishment as much as encouraging games to take place. If you think that's a punishment, wait till teams don't travel because they don't want to be on the end of a 17 v 10 match (with the inevitably injuries too).

If a team is turning up with 10 players, they're going to be the only 10 players they have available, regardless of ability. You should be able to find the weak(est) players quite easily.

[northamptoncougar]

Very true, but there’s still competition points at stake or the fact that players could be lent to make it an even numbers game.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

5 hours ago, northamptoncougar said:

I’m wondering if anyone can help me out regarding university rugby?

Northampton uni have a game against Nottingham 2’s tomorrow. Nottingham only have 10 men and are still travelling which is great, but, apparently Northampton are also “obliged” to start with 10 men too (according to BUCs rules.)

Northampton are bottom of the league, they need the points, they could lend Nottingham players but should they be punished for doing nothing wrong?

I’m sure a league 1 team travelled with only 12 men very recently?

What times the game.....where in Northants?

[HullWire]

You can play this a few ways. Offer to lend the players and make up an agreed score before the game. Or let them start with ten and lend players when the game is going away from them. Or lend players and see what happens. I'd go for the latter to be honest. Have a competitive game and enjoy it

[zylya]

Not sure what league this is in, but I remember when I played at uni, some of our lads didn't even know what league we were in. Just needed a bit of exercise before Wednesday night drinking!

If it was Prem South, might be a different point of view, but if it's just one of the regional leagues, let the boys play. Especially considering you have to do it under BUCS rules anyway. If you've got at least 13 players then means you'll have a few subs, whereas they'll have to do the full game without replacements, so if you play it smart, you can pick up an advantage there.

Realise that this game has already happened now, hopefully you guys got the win and got a game out of it - much better than a walkover, which is points on the board but no game time.