Competition Rules and Regulations

1. RRRC 7s Tournaments.

The RRRC designates three (3) tournaments as RRRC 7s Qualifiers. Each of these appointed events shall have a Qualifying Division for both Senior Men’s and Women’s teams incorporated into the tournament format. The structure and format must be reviewed and approved by the RRRC Sevens Director before the start of the event. For the purpose of these rules, a sevens tournament is considered to be a competition taking place over the course of a least one day between four or more registered sevens teams meeting USA Rugby eligible requirements. Interested potential hosts should prepare a host application covering items defined in section 8 below.

2. Regional 7s Qualifying Events

The RRRC will be divided into three separate competitive regions. Each region will host one Men’s and Women’s RRRC Qualifier appointed by the RRRC Sevens Director. Regions will be defined as follows:

North Region: DFW and areas North, including Shreveport, Little Rock & Midland
Central Region: Austin, Waco & San Antonio
South Region: Houston & all areas South of Houston

The awarding of the RRRC Qualifier tournaments will be done on a best efforts basis each year by the RRRC Sevens Director and approved by Texas Rugby Union Board. Host clubs will be required to pay a host fee of $500 to the TRU prior to the event. Interested Hosts must submit a written, detailed event host proposal, addressing all items as identified in item 8 below. The due date for Host proposal requests shall be no later than April 30, 2015. Preference may be given to hosts whose clubs have been a consistent participant in previous RRRC 7s qualifiers.

Event Host Application Form

Based on the above stated criteria, the following events shall be deemed to have Qualifier status for 2015.

• 6/27: South Qualifier – Austin Blacks – Burr Field
• 7/11: Central Qualifier – Ft Worth – Gateway Park
• 7/25: North Qualifier – Cenok 7s – Tarzan Rugby Pitch

Entry Fees

Entry fee for each of these regional events shall be $250 per entering team. Any team in the RRRC in good standing wishing to enter a team must be allowed participation as long they meet the entry fee deadlines as outlined below. Failure to submit your entry fee prior to posted dates may result in your team being ineligible to compete in the event. The RRRC Sevens Director will settle any disputes in a team’s eligibility to compete. Entry Fees for each event shall be received by the host club on or before the posted deadline to meet eligibility.

All teams participating in any national pathway tournament (RRRC Qualifiers) will be assessed a one time administrative fee of $250 (above and beyond tournament entry fees) to assist in paying for referees and event staffing. This fee will be due on the date of the final qualifying tournament but will be waived for any team that competes in all three qualifying tournaments.

Fee Deadlines

• #1 Team Entry Fee deadline June 13**, 2015
• #2 Team Entry Fee deadline June 27, 2015
• #3 Team Entry Fee deadline July 11, 2015

**We’ve extended the first fee deadline as teams have expressed the need for a bit more time.

3. Competition Points System

Points Awarded will be as detailed below. When calculating points awarded the RRRC will count points awarded in all scheduled RRRC 7s Qualifiers. Teams are required to attend a minimum of two (2) RRRC 7s Qualifiers to be eligible to qualify for Nationals. Points for each RRRC 7s Qualifier will be awarded as follows:

• First Place 6 Points
• Second Place 4 Points
• Third Place 2 Points
• Fourth Place 1 Point

Note:

1. Each of the designated RRRC 7s Qualifiers will be required to schedule a match for 3rd and 5th place to determine places 1 thru 6. This is necessary in the event of any post match discrepancy or disciplinary actions.
2. If one of the teams fails to play in this match, they will be regulated to the lower position. If both teams agree to not play, both teams shall be regulated to the lower place position. In the event of a 3rd place match not being played by mutual agreement of each team then no points will be awarded for 3rd place giving each team only 1 point.
3. If there is a “non-RRRC” team that finishes in the top 4 spots, the next highest finishing RRRC teams will earn points according to the structure noted above. (for example, if a “non-RRRC” team places 2nd place then the winner of 3rd place would be awarded the 2nd place points(4), 4TH place finisher will be awarded 3rd place points (2), and the 5th place finisher will be awarded 4th place points(1).)
4. The RRRC Sevens Director or his designate is the only person that can determine if a 7s Qualifier bracket doesn’t need to host a 5th vs. 6th place match.
5. Updated Competition points table to be published every Wednesday following each RR7QT on TRU website and emailed to participants and RRRC Competitions Committee.

4. Governing Rules / Procedures

Club Requirements:

Each Club, advancing to National Club Sevens, must play in a minimum of two designated RRRC 7s Qualifier events in order to be eligible to advance as a representative from the RRRC. There is no limitation on the number of RRRC 7s Qualifiers a Club may enter.

In order to allow enough time for the RRRC Sevens Director to validate a player’s eligibility information prior to each Qualifier tournament, please note the following policies and guidelines.

For those teams entering any tournament with the intent of garnering points towards qualifying for the USA Rugby Men’s Club Sevens Championship, the respective teams must:

1. Submit a preliminary pool roster of no more than 16 players for eligibility verification for each Qualifier to the RRRC Sevens Director by no later than 1pm CST the Wednesday before each respective event via email to the RRRC Sevens Director. For further information please reference the player eligibility requirements from USA Rugby – Eligibility Regulations. The RRRC Sevens Director has the right to request further information as needed for validation. Failure to submit a team’s preliminary pool roster for verification before deadline will result in a $50 fine for that club per occurrence.
2. Each respective team must submit their final roster with a limit of 12 players no later than 11am CST the Friday before the respective event via email to the RRRC Sevens Director. Failure to enter the final roster of 12 players prior to the event shall exclude that team from garnering points, regardless of order of finish.
3. Rosters shall include the (a) player names (b) CIPP information and (c) resident status. The Clubs shall also provide the same roster to the respective tournament director at team check-in and provide photo identification of each player accordingly. Teams shall only be allowed to use players on their stated roster. Player movement from an “A” squad to or from a “B” squad shall not be allowed once the rosters are submitted on match day. The failure of a club to submit satisfactory documentation at an event shall be reported to the RRRC Sevens Director.
4. Teams are to bring a printout of the USA Rugby CIPP database roster for your club as verification of compliance. Double check the database right away to be sure it is current and correct. If a coach is not CIPP registered with your club, they will not be permitted on the sidelines during their team’s matches.
5. Each player is required to have a signed copy of the “USA Participation Agreement and Waiver and Release of Liability” form for each respective event. For players under the age of 18 on the date of the match, their parent or legal guardian must also sign the form. If a waiver is not provided, the player is not eligible to play.
6. Each player is required to have a picture ID (such as a passport or birth certificate with driver’s license). If no proof is provided, the player is not eligible to play.

USA Rugby CIPP Program:

All clubs, players and coaches must be USA Rugby CIPP registered. Clubs are required to be aware of and follow USA Player Eligibility Guidelines. Failure to comply may cause forfeiture and/or other sanctions from the Program Director or RRRC as applicable. A player who is not CIPP enrolled cannot play.

USA Eligibility Rules for Club Sevens will govern all eligibility issues. Issues include: CIPP Registration, CIPP Registration Date, Transfer Date, Non Resident Player “Foreigner” Roster Limits, etc. It is the responsibility of the respective club and its appointed officials (Sevens Coach / Sevens Captain) to understand and follow all applicable rules.

Eligibility Check-In:

The RRRC Representative shall perform this “Check-In” no later than 1 hour before KO to insure that players have sufficient time to prepare themselves to play. Please be on time for your assigned check-in time to avoid disruption to your pre-match warm-ups. The Check-In shall be done when all players are present and not individually. Each player shall line up in the order shown on the RRRC 7s “Team Roster and Player Checklist” form with ID and Waiver in their possession. Teams are to confirm their time with the RRRC Representative before arrival at the tournament

Apparel:

1. Teams are required to wear proper Rugby attire (socks, shorts, jerseys with sleeves, etc)
2. Jerseys shall be of the same color and pattern or of a reasonable match.
3. Teams are required to have an alternative (color) set of Jersey’s.
4. Any conflict of Jerseys shall be resolved between the two competing Captains. If the conflict cannot be resolved mutually, then the higher seed team will select their jersey and the opposition must use an alternate set of jerseys. The RRRC 7s Director will settle all disputes.
5. Players shall wear Jerseys with numbers. The numbers must be sequential and ordered 1-12 and may not contain any duplicate numbers.
6. Players shall wear the same Number during the course of the day that corresponds with that set of jerseys. If a change of jerseys is required due to color conflict then the same number per person shall be worn accordingly when using each respective set.

Medical Services:

Teams are expected to bring a complete medical/first aid kit. During the match a member of the Tournament Medical Staff will be field-side and will evaluate all player injuries for treatment. The decision of the Medical Staff regarding whether or not a player can continue to play or not shall be respected and complied with. Teams are advised to retain their own medical personnel for the treatment of their players

5. Determination of National Representatives

In determining which Clubs are to qualify for the USA National Men’s Club Sevens Championship, the following guidelines and tie breakers will be applied:

1. Compliance with the minimum of attendance at two Regional 7s Tournaments.
2. Points Awarded for Eligible Tournaments (All three Regional 7s Tournaments).
3. Head to Head (wins vs. losses).
4. Head to Head (delta points).
5. Gross Points Scored in all appointed Regional 7s Tournaments.
6. Net Scored Points in all appointed Regional 7s Tournaments (delta).
7. Coin Flip conducted by RRRC Director with all parties present.

6. Miscellaneous

For all other matters that are not covered or that need clarification, they shall be reviewed by the RRRC Sevens Director who will rely on existing guidelines, rules, regulations and prior practices to resolve any disputed matters.

7. RRRC 7’s Director Contact

Director: Filip Keuppens
Email: fkeuppens@texasrugbyunion.com

Assistant Director: Wendy Young
Email: admin@texasrugbyunion.com

8. RRRC Regional Qualification Tournament Host Requirements:

Field Preparation and Sideline Policy

Unless otherwise approved by the RRRC Sevens Director, all qualifier matches are to be played on a field that meets the following requirements:

1. Host club to provide a minimum of two full size rugby pitches for all qualifying matches with no conflicting field lines and proper goal posts (temporary goal posts must be constructed out of acceptable gauge metal – use of PVC will not be approved, posts must be sunk directly into earth and may not be fastened to existing structures such as soccer goals)
2. The rugby pitches must be natural grass. No artificial turf surfaces will be acceptable
3. Length (goal-to-goal): not less than 100 yards and not exceeding 110 yards (100m)
4. Width: not less than 65 yards and not exceeding approx. 77 yards (70m)
5. In Goal: not less than 10 yards and not exceeding approx. 25 yards (22m)
6. An additional field or suitably sized area must be provided for team warm-ups.

The field(s) shall be lined in accordance with the IRB Laws of the Game and provided with padded goal posts, sideline markers and be free from potentially dangerous holes and foreign objects. Spectator barriers are to be provided on both sides of the field from goal-to-goal placed no less than 5m from the line-of-touch.

As with all matches, the match referee is responsible in evaluating to the best of his or her ability that field conditions and set up including playing surface, sideline barriers, goal posts are safe. If the field is subject to cancellation due to bad weather conditions, an alternate field that could be used in its place shall be available as a backup.

Only RRRC officials, match officials (referee and assistant referees), medical personnel, team videographer or photographer and a maximum of 2 CIPP-enrolled coaches are allowed inside the spectator barrier. Replacement players are not allowed inside the rope until they are about to enter the game as a replacement. Coaches may not step into the field of play during the match, except at half-time, to coach their team.

Anyone inside the rope must stay off the touch line to allow the assistant referee unencumbered movement. Failure to comply will result in the person being required to stay outside the spectator barrier as deemed necessary by either a match or RRRC official.

Host club may be required to provide a lined rugby field (goal post not required) for the RRRC All Star 7s Try-out if applicable the day before or the day after the event. 3 Hours required

Tournament Structure and Format

Tournament hosts will be required to send the RRRC Sevens Director a draft format of their tournament brackets. Brackets and seeding will be reviewed and approved by the RRRC Sevens Director or other designated RRRC Representative. Kick off times may be varied but the time between the end of a team’s match and it’s next match kick off may not be less than one hour. The final times, pools and brackets will be set by the host using RRRC guidelines. The hosts will be required to submit their brackets by no later than 5pm CST on the Wednesday prior to the event.

Any subsequent changes to the format shall be left up to the tournament director and the on-site RRRC Representative (as applicable). Hosts are strongly encouraged to have a pool of eight (minimum) teams with a target of twelve teams. If there are less than eight teams, the tournament director shall use one of the approved RRRC Brackets. Post RRRC review changes will only be allowed when a material format change is required due to adding/deleting of teams on the morning of the event. Again, the tournament director shall consult with the on-site RRRC Representative (as applicable).

Tournament Host must provide an official scores table to and is responsible to post all scores immediately following each match. The RRRC Sevens Director shall also be notified by the referee following each match to validate posted scores.

The host must provide an HQ tent with table/chair that shall be attended during the entire event.

After the event, the Host shall be required to submit a detailed tournament report with all match scores (pool and knock-out phases). Scores, foul play, and eligibility issues shall be sent to the RRRC Sevens Director by no later than Noon, on the Wednesday following the event.

The failure of the Tournament Host (team) to collect the required information above and failure to do so may result in the Host losing the right to host future RRRC qualifier events.

Match Officials

Unless otherwise directed, the match referee and assistant referees shall be appointed by the GU rugby referees organization that normally appoints referees for the host. All Qualifier matches must be staffed with a “Team-of-3” Referee and 2 certified Assistant Referees. If possible a “Team-of-5” shall be provided for the Semifinal and Championship matches. The Referees fee may be subsidized in part or in full by the Host’s Geographic Union (GU) as negotiated by the event host.

Laws

All matches are governed by the “Seven-a-Side Variations” of the IRB Laws of the Game.

Match Rules

Rules, including Team Rosters, shall be followed in accordance with 2015 RRRC Club 7’s Qualifier Tournament Rules and Regulations (below).

Alcohol Policy

If the Tournament Host enters into a written agreement that allows the facility owner or host to serve alcoholic beverages, the facility owner and host shall be required to enforce any and all applicable laws relating to the provision, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, including the prohibition of consumption of alcohol by minors.

Conduct of Players, Coaches and Spectators

All players and coaches must abide by the following Code of Conduct.

Players and coaches represent their clubs and are ambassadors of rugby in the United States. As such, rugby players and coaches are expected to behave with dignity both on and off the field. Rugby players and coaches should not tolerate rude or anti-social behavior of any sort which would reflect negatively on the image of the TRU, RRRC, USA Rugby, the player’s club, or the image of rugby as a serious and disciplined athletic endeavor. Any breach of this Code of Conduct will be forwarded to the appropriate disciplinary committee for action. Players, coaches and spectators are not to use foul language or make threatening remarks before, during or after the match. Such behavior whether directed at a teammates, opponents, match officials, spectators or even part of a pre-match “chant” or play call (such as for a line out) is unacceptable. Doing so will be considered a violation of the Code of Conduct and disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate by the appropriate Organization.

Medical Coverage

The RRRC requires, as a minimum, that there be 2 qualified medical persons field side. Qualified medical persons include Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), medical physician (preferably sports medicine or orthopedic specialty), and physician’s assistant with orthopedic experience. A canopy with a table and chairs shall be provided for use by the medical staff along with a cooler with ice to treat players.

The presence of an EMT and Ambulance does not replace any of the aforementioned qualified medical persons and should be provided based on host’s experience with emergency medical response time at the event location when an ambulance is not present.

The host must prepare an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the tournament and provide it to all teams and the head referee.

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Qualifier Tournament Rules and Regulations

General Provisions:

1. Each team will be required to check in with the RRRC Competitive Region Sevens Director or RRRC Representative with the required photo identification prior to their first match.
2. Players may only play for one club in the tournament. A team that uses an ineligible player will forfeit that match and will be disqualified from tournament.
3. A match shall be played by no more than seven players in each team on the playing area. A player may be replaced on account of injury or substituted. A team cannot nominate more than five replacements/substitutes; up to five players may be replaced or substituted per game. Temporary replacement for a blood injury to a player is permitted only at the referee discretion. A player who has been replaced through injury may not resume play in the same match except if temporarily replaced for a blood injury. A player who has been substituted may not resume play in the same match except as a temporary replacement for a player with a blood injury. No replacement or substitution may be made except with the permission of the Referee, and only during a stoppage in play. Violation of the 5 substitution rule will result in a forfeit for that match.
4. Only players, the referee, touch judges and medically trained persons may enter the playing area in order to tend to an injured player. During the interval, coaches, water boys and camera crews may enter the playing area but they must leave it before resumption of play and must not do anything to delay the punctual resumption of play.
5. A player sent off (red card) during any match is ineligible for the remainder of the tournament. Two yellow cards in a match is a red card.
6. Any team arriving more than 5 (five) minutes after scheduled kick-off will forfeit the match. {At the discretion of the non-offending captain, the remaining time may be used to play an abbreviated match, but the result will remain a forfeit.}
7. Teams are responsible for the behavior of their sidelines and are asked to pick up after themselves.

Brackets and Seeding

Brackets for all RRRC Sevens Qualifiers must be approved by the RRRC Sevens Director and following one of the pre determined formats (4, Team, 8 Team, 10 Team, etc…) as outlined in document “ 2015 RRRC Qualifier Official Brackets.” Seeding will be done as follows:

• Seeding for the first tournament of the competition season will be based on previous years finish in the RRRC. Teams with no previous history in the competition will be seeded on a best effort basis by the RRRC Sevens Director.
• The following tournaments will be seeded based of the last tournament(s) results for that year. [Tourney 1: Results from previous 7s RRRC Qualifier season, Tourney 2: Results from Tourney One, Tourney 3: Combined results from Tourney One and Two.] Teams with no previous history in the competition will be seeded on a best effort basis by the RRRC Sevens Director.

Pool Play (round robin) Matches

Play in the pool phase of the tournament will consist of matches between teams in the same pool on a round robin basis. (Pool Play) No extra time will be played in pool matches. Points will be awarded for these matches on the following basis:

Win = 3 points Draw = 2 points Loss = 1 points No show = 0 points

If a Team willfully refuses to play, or willfully abandons a Match in progress, without the prior consent of the Match Referee, then, subject to confirmation by the Disputes Committees, that Team will be expelled from the Tournament.

If a Team has been expelled from the Tournament, for whatever reason, then that Team shall be deemed to have been awarded no pool competition table points and to have scored no tries or points in the pool Matches; and for the purposes of determining standings in the pool competition table, all Match results against such Team shall be deemed null and void. This means that all pool competition table points awarded in Matches against the expelled Team and tries and points scored or conceded in Matches against such Team will not be taken into account in determining standings in the pool competition

Determining Pool Table Standings

Position in the pool competition table shall be determined by competition points as set out above with the highest to lowest points ranked in each pool. In case of two or more teams having the same point total the following tie breaker rules shall apply:

(Head to Head) If at the conclusion of the pool stage two Teams are equal on competition points for any position in the pool, such position in the pool competition table will be determined on the result of the Match between the two equal Teams. The Team that won that Match shall be deemed to have finished higher in the pool competition table. If the Head to Head match is a draw or multiple teams are equal in Head to Head competition then the following process shall be used to determine the placing.

(Head to Head – Delta Score) The margin of points scored for and against a Team in