RFU Intermediate Cup

RFU Intermediate Cup
Countries  England
Number of teams Level 7 of English rugby

The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at Level 7 of the English rugby union system. The competition is a national one however it is split into regions until the semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London.[1] It was first contested in 1997.[2]

History

The RFU Intermediate Cup was first contested in 1997 for clubs at Level 7 of English rugby.[3] The competition was initially unsponsored but later gained sponsorship from NPI,[4] Powergen[5] and EDF Energy[6] before becoming known as the "RFU Intermediate Cup" solely un-sponsored by 2008.[7]

The rounds are contested on a regional basis between the four regional unions until the semi-finals, where the winner of each region enters the national competition. Each region decides their representative separately. For example, London and South East use a direct knockout competition of all teams in the region[8] while South West split their region into Southern Counties and South Western Counties with the winners playing each other to be the region's representative.[9] Each regional champion plays another set champion with the ground being one of the semi-finalist's home.[10] The semi-finals pairings are London & South East against South West and Midlands against North.[11] The winners of the semis play each other in the final at Twickenham Stadium.[1] The largest crowd for a final was set in 2016 for the match between Kent based Tunbridge Wells RFC and Cumbria's St. Benedict's where 9,000 Tunbridge Wells fans attended the final.[12][13] A number of future RFU Championship clubs have played in the RFU Intermediate Cup prior to promotion to the second tier with Jersey Reds,[14] Hartpury College,[7] Doncaster Knights[2] and Richmond all taking part in the past.[15]

List of winners

Season Winner Score Runners–up
1997 Thanet Wanderers 21–13[16][2] Doncaster
1998 Bedford Athletic 29–24 (aet)[17] Stroud
1999 Aldwinians 21–10[18][19] Dudley Kingswinford
2000 Dunstablians 14–10[20] Hull Ionians
2001 Old Patesians 25–24[21] Blaydon
2002 Halifax 43–19[22] Gosport and Fareham
2003 Hertford 31–16[5][23] Bristol St Mary's Old Boys
2004 Bradford & Bingley 46–18[24] Gloucester Old Boys
2005 Morley 21–11[25] Westoe
2006 Stockport 11–3[26] Morley
2007 Mounts Bay 46–36[27] Dunstablians
2008 Chester 21–18[6] Birkenhead Park
2009 Hartpury College 41–31[7] Clifton
2010 Old Redcliffians 42–21[28] Northern
2011 Stoke-on-Trent 16–10[29] Aylesford Bulls
2012 East Grinstead 34–18[30] Ilkley
2013 Brighton 30–22[31] Bridlington
2014 Trowbridge 22–19[32] Leek
2015 Maidstone 31–18[33] Bridgnorth
2016 Tunbridge Wells 56–14[34] St. Benedict's
2017 West Leeds 35–26[35] Charlton Park

References

  1. 1 2 "Undefeated and off to Twickenham". Times of Tunbridge Wells. 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  2. 1 2 3 "Thanet Wanderers and the Flying Pig". RFU. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  3. ↑ "Medway vs Deal & Betteshanger" (PDF). Medway RFC. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  4. ↑ "History beckons in Surrey Cup final". Get Surrey. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  5. 1 2 "2003 Powergen Intermediate Cup Final". Hertford RFC. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  6. 1 2 "Chester RFC : We won cup for injured Aled". Daily Post. 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  7. 1 2 3 "Clifton 31-41 Hartpury College". BBC Sport. 2009-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  8. ↑ "Intermediate Cup 2015-16". RFU London. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  9. ↑ "Rugby: Windsor Rugby Club win the Southern Counties Intermediate Cup but Anthony Andrews is not getting too carried away". Royal Borough Observer. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  10. ↑ "Droitwich gripped by rugby cup fever". Bromsgrove Advertiser. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  11. ↑ Colin Channon (2018-03-13). "Whitchurch Rugby Club urge residents to support their bid for Twickenham glory". Whitchurch Herald. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  12. ↑ "Tunbridge Wells Honoured at Twickenham for a Perfect Campaign". Kent and Sussex Courier. Retrieved 2018-04-07 – via HighBeam Research.
  13. ↑ "A well-run club is the route to victory…". Times of Tunbridge Wells. 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  14. ↑ "Jersey draw London Nigerian in Powergen Intermediate Cup". Jersey Evening Post. 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  15. ↑ "Richmond appeal for fast-track promotion". Evening Standard. 2001-03-08. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  16. ↑ "1996-99 Rugby World Information". Rugbyrelics.com. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  17. ↑ Paul Trow. "Rugby Union: Rees ruled out of tour". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  18. ↑ "CHRIS DALY 26/10/1946 - 30/1/2017". Aldwinians RUFC. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  19. ↑ 00:00, 11 JAN 2006Updated03:45, 31 MAY 2013. "Twickenham target fires DK stalwart Wilson". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  20. ↑ "Coogan Replaces Jacko". Bedford Today. 2000-06-15. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  21. ↑ "Father and Son: I was so nervous when I played rugby with my son Jack, says Rich Harvey". Old Patesians. 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  22. ↑ "Irish end long wait for trophy ; London Irish - 38, Northampton - 7". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-04-07 – via HighBeam Research.
  23. ↑ "Rugby Union - Powergen Intermediate Cup - Final - St Mary's Old Boys v Hertford Pictures". Getty Images. 2003-04-05. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  24. ↑ Wildman, Rob (2004-04-19). "Bradford keep Old Boys at bay". Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  25. ↑ 15:04 (2005-04-18). "Morley's field day at 'mental' Twickenham". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  26. ↑ "Shattered dreams". Morley Observer. 2006-04-11. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  27. ↑ "Fixtures". The Times. Retrieved 2018-04-07. (registration required)
  28. ↑ "Old Reds claim Twickenham victory". BBC Sport. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  29. ↑ "Stoke win RFU Intermediate Cup". Rugby World. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  30. ↑ Mike Legg. "East Grinstead triumph at Twickenham". The Argus. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  31. ↑ "RFU Intermediate Cup". RFU. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  32. ↑ Owen Houlihan. "Trowbridge at Twickenham: Fans' support was overwhelming, says Ojomoh". Wiltshire Times. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  33. ↑ McConnell, Ed (2015-05-04). "Maidstone coach Paul Hathaway reaction to winning RFU Intermediate Cup at Twickenham against Bridgnorth". Kent Online. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  34. ↑ The News Desk (2016-05-11). "Wells make history with cup and league double". Times of Tunbridge Wells. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  35. ↑ 05:43 (2017-05-08). "Super West Leeds dig in to get over the line and make it a Twickenham double". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.