TOURNAMENTS AND COMPETITIONS
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and Yorkshire secured a 34–17 win over Devon in the National Under 20 Championship final.
At age grade level, the National Under 17 competition expanded to include national finals at four different levels, with Dorking winning the Cup Final. Competitions continue to be the lifeblood of the community game and the successful delivery of vibrant competitions remains a high priority. Next season’s theme is ‘retention’ and the focus will be on establishing the most appropriate framework for matches, with a thorough review of existing competitions throughout England planned.
At Twickenham Stadium and England representative games around the country, the department aims to deliver world class matches and this was achieved, commencing with an U19 fixture in January at London Irish, Sunbury. The England Saxons v Italy A game in February saw the official opening ceremony of Sandy Park Stadium, Exeter and more than 8,000 people attended the match, also shown live on Sky Sports.
The U20/U21fixtures were held at Bath’s Recreational Ground v Scotland and Italy and at Northampton’s Franklins Gardens against France. A double header of the U19 and U18 v France was hosted by Henley and the England Students v France Students by Oxford University.
The EDF Energy Cup Anglo-Welsh competition was successfully managed, with the semi finals at the Millennium
Stadium attended by 40,000 and more than 42,000 at the Twickenham final.
The department worked with European Cup Limited to deliver two back-to-back Heineken Cup semi finals on 21 and 22 April at Walkers Stadium, Leicester and Ricoh Arena, Coventry. The Challenge Cup Final took place at the Twickenham Stoop and the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham Stadium.
The sixth and final Royal & SunAlliance National Youth Festival was staged at Rugby School over the May bank holiday, with 22 RFUW girls’ teams, 24 CB U15 boys’ teams and 10 Development U15 boys’ teams competing.
The agreement to hold the 2007 Barclays Churchill Cup tournament in England was finalised in early December 2006, giving only a five-month lead-in but familiar infrastructures used in other tournaments and matches were adopted making planning and management of the tournament relatively straightforward, compared to previous tournaments in North America. For the first time the tournament made a small overall surplus and expenses were also some £250,000 under budget. It also gave the opportunity to take international rugby to Stockport, Exeter, Henley and Northampton, where matches were enjoyed by record Churchill Cup crowds.
October 2006 saw the appointment of the Regulations Manager to create a ‘one-stop shop’ covering the full regulatory spectrum. A mechanism for
Competitions continue to be the lifeblood of the community game and the successful delivery of vibrant competitions remains a high priority
