The RFU Junior Vase is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

national knockout cup competition in England run by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

, which has been competed for since 1990. It is mostly contested by 1st XV teams at level 9 of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

, although sides as low as level 12 or even outside the league system can sometimes enter. The competition is a national one, but split into regions until the national semi-finals with the final being held at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Presently, the RFU Junior Vase is the fifth most important club cup competition in England, behind the

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

RFU Championship Cup The RFU Championship Cup is an annual rugby union competition introduced by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 2018 to provide a cup competition for English second tier clubs playing in the RFU Championship, following the disbanding of the Britis ...

RFU Intermediate Cup 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. While the competition is a national one, it is howeve ...

and

RFU Senior Vase The RFU Senior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since the 2006–07 season. It is contested for by teams at level 8 of the English rugby union system, ...

History

The Vase was first contested for during the 1990–91 season, when it was known as the Provincial Insurance Cup (named after its sponsors). It was introduced by the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

to provide a national cup competition for junior clubs in the

not already competing in the

Pilkington Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

, with a number of knock-out rounds culminating in the final held at

. The competition would have a number of different sponsors over the course of its history, including Provincial Insurance,

Pilkington Pilkington is a Japanese-owned glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, United Kingdom. In the UK it includes several legal entities and is a subsidiary of Japanese company NSG Group. Prior to its acquisition by NSG i ...

, NPI,

Tetley's Brewery Tetley's Brewery (Joshua Tetley & Son Ltd) was an English regional brewery founded in 1822 by Joshua Tetley in Hunslet, now a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The beer was originally produced at the Leeds Brewery, which was later renamed the Le ...

, Powergen and

EDF Energy EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses through ...

. Since the 2009–10 season the competition has been known as the RFU Junior Vase and is competed for by clubs playing in at level 9 of the league system. It is currently un-sponsored.

Current format

The rounds are contested on a regional basis between the four regional unions (

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

London & South East London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, South West) until the semi-finals, where the winner of each region enters the national competition, with the winner of each semi-final meeting at the final at Twickenham Stadium. Each region has a different qualification method (more detail on this below) and at the end of this qualification there are four regional champions who play in the national semi-finals the ground being one of the semi-finalist's home. The semi-finals pairings are London & South East against South West and Midlands against North.

North

The format for northern teams involved in the RFU Junior Vase is a league-cup hybrid with each county union in the region typically selecting one representative each (although Cheshire have two representatives for the 2018–19 competition). The first stage features a mini league with clubs from

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

meeting in one pool and clubs from Durham County,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, meeting in the other, each side playing 2 games each. The winners of each group then meet in the north final to determine who goes forward to the national semi-finals. The competition involves representative teams from the following unions and level 9-10 leagues: *

– Lancs/Cheshire Division 3 * Durham County –

Durham/Northumberland 3 Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland, previously known as Durham/Northumberland 3, is an English rugby union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and is currently the basement league of club rugby in North East England. Any club ...

– Lancs/Cheshire Division 3 *

–

Yorkshire 3 Counties 3 Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire 3, is an English rugby union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition. Club rugby in Yorkshire operates without promotion play-offs meaning that the top two teams are automatically ...

Yorkshire 4 Counties 4 Yorkshire is an English rugby union league at the tenth tier of the domestic competition for teams from Yorkshire. Club rugby in Yorkshire operates without promotion play-offs meaning that the top two teams are automatically promote ...

Midlands

The format for Midlands teams involved in the RFU Junior Vase is a direct knockout cup with a 1st round, 2nd round, 3rd round, semi-finals and final, with all sides from the eligible leagues taking part. The winner of the final goes forward to the national semi-finals. The competition involves unions and clubs from the following level 9-10 leagues: *

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

–

Midlands 4 East (South) Midlands 4 East (South) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Linc ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

–

North Midlands The North Midlands is a loosely defined area covering the northern parts of the Midlands in England. It is not one of the ITL regions like the East Midlands or the West Midlands. A statistical definition in 1881 included the counties of Derbysh ...

–

Midlands 4 West (North) Midlands 4 West (North) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the English Rugby Union Midland Division, Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region including Shro ...

Midlands 4 West (South) Midlands 4 West (South) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the English Rugby Union Midland Division, Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region including club ...

Midlands 5 West (North) Midlands 5 West (North) was a level 10 English Rugby Union league and level 5 of the Midlands League, that was made up of teams from the northern part of the West Midlands region including clubs from parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands, S ...

Midlands 5 West (South) Midlands 5 West (South) is a level 10 English Rugby Union league and level 5 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the West Midlands region including clubs from parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Sta ...

* Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire –

Midlands 4 East (North) Midlands 4 East (North) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the English Rugby Union Midland Division, Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Derbyshire, Lincol ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

–

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

–

London and South East

As with the Midlands the format for London and South East teams involved in the RFU Junior Vase is a direct knockout cup with a 1st round, 2nd round, 3rd round, semi-finals and final, with all eligible teams taking part. The winner of the final goes forward to the national semi-finals. The competition involves 1st XV teams from the following unions and level 9-12 leagues: * Eastern Counties –

Eastern Counties 1 Eastern Counties 1 is an English level 9 Rugby Union League. From the 2017-18 promoted teams move up to the newly created London 3 Eastern Counties with the league champions going up automatically, while relegated teams drop down to Eastern C ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

–

Essex Canterbury Jack 1 Essex 1 (known as Essex/Canterbury Jack 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English Rugby Union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and features teams from Essex and parts of north-east London. Promoted clubs tend to move up to L ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

–

Hampshire Premier Hampshire Premier is an English level 9 Rugby Union league for teams based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Up until the 2017–18 season it was known as Hampshire 1 but was changed to Hampshire Premier due to restructuring of the Hampshir ...

Hampshire 1 Hampshire 1 is an English level 10 Rugby Union league for teams based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Up until the 2017–18 season it was known as Hampshire 2 but was changed to Hampshire 1 following the restructuring of the Hampshire lea ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

–

Herts/Middlesex 1 Herts/Middlesex 1 is a tier 9 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the top tier competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally w ...

Herts/Middlesex 2 Herts/Middlesex 2 is a tier 10 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the second division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditio ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

– Shepherd Neame Kent 1,

Shepherd Neame Kent 2 Kent 2 (known as Shepherd Neame Kent 2 for sponsorship reasons) is an English level 10 Rugby Union League and is made up of teams predominantly from south-east London and Kent. The teams play home and away matches from September through to Apri ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

–

Surrey 1 Surrey 1 is a level 9 English Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Surrey and south-west London. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams move up to London 3 South West with the ...

Surrey 2 Counties 2 Surrey is a level 8 English Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Surrey and south-west London. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams move up to Counties 1 Surrey/S ...

Surrey 3 Counties 3 Surrey is a rugby union competition covering the English county of Surrey and parts of south-west London. It sits at the ninth tier of the English rugby union system. The teams play home and away matches from September through to A ...

Surrey 4 Counties 4 Surrey is a rugby union competition covering the English county of Surrey and parts of south-west London. It sits at the 10th tier of the English rugby union system. The teams play home and away matches from September through to Apr ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

–

Sussex 1 Sussex 1 (known as Harvey's of Sussex 1 due to sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9 Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Sussex. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champi ...

South West

The format for the south-west teams in the RFU Junior Vase is more complex with different methods of qualification decided on by the county unions that they represent. Clubs that are affiliated with Dorset & Wilts and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

play in county based knock-out competitions first. The winners of the Dorset & Wilts competition then plays in the Southern Counties semi-finals against representatives from

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, while the Gloucestershire winners play in the South West Counties semi-finals against representative from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, with the winners then meeting in a regional final. Finally, the Southern Counties and South West Counties winners meet to determine qualification for the national semi-finals. Teams involved (1st XV only) are typically from the following unions and level 9-12 leagues: *

–

Berks/Bucks & Oxon Championship Berks, Bucks and Oxon Championship was a division at level 9 of the English rugby union system featuring teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Promoted teams moved up to the Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier and there was no relegatio ...

–

Cornwall League 1 Counties 2 Cornwall (sponsored by St Austell Brewery using the Tribute brand name) is an English level eight rugby union league for clubs based in Cornwall. The champions are promoted to Counties 1 Western West and two teams are relegated to ...

–

Devon League 1 Devon League 1 is an English level eight rugby union league for clubs based in Devon (and sometimes includes one Cornish club — St Columba & Torpoint). The champions are promoted to Cornwall/Devon and the runner-up plays the second team from ...

* Dorset & Wilts –

Dorset & Wilts 2 North Dorset & Wilts 2 North is an English Rugby Union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs based primarily in Wiltshire, sitting at tier 9 of the English rugby union system. From this league teams can either be promoted to Dor ...

Dorset & Wilts 2 South Dorset & Wilts 2 South is an English Rugby Union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs primarily based in Dorset, sitting at tier 9 of the English rugby union system. Promoted teams tend to move up to Dorset & Wilts 1 So ...

Dorset & Wilts 3 North Dorset & Wilts 3 North was an English Rugby Union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs primarily based in Wiltshire, sitting at tier 10 of the English rugby union system. Promoted teams tended to move up to Dorset & Wilts ...

Dorset & Wilts 3 South Dorset & Wilts 3 South was an English Rugby Union league, forming part of the South West Division, primarily for clubs based in Dorset, sitting at tier 10 of the English rugby union system. Promoted teams generally moved up to Dorset & Wilts ...

–

Gloucester 1 Gloucester 1 is an English rugby union league which sits at the ninth level of league rugby union in England for teams based primarily in the county of Gloucestershire but also on occasion teams from Bristol. Promoted clubs move into Gloucester ...

–

Somerset 1 Somerset 1 (known as Tribute Somerset 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English rugby union league which sits at the ninth level of league rugby union in England involving teams based in the county of Somerset as well as some teams based in Bris ...

Competition results

Number of wins

Club

*Bradford Salem (2) *

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. The Tigers traditionally hold their race n ...

(2) *Baildon (1) *Battersea Ironsides (1) *Bedford Queens (1) *

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...

(1) *

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

(1) *Castleford (1) *

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

(1) *Fleetwood (1) *Goole (1) *H.A.C. (1) *

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

(1) *

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

(1) *Heath (1) * Huddersfield Y.M.C.A. (1) *Leodiensians (1) *Longlevens (1) *Malton & Norton (1) *

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

(1) * Medicals (1) *Newent (1) *Old Alleynians (1) *Old Cranleighans (1) *Old Otliensians (1) *Reeds Weybridge (1) *Teddington (1)

Region

(14) *

(10) *

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

(3) *

(2)

Notes

References

External links

RFU
{{Rugby union in England Rugby union competitions in England Rugby union cup competitions in England Recurring sporting events established in 1990 1990 establishments in England