The RFU Senior 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 the 2006–07 season. It is contested for by teams at level 8 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 ...

, with only 1st XV sides being allowed to enter. The competition is a national one but is split into regions until the 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 ...

. As of 2018-19 it is the fourth most prestigious national 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 ...

and

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 ...

History

The Senior Vase was introduced by the RFU during the 2006–07 season, and was competed for by English level 8 clubs. The original competition sponsors were

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 ...

, who had just taken over the sponsorship of national cup competitions from previous sponsors Powergen, although since the 2009–10 season there has been no sponsor. At the time of its inception it was the fourth most important competition in English rugby union behind the

Anglo-Welsh 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 ...

National Trophy National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and Intermediate Cup but ahead of the Junior Vase. The finals for the Intermediate Cup, Senior Vase and Junior Vase are played at the end of each season at

, with games all taking place on the same specified date throughout the day.

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 Senior Vase is a league-cup hybrid with each county union in the region selecting one representative each. 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 ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

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 level 8 leagues: *

Cumbria 2 Cumbria 2 was a short-lived competitive rugby union league at tier 8 of the English rugby union system run by the English Rugby Football Union for club sides based in Cumbria. Teams were promoted to Cumbria 1 and as it was the lowest ranked RFU ...

Durham/Northumberland 2 Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland, formerly known as Durham/Northumberland 2, is an English rugby union league at the eighth tier of the domestic competition for teams from North East England. The champions and runner-up are promoted to Coun ...

South Lancs/Cheshire 2 Lancs/Cheshire Division Two (usually referred to as Lancs/Cheshire 2) was a regional English Rugby Union league for teams in Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester at level 9 of the English rugby union system. Teams were promo ...

Yorkshire 2 Counties 2 Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire 2 is an English rugby union league at the eighth tier of the domestic competition for teams from Yorkshire. Club rugby in Yorkshire operates without promotion play-offs meaning that the top tw ...

Midlands

The format for Midlands teams involved in the RFU Senior 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 Senior Vase national semi-finals. The competition involves all teams from the following level 8 leagues: *

Midlands 3 West (North) Midlands 3 West (North) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the West Midlands region including Shropshire, Staffordshire, parts of Birmingham and the West Mi ...

Midlands 3 West (South) Midlands 3 West (South) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the West Midlands region including clubs from parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshi ...

Midlands 3 East (North) Midlands 3 East (North) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 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, Linco ...

Midlands 3 East (South) Midlands 3 East (South) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and o ...

London and South East

As with the Midlands the format for London and South East teams involved in the RFU Senior 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 Senior Vase national semi-finals. The competition involves all teams from the following level 8 leagues: *

London 3 Eastern Counties London 3 Eastern Counties is an English rugby union league that is at the eighth level of the English rugby union system and is available to club sides based in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk (Eastern Counties). Promoted teams move up to L ...

London 3 Essex London 3 Essex is an English rugby union league that is at the eighth level of the English rugby union system and is available to club sides based in Essex and north-east London. Promoted teams move up to London 2 North East with league champ ...

London 3 North West London 3 North West is a level 8 league within the RFU league structure and is made up of teams predominantly from north-west London and Hertfordshire. Promoted sides tend to move up to London 2 North West while relegated teams drop to Herts/M ...

London 3 South East London 3 South East is an English level 8 Rugby Union League involving club sides from Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and the south-east London. It is made up of teams predominantly from London, Sussex and Kent. The twelve teams play home and a ...

London 3 South West London 3 South West is an English rugby union league at the eighth level of club rugby union in England involving sides based in Hampshire, Surrey and south-west London. Promoted clubs move into London 2 South West. Relegated clubs move into ...

South West

The format for the south-west teams 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 from the following level 8 leagues: *

Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier Berks, Bucks & Oxon Premier is a division at level 8 of the English rugby union system featuring teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Promoted teams usually move up to Southern Counties North while relegated teams used to drop ...

Dorset & Wilts 1 North Dorset & Wilts 1 North is an English rugby union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs primarily based in Wiltshire, sitting at tier 8 of the English rugby union system. Originally consisting of one league, Dorset & Wilts ...

Dorset & Wilts 1 South Dorset & Wilts 1 South is an English Rugby Union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs primarily based in Dorset, sitting at tier 8 of the English rugby union system. Originally a single league, Dorset & Wilts 1 split into ...

Gloucester Premier Gloucester Premier is an English rugby union league which sits at the eighth level of league rugby union in England with teams largely being based in the county of Gloucestershire and Bristol. Originally a single division called Gloucestershire ...

Tribute Cornwall/Devon Cornwall/Devon League (known as Tribute Cornwall/Devon League for sponsorship reasons) was an English level eight, rugby union league for clubs principally based in Cornwall and Devon. Following the reorganisation of the English rugby union le ...

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

Competition results

Number of wins

Club

*Bromley (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) *Cullompton (1) *Farnham (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) *Honiton (1) *Newent (1) *Northwich (1) *Selby (1) *Teddington (1) *Wath-upon-Dearne (1) *Wells *West Leeds (1)

Region

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 ...

(5) *

(4) *

(0)

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 2006 2006 establishments in England Vase sports trophies