The top 4 groups will play for the Cup, next 4 the Plate, next 4 the Bowl, next 4 the Shield, next 4 the Vase and the last 4 groups will play for the Plaque. After
the group rounds the top 4 teams in each group will move forward to the Cup, Plate, Bowl,Shield, Vase or Plaque knockout rounds, with the grand finals being in week 14. (The top 2 teams will have home matches in the 1st knockout Round and their opponents will be drawn at random from the teams who finish 3rd & 4th in each group). Teams that finish 5th and 6th will play-off in a Wooden Spoon competition featuring all the teams that did not qualify for the regular finals. It will be in 3 levels; Gold, Silver & Bronze. During the group rounds, the teams will be awarded 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, and a possible bonus point (BT) for scoring 4 tries or more, regardless of the results, and a bonus point (BL) for losing by 7 points or less. |