Following extensive consultation with the clubs, it has been decided the NSWRU Premiership, the Tooheys New Shute Shield, will remain as a 12-team competition in 2009 with a full home-and-away season, mirroring the successful format of 2008.

However Premiership clubs will only be required to fill three Grade and two Colts teams, as opposed to four Grade teams and three Colts sides in 2008. A 4th Grade and 3rd Grade Colts competition will continue to be conducted for those clubs wishing to field teams, however these will not contribute to Club Championship points.

NSWRU CEO Jim L’Estrange said that while the competition had definitely moved forward in 2008, it was important to lay the platform for ongoing success in the years ahead.

“We’re conscious of the fact that 2008 has seen an incredibly strong competition, and we believe the changes we’ve made are in the best interests of the competition and the clubs themselves,” said Mr L’Estrange.

“It’s important we keep a wide footprint across Sydney, but it has become clear that in order to do that we need to lessen the burden on administrative and playing resources for the clubs involved in the Sydney Premiership.”

The NSW Rugby Union Board today approved a number of changes to the 2009 Sydney Club Rugby Premiership aimed at further improving the competition.

A player points system will also be implemented, with each player registered given a points value determined by their representative level and time served at their present club. Each team, dependent on grade, will only be able to field a certain number of points at a time, limiting the representative player talent any club can possess.

“It’s the role of the Union to ensure we run a fair Premiership competition with an even distribution of talent around the clubs,” said Premiership Clubs Representative Chairman, Chris Birch.

“In order for the competition to be successful, we need a spread of talent across all clubs, and we also need to ensure the burden on clubs isn’t so great that they cannot be competitive.

“We’ve developed a working model of the player points systems which we’re continuing to refine with the assistance of the clubs to ensure we implement a fair and equitable system for everyone.”

Mr Birch also highlighted the need to look forward to see how the competition would be positioned to handle any further changes to professional Rugby in Australia.

“There’s a very strong chance the Super 14 will expand in the next few years, and that means even more players from Sydney club Rugby will be moving into the professional ranks,” said Mr Birch. “We need to firstly ensure that the players moving through to that level have been prepared well to do so, and also to ensure that when they return to play club Rugby that we have a fair, equitable and high quality competition for them to come back to.

“When clubs have representative players or genuine first graders playing lower grades while others are struggling to be competitive is not the sign of a healthy competition.

“We’re confident the new system will ensure the great talent we have is spread evenly around the Premiership clubs, which will make for an even stronger competition.”

The key competition components of the Sydney club Rugby Premiership in 2009 are:

Number of Teams
• The 12 clubs from 2008 will continue in the Premiership
• The Club Championship will be contested across 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grades, and 1st and 2nd Colts
• Competitions will be conducted in 4th Grade and 3rd Colts for clubs wishing to participate, however these will not contribute to Club Championship points

Length of Competition
• The Grade Premierships will continue in a full 22-round home-and-away season
• Colts will play an 18-round competition

Premiership Points System
• Each player will be given a points value based on their representative level and length of time at their present club
• A points limit will apply, with clubs unable to field a team over the limit which applies to each respective grade
• The PPS will ensure the playing talent is spread evenly across the 12 clubs
• The PPS will encourage clubs to produce players from their own juniors

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