Men’s Rugby
The Patagonia Cup secures all teams competitive matches and the chance to play international opponents. The tournament will be played according to the regulations of the IRB – UAR rules. The tournament organisation reserves the right to make adjustments to the tournament format to guarantee that every team play the same number of matches.
Dates:
| Opening Ceremony & Round 1: |
Saturday 6 February 2016 |
| Round 2: | Sunday 7 February 2016 |
| Round 3: | Tuesday 9 February 2016 |
| Round 4 & Semi-finals: | Thursday 11 February 2016 |
| Finals: | Saturday 13 February 2016 |
Rules of play are as per IRB rules with the following alterations:
Rounds 1-4 matches are 2 x 20 minute halves with a 5 minute half time.
Final matches are 2 x 30 minute halves with a 10 minute half time.
Tournament Format
Pool Phase (Rounds 1-3)
The Teams competing in The Patagonia Cup will be seeded into Pools of 4 Teams. The number of pools will depend upon the number of participant teams.
Match Points System
Teams will play each other in each Pool and on a round robin basis and Match points will be awarded on the following basis:
· 4 points for a win
· 2 points for a draw
· 1 point for scoring 4 or more tries
· 1 point for losing by 7 or less than 7 points
· 0 points for a loss
Points will be awarded at the completion of each Pool Match and no extra time shall be played.
Ranking at the Conclusion of the Pool Phase
Ranking Within Pools:
At the conclusion of the Pool phase, the Teams in a Pool are ranked one through four based on their cumulative Match points, and identified respectively as winner, runner up, third and fourth. If, at the completion of the Pool phase, two or more Teams are level on Match points, then the following criteria shall be used in the following order until one of the Teams can be determined as the higher ranked:
(i) the winner of the Match in which the two tied Teams have played each other shall be the higher ranked;
(ii) the Team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its Pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;
(iii) the Team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its Pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;
(iv) the Team which has scored most points in all its Pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;
(v) the Team which has scored most tries in all its Pool Matches shall be the higher ranked; and
(vi) if none of the above produce a result, then it will be resolved with a toss of a coin.
Seeding for Round 4
At the end of the Pool phase, the Teams will be seeded based on the position in which they finished in their respective Pools.
1st Seed Pool winner with most competition points
2nd Seed Pool winner with 2nd most competition points
3rd Seed Pool winner with 3rd most competition points
4th Seed Pool second place with most competition points
5th Seed Pool second place with 2nd most competition points
6th Seed Pool second place with 3rd most competition points
7th Seed Pool third place with most competition points
8th Seed Pool third place with 2nd most competition points
9th Seed Pool third place with 3rd most competition points
10th Seed Pool fourth place with most competition points
11th Seed Pool fourth place with 2nd most competition points
12th Seed Pool fourth place with 3rd most competition points
If two or more Teams are level on Match points, then the same criteria as that used after the Pool rounds (Ranking within Pools) will be used (excluding criteria (i)) - see above (ii) to (vi)).
Based on the seeding, the allocation of fourth round Matches will be as follows:
For Rankings 9 - 12
10th Seed v 11th Seed
9th Seed v 12th Seed
For Rankings 5 - 8
6th Seed v 7th Seed
5th Seed v 8th Seed
Semi Finals
2nd Seed v 3rd Seed
1st Seed v 4th Seed
Finals
Third-Place Match
The Patagonia Cup Final
For the Finals, if Teams are tied at full time, then the winner shall be determined through the following sequential criteria;
(i) Sudden Death / Extra Time – following an interval of 5 minutes, extra time of 10 minutes each way (with an interval of 5 minutes) shall be played. During the extra time periods, the first Team to score any points (a try, a successful penalty kick or a drop goal) shall be declared the winner.
(ii) Kicking competition – if, after the extra time periods, no winner can be declared, a kicking competition will be organised between the two Teams. The winner of that competition shall be declared the winner of the Match.