Chester will welcome Camborne RUFC to Hare Lane on September 6th as Rhys and his team begin the 2025/26 campaign.
Please see the attached document for the full National 2 2025/26 fixture list.

Below is also the RFU's final response to our challenge regarding Nat 2 West next season.

National Two League Allocations June 2025

Note to Chester RFC

Thank you for Chester’s further response sent via email to Terry Burwell (Chair, ACMSC) on Thursday 5 June 2025, and for Chester’s attendance on the call at 9am on Friday 6 June 2025.

As promised, please see the RFU’s response to the points raised. Whilst we understand and acknowledge the points raised by Chester in relation to the increased travel, both financially and from a time-commitment perspective for staff and players, we hope that the explanation and commitments made below will allow us to now draw a line under this matter and move forward as we look ahead to the commencement of Season 2025/26.

Relevant Regulations

It is mandated in Regulation 6 that there shall be three National 2 Leagues, each comprising 14 Clubs:

Regulation 6, App 2, Para 1(d):

“Subject to the provisions of this Appendix 2, in the 2024-2025 Season there shall be: (d) National 2 League (formerly Level 4): three leagues each comprising fourteen Clubs”

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The relevant criteria for determining which specific league clubs will be placed is given regulatory force by the following paragraph in Regulation 6, Appendix 2 (emphasis added):

Regulation 6, App 2, Para 2(a):

Regional 2 League and above (formerly Level 6 and above): (i) where applicable, in respect of promotion and relegation in and out of these levels, the decision and criteria for determining which specific league in the respective level in which all Clubs will be placed will be as determined by the Committee (or such other group as they may nominate) and communicated to Clubs and any such decision will be final;

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The “Men’s League Pre-Season Briefing 2024-25” sets out the relevant criteria (referred to in Reg 6, App 2, Para 2(a) for the allocation of National 2 clubs for Season 2025-26 (the “Criteria”):

Allocation of Clubs to National 2, Regional 1 and 2 Leagues for Season 2025-26

After promotion and relegation into and between National 2 and Regional 2 has been affected pursuant to Regulation 6 (Appendix 2), Clubs shall be allocated to leagues in line with the principle set down in the Future Competition Review, to minimise the travel burden for Clubs and players.

In the event that a determination has to be made as between two or more clubs to complete the requisite number of clubs in a particular league, the following procedure will be utilised:

(a) Club(s) with the Lowest Total Mileage between it (them) and all the Clubs in the League to be augmented shall be moved.

(b) Where two Clubs have an identical Lowest Total Mileage (see definition) and a choice between those Clubs must be made the following will apply in sequence:

(i) the Club(s) with the Lowest Total Mileage in the league they would otherwise remain in shall stay in that league and the other Club(s) shall move to the league to be augmented;

(ii) Where two clubs have an identical Lowest Total Mileage in the league they would otherwise remain in, if one of the Clubs competed at a lower league Level in the previous season then that Club shall be asked if it wishes to move, if not the Club that competed at a higher league level shall be moved; or

(iii) if both Clubs competed at the same level in the previous season, then the Club with the Best Playing Record shall be asked if it wishes to move and if not, the other Club shall be subject to the move.

Where in exceptional circumstances the strict application of the principles set down above creates a significant disadvantage to a club or clubs, the Committee can affect a variation which removes or reduces the significant disadvantage for the benefit of the game of rugby union overall in the locality and the Committee may in its discretion take such factors as it deems appropriate into account.

Note: This Regulation applies whether a Club has remained at the same level following the Season or has been promoted or relegated into it pursuant to Regulation 6 Appendix (2).

For the purposes of this analysis, the elements in blue font are the most pertinent.

Regulatory Analysis

In the allocation of clubs to leagues, the Criteria sets out two factors which need to be considered:

1. That any allocation is conducted in line with the principle set down in the Future Competition Review, to minimise the travel burden for clubs and players; and

2. The utilisation of the procedure set out in the Criteria, of which most relevant for the present purposes is (a).

It is accepted that, in terms of the Criteria as a whole, these are mandatory principles that collectively need to be applied.

The proposal advanced by Chester is that a strict application of point (a) means that Henley and Oxford Harlequins are the clubs with the Lowest Total Mileage between them and the

other clubs in the league to be augmented (National Two West), and therefore shall be moved.

If that step were taken, Chester and Lymm would move to National Two North, leaving 16 teams in that league. The regulations do not allow 16 teams in the league, and therefore two clubs would need to be moved to National Two East to ensure consistent league composition across the National Two leagues.

Our mileage calculations suggest that, were (a) of the Criteria to be applied as between Clubs moving from National Two North to National Two East, Sheffield and Sheffield Tigers would be the clubs that would be moved to National Two East.

The net result of implementing this proposal would be to increase the total mileage incurred by the clubs to be moved between National Two North, East and West by at least 3,000 miles (compared to the current decision to move Chester and Lymm to National Two West). These calculations have been shared with Chester. That figure would be likely to increase, as it does not account for the additional mileage that other clubs in each respective league would incur as a result of these changes.

Bearing in mind that one of the factors that needs to be considered is that any allocation needs to be conducted in line with the principle set down in the Future Competition Review, to minimise the travel burden for clubs and players, this must also be taken into account in the application of the Criteria. Given this is expressly set out in the criteria, together with point (a), it is not right that one should be considered without the other.

It would be perverse to apply the regulations in such a way that would create a worse travel burden for clubs across the National Two leagues as a whole, as this would directly contravene the application of the principle set down in the Future Competition Review in applying the Criteria.

Accordingly, when considering the factors that need to be considered as whole in the allocation of clubs in accordance with the Criteria, we are content that the regulations have been correctly applied and that the result of the decision to allocate Chester and Lymm to National Two West is the correct one in the circumstances.

Exceptional Circumstances

We discussed the application of the “exceptional circumstances” provision on our call earlier this morning. As set out above, these can be applied where:

“the strict application of the principles set down above creates a significant disadvantage to a club or clubs, the [Governance] Committee can affect a variation which removes or reduces the significant disadvantage for the benefit of the game of rugby union overall in the locality and the [Governance] Committee may in its discretion take such factors as it deems appropriate into account”.

Applying the Criteria without any use of “exceptional circumstances” would result in Macclesfield and Chester being moved to National Two West. Macclesfield objectively have the Lowest Total Mileage. Chester and Lymm had Identical Lowest Total Mileage (see

definition in RFU Regulation 1), and therefore paragraph (b)(iii) of the Criteria was utilised, meaning that Lymm would remain in National Two North based on Best Playing Record, and Chester would be moved to National Two West.

Taking such factors as it considered appropriate into account (which included, but was not limited to, whether or not these three clubs had participated in National Two West previously), the Governance Committee decided to utilise the “exceptional circumstances” provisions to replace Macclesfield with Lymm, with Macclesfield having been the most recent of the three clubs to have participated in National Two West (in Season 2024/25). For the avoidance of any doubt, the use of the “exceptional circumstances” provision was not means-tested.

In terms of the original application of “exceptional circumstances” we discussed on the call that this decision was the subject of an internal review to ensure strict regulatory compliance with the Criteria. We believe that the correct conclusion has now been reached, however we do acknowledge Chester’s frustrations in having been initially (incorrectly) retained in National Two North and then subsequently being moved to National Two West. The section below details are suggestions for how this is rectified moving forward.

Next steps

Regulatory certainty is of crucial importance to the integrity of the leagues, and to ensure that all participant clubs know what they are playing for. Whilst we unequivocally maintain that the National Leagues are indeed “National” in nature and therefore a degree of travel should be expected (particularly at this level of the England Men’s League structure), we have nonetheless committed to a full review of the criteria which determines the allocation of clubs to the National Two Leagues and expect this work to complete by 1 August 2025. Within this review, we need to be mindful of the situations which arise where more clubs who would theoretically be placed in one of the “North”, “East”, or “West” leagues find themselves in the league structure than there are places available in those leagues (as was the case here). Of course, what must remain central to this is to minimise the travel burden for clubs and players insofar as practically possible.

We would be very grateful to have the club’s contributions to this review and we look forward to working constructively with the club and discussing solutions for future seasons at the earliest opportunity. Chester’s input into this process will be highly valued and appreciated.

As also discussed on our call, the Community Game Board is currently undergoing a period of business planning in which travel funding is under review. The intent is to ensure any funding is available to clubs who are travelling more miles than the average for the level they are at, and would be paid at a rate per mile above the average. Clearly, Chester (in participating in National Two West in Season 2025/26) are likely to be eligible for such payments (subject to other regulations such as payment of players). We anticipate (but are unable to confirm at this stage) funding would be materially higher than the previous contribution which the RFU made to Chester during the last season in which they participated in National Two West, however it will still be a contribution to cost and not a full subsidy. We are committed to remaining in regular dialogue with Chester to keep you

appraised of developments and we hope to have a decision which we can communicate to you before the end of June.

To conclude, we would like to pass on our sincere thanks to all at Chester for their engagement and understanding in this matter, and we hope that we can now all look forward to Season 2025/26 with some clear actions to improve the current regulations and further support clubs in future seasons. We look forward to Chester playing an important role in that work.

Terry Burwell

Chair, RFU Adult Competitions Management