U19 World Championship
2003

Law of the game - Number of players - Eligibility of Players -
Team Jerseys - Bench - Tie - Disciplinary Regulations - Complaints

I - Law of the game

The Tournament shall be played under the IRB Laws of the Game with the Ul9 variations.

II - Number of players

1 - For the Tournament
Each Nation shall be represented by 26 players of which 6 must be capable of playing in front row positions.

2 - For each Match
The number of players who may be registered on the match sheet is at the Team Managers’ discretion with a maximum of 22 and a minimum of 19.

III - Eligibility of Players

The full regulations of the IRB will apply.
In addition, the following provisions must be complied with.

1 - Age of players
To take part in the Championship, players must be aged under 19 years old and over 17 years old on 1 st january of the year of the Championship.

2 - Minor players
To take part, minor players in terms of the national legislation of their countries, must have, for which their President or deputy will be responsible, parental authorisation for their participation.

3 - Under 17 players
Players aged under 17 years old on 1 st january of the year of the Championship can, as an exemption to point 1 above, participate in the Championship but:
- no player aged under 17 years on 1 st january of the year of the championship can play in the Championship in Group A.
- there can be a maximum of two players aged 17 years on 1 st january of the year of the Championship presented by the teams in Group B. If this is the case, these players will authorised subject to the following reservations:

• That they present written and signed parental authorisation,
• hat they present a medical certificate less than one month old,
• That they do not under any circumstances play in the front or second rows.

IV - Teams jerseys

1 - Choice of Jersey
• Each Team shall have, at the commencement of the Tournament and for any Match, two sets of jerseys of very distinct colours.
• For precautionary purposes, the day before any Match, each Team Manager shall inform the Organising Committee of the jersey colour his Team shall wear. Thus, the Organising Committee shall be able to solve any potential colour clash.
• In the event of a dispute related to the jersey colour between two teams, the Team with the previous Tournament’s better ranking shall have be entitled to first choice.
• In the event of a difficult application of the previous provision, the dispute shall be resolved by the toss of a coin.

2 - Jersey logo
Logos may be displayed on a jersey subject to the strict application of the IRB regulations relating to this matter.

3 - Numbering jerseys
Jersey numbering shall be according to the new provisions set out in Regulation 14 of the IRB Regulations Relating to the Game.

V - Bench

No more than 4 persons from each Team (technical staff, physio and doctor) may be within the playing enclosure to be seated on the bench for medical treatment or rehydration purposes. However, water carriers shall not be allowed to enter the playing enclosure, Players shall go to the touch line or the dead ball line to drink during stoppages.
The Referee and the touch judges shall ensure that this ruling is respected.

VI - In the event of a tie at full-time

1/ In the event of a tie at full-time, no extra time shall be played and the Match winner shall be decided on the following criteria:

1.1 - The Team which has scored the most tries in that Match.

1.2 - The Team with the fewest number of players sent off in that Match.

1.3 - The Team with the fewest number of players sent off in the Tournament to date.

1.4 - The Team who kicked the most kicks at goal taken as follows:

2/ Kicks at goals:

2.1 - Organisation: The kicks at goal are part of the Match and the Referee shall be responsible for the organisation. The touch judges and the Match Commissioner may assist the Referee.
Before the kicks at goal, the toss of a coin, with the two Captains, shall decide the goal posts the Captain winning the toss) and which Team will kick first (the Captain losing the toss).

2.2 - 1st Series of kicks at goal:
The first series will consist of 5 placed kicks taken form the 22 metres line in front of the posts.
The kicks at goal will be taken, for each Team, by each of the five players, nominated by the Captains, who were on the field of play at the end of that Match. In the event of an injury, a Player, initially nominated to kick, may be replaced however his replacement shall be a player who was on the field of play at the end of that Match.
The five players shall take it in turns to kick at goal. Teams will alternate: Team A, Team B, Team A, Team B etc.

2.3 - Additional kicks:
In the event of a tie after the first series of kicks at goal, additional kicks shall be taken, still from the 22 metres line in front of the posts, alternatively by each Team, until one Team has an advantage for the same number of kicks taken.
Each of these additional kicks shall be taken by a different Player who did not participate in the first series of kicks.

VII - Match disciplinary regulations

1 - Sin Bin:
Any Player temporarily sent off (sin bin) shall go  sit on his Team’s bench.
The sin bin shall be of a minimum of ten minutes plus the time lost during the stoppages.
In the event of a sin bin ordered before the end of the first half with not enough playing time left for the sin bin period to be fully applied in the first half, the remainder of the sanction shall be applied during the second half.

2 - Ordering off:
Referees shall be extremely strict with any intentional act of violence.
Even without any previous warning, a Referee may ORDER OFF the playing enclosure any Player guilty of any obvious act of violence or who does not follow the Referee’s directions. The latter observation applies in particular for Captains who are not able to ensure the required discipline from their partners.
When ORDERING OFF the Player from the playing enclosure, the Referee shall call the offending Player and, in the presence of the two Captains, he shall show him a RED CARD to signify his ordering off.
Any Player who has been ordered off shall not play any further part in the Tournament before his case has been adjudicated by the Tournament Disciplinary Committee.

3 - Other sanctions:
In the event of a Player who has been temporarily or definitively sent off by the Referee refusing to leave the field of play, the Match shall be stopped and his team shall be declared as Match losers.
Any Referee who would fail to signal a temporary or definitive sending off may be sanctioned.

4 - Disciplinary sanctions
The disciplinary sanctions shall be imposed in accordance with the attached Disciplinary Regulations.

VIII - Complaints

1/ General policy:
For any Match organised within the Tournament, any Team is entitled to lodge a complaint according to the following provisions:

2/ Nature of the Complaint:

2.1 - Incidents related to the Match (within the playing enclosure)
This provision includes any incident related to a Match that occurred before, during or after that Match but which is directly related to that Match.

2.2 - Players eligibility
The criteria for eligibility are determined against the Tournament’s general provisions.

2.3 - Players identity
A complaint may concern a player’s identity.

3/ Complaints validity
To be valid, a complaint must be:

3.1 - received by the Match Referee and not inadmissible by the Match Referee,

3.2 - recorded on the match sheet before the match or no later than 30 minutes after the conclusion of the match. Any complaint lodged after this period shall not be valid,

3.3 - written by the Nation’s Chairman or his designee,

3.4 - notified to the opposing Nation’s Chairman or designee by the Referee,

3.5 - lodged with a deposit of 600 F or US$ 100 or £ 50,

3.6 -  lodged according to the following provisions set in section 4.

4/ Lodging a complaint

4.1 - General policy
A complaint may be lodged before the commencement of a Match or no later than 30 minutes after the conclusion of a Match.
Complaints relating to Players eligibility shall expressly be lodged before the Match.
Complaints relating to practical or material organisation, incidents related to a Match, checking of Players identity may be lodged after the Match.
No complaint may be withdrawn once lodged and the Referee shall not, in any case, refund the deposit paid.

4.2 - Passport not being presented
A complaint may be lodged following a passport not being shown. Then the opposing Team may not allow the player(s) concerned to participate in the Match. This refusal shall be recorded on the match sheet and in this case the player(s) shall not be replaced.

4.3 - Complaint drafting
The complaint shall expressly be recorded on the match sheet and signed by the Nation’s Chairman or his designee. The Nation’s Chairman or his designee shall write his name and first name in capital letters.
The complaint shall include the precise reasons, the identity and passport number of the Player(s) concerned.

5/ Deposit:
In the event of the complaint validity being recognised, the full amount of the deposit shall be refunded to the citing Nation.