Review recommends major changes to regional programme.

The recommendations of the Regional Programme Review have now been published - and there are some major changes planned, especially for the juniors.

At senior level the only major change comes in 2008/9 when seniors move to eight regions - effectively mirroring the RFU regions (so East will gain Middlesex and possibly lose Huntingdonshire - though the latter needs to be confirmed). In addition by the following year a national county structure is planned leading to closed trials - in other words the same as the junior system which came in this season.

For the juniors....

From next season the U18s will mirror the senior programme - ie. there will be no tournament at Rugby School, but instead three regional matches with the top four qualifying for a final and third place play-off. U15s will remain as they are, with two warm-up fixtures and the tournament.

This would inevitably mean that - instead of the two junior squads working together, sharing physio support, etc. - they will now be largely independent entities. It maybe that the U18s will have the same fixture and training programme as the seniors - that is not confirmed.

However before the adminsitrative and organisational implications of that sinks in there are even more changes planned for 2008/9.

In that year the U18s drop down to the eight RFU regions, as with the seniors BUT the U15s gain an extra region and will therefore run on a completely separate 12-team regional system. In practice this will not affect East/London North too much as it seems that even in the 12-team format the borders will be the same (ie. the U15s probably gain Middlesex as well) - the main areas of confusion will be in the new North East & Yorkshire, South, and South West regions which will "split" at U15 level while being "combined" at U18 and Senior.

Other reforms will be a nationally standardised trial procedure for closed trials, including a nationally agreed criteria for "wild cards".

Finally the regional programme will now be officially considered a "Talent Development" programme while the County Programme will be charges with promoting "Participation". What this means in practice - if anything - (and how it will be adminstered) is, at this stage, unclear.