North Midlands Vase
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The North Midlands Vase is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the North Midlands Rugby Football Union and was first contested during the 2005-06 season when Kings Norton became the first winners when they defeated Oswestry in the final at Stourton Park in Stourbridge.[1] The vase is currently open for clubs ranked in tiers 9-10 of the English rugby union system that fall under the North Midlands RFU umbrella, including sides based in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire, although one club, Dudley Wasps plays in the Midlands Reserve League, and two others, Bredon Star and Ross Wye, are both based in Gloucestershire and play in Gloucester 1 and Gloucester 2 respectively (tiers 9-10). In 2014 the North Midlands RFU introduced a 'Plate' competition for sides eliminated in the early stages of the vase.[2] It is one of three men's club competitions in the region along with the North Midlands Cup (for tier 5-6 sides) and the North Midlands Shield (for tier 7-8 sides).[3]
| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2005 |
| Number of teams | 21 |
| Country |  England |
| Holders | Ross on Wye (4th title) (2017–18) |
| Most titles | Ross on Wye (4 titles) |
| Website | North Midlands RFU |
The current format is as a knock-out cup with a preliminary round, first round, quarter-final, semi-final and final which is held at a neutral venue in May (currently Heathbrook, home of Dudley Kingswinford RFC) along with the cup and shield finals. Due to the disjointed numbers of teams several teams have played in the preliminary round. Teams that lose in either the preliminary or first round stage then contest the plate while winners go on to contest the cup proper.
North Midlands Vase winners
| |||||||||||||
| Season | Vase Winner | Score | Vase Runners–up | Plate Winner[a 1] | Score | Plate Runners-up | Venue | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06[5] | Kings Norton | 15-10 | Oswestry | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2006-07[6] | Kings Norton | 10-10 (aet)[a 2] | Bournville | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2007-08[7] | Ross on Wye | 26-13 | Cleobury Mortimer | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2008-09[8] | Ross on Wye | 12-6 | Evesham | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2009-10[9][10] | Evesham | 35-15 | Yardley & District | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2010-11[11][12] | Dudley Wasps | 27-18 | Edwardian | Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2011-12[13] | Edwardian | 24-12 | Market Drayton | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2012-13[14] | Old Yardleians | 10-5 | Ross on Wye | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2013-14[15] | Bredon Star | 34-7 | Woodrush | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | |||||||||
| 2014-15[16] | Evesham | 10-9 | Cleobury Mortimer | Redditch | 12-12[a 3] | Church Stretton | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | ||||||
| 2015-16[17] | Bredon Star | 36-7 | Redditch | Church Streeton | 41-26 | Greyhound | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | ||||||
| 2016-17[18] | Ross on Wye | 23-14 | Bromyard | Aldridge RFC | 13-11 | Aston Old Edwardians | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | ||||||
| 2017-18 | Ross on Wye | 41-12 | Dudley Wasps | Yardley & District | 28-11 | Greyhound | Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands | ||||||
Number of wins
Vase
|
Plate
|
Notes
- After extra time and with the game still tied, Kings Norton were announced as winners by virtue of scoring more tries (2-1).
- Redditch won by penalty kick decider.