New format ... the Shute Shield gets a shake-up.
The Shute Shield competition will be three weeks shorter next year but feature an extended finals format under changes announced by the Sydney Rugby Union yesterday.
The competition will run from April 14 to September 15, starting two weeks later and finishing a week earlier than the 2011 season.
The grand final will be played on September 15 to cap an eight-team, four-week finals format, one week longer than this year.
All clubs will play a minimum of 16 games with byes scheduled after rounds eight and 11, and a split round 15 to allow for wet weather and postponements.
All clubs will play each other in the first 11 rounds of the competition, before splitting into two groups of six for the final five rounds.
Competition points will accrue for the entire 16 rounds.
SRU president Chris Birch said the union worked closely with the Australian Rugby Union to come up with the new format, and all clubs and the competition sub-committee had a say on the changes.
The grade competition will follow the same format but the colts finals series will start and finish a week before premier rugby, the SRU said.
