THE rugby union season must begin by October 10 if a full programme of fixtures is to be completed, according to the Rugby Football Union.

The RFU has outlined the dates of its three potential start windows, with a deadline for the first window, which would see a full fixture schedule, being October 10.

A second window, which will see a slightly reduced number of fixtures, must be able to start by November 28, while a third window, which would see a vastly reduced number of fixtures, will require competitions being able to start by February 6.

The three competition models were outlined by the RFU last week, with models based on leagues being split into two regional conferences before the start of the season, i.e. a 14 team league will be split into two groups of seven teams.

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Model one, which will have a start deadline of October 10 for 14-team leagues at level five and below, will see teams playing home and away in their group first, i.e. in a 14-team league separated into two groups of seven, teams would play 12 fixtures.

Teams would then play home and away against teams in the other group, meaning teams play a further 14 fixtures (26 fixtures in total).

Model two, which has a start deadline of November 28 for 14-team leagues, will see teams play home and away in their group first before playing home or away against teams in the other group, meaning teams play 19 fixtures in total.

Model three, which has a start deadline of February 6 for 14-team leagues, will see teams play home and away in their group for a total of 12 fixtures, with the two group winners facing a playoff for the league title.

The above applies to leagues at levels five and below of the English rugby system, with levels three and four, which includes Redruth, working against their own timeframe.

Model one for these leagues, which would allow for a full schedule of home and away fixtures (30 in all) to be played, has a start deadline of October 3.

Model two, which would allow for a full round of home or away fixtures (15 games) before splitting into two groups of eight based on league position and play each other home or away in their group for seven more fixtures (22 in total), has a start deadline of November 28.

Model three, which would allow for a full round of home or away fixtures (15 games), has a start deadline of January 30.

The RFU added that these dates reflect the possibility of extending the season into May, although approval for this is yet to be granted.