While the competition is a national one, it is however split into regions until the semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London.

[3] The competition was initially unsponsored but later gained sponsorship from NPI,[4] Powergen[5] and EDF Energy[6] before becoming known as the "RFU Intermediate Cup" solely un-sponsored by 2008.

[1] The format for northern teams involved in the RFU Intermediate Cup is a league-cup hybrid with each county union in the region selecting one representative each.

The winners of each group then meet in the north final to determine who goes forward to the national semi-finals.

Clubs that are affiliated with Dorset & Wilts and Gloucestershire play in county based knock-out competitions first.