The national cup brings together every club in the country in knockout matches : one match, one winner. A round is played every Tuesday, up to the final in week 15.
The first rounds are qualifiers for the lower divisions. The higher divisions then join one by one, a week apart : division 5 in week 4, division 4 in week 5, division 3 in week 6, division 2 in week 7 and the elite in week 8.
How the rounds work
Each round, every club still in the cup, qualifiers and newcomers alike, goes into the same random draw, with no byes. When the elite joins, 256 clubs remain, then 128 and 64 ; then come the round of 32 in week 11, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final.
💡 The "My run" tab shows the round where your division enters, then your matches. A small club can knock out a big one : that is the magic of the cup.
In football, the cup starts in week 1 : 2,016 division 6 clubs play the preliminary round, the other 1,872 join in week 2, and week 3 only brings together the qualifiers. A draw goes to penalties.
In rugby, the cup starts in week 2 : 2,236 division 6 clubs play the preliminary round, the other 1,166 join in week 3, then division 5 in week 4.