Plans are in place for not one, but two major overhauls of senior rugby in Gloucestershire over the next couple of years.

The first revamp, which will come into being in time for the start of next season, is Gloucestershire RFU-led and will allow clubs to enter their 2nd XVs and below into the RFU league structure alongside other clubs' 1st XV teams.

The second overhaul, which will be put in place for the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign, will be led by the Rugby Football Union and will be more wide-ranging, affecting clubs from National One all the way down to the bottom of the pyramid.

The details for next season and the season after have yet to be confirmed, but Gloucestershire RFU’s Simon Collyer-Bristow told The Local Answer that they are "definitely going to happen".

He said: "We expect there will be a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 clubs wishing to enter their 2nd XVs into the RFU leagues next season.

"The highest level that any of the lower XVs can be placed is level 8, which is Gloucestershire Premier. This is RFU dictated."

Others, depending on the strength of the team and entries, may be placed in Gloucestershire One, Gloucestershire Two North or Gloucestershire Two South.

To accommodate the lower XVs from the likes of Cinderford, Clifton, Dings Crusaders, Old Centralians and Lydney, it is possible Gloucestershire Premier and/or Gloucestershire One could be split into North and South divisions, as is currently the case with Gloucestershire Two.

Which league or leagues will be split has yet to be decided dependent on eventual entries but the GRFU has clearly stated that any team/s winning promotion this season will be playing at a higher level in 2020/21 - even if it means more teams have to be relegated to maintain a balanced spread of numbers.

"Clubs' lower XVs already play in the RFU leagues in Somerset, Dorset and Wilts, and Berkshire, Bucks and Oxon," added Collyer-Bristow.

"Last summer we gave clubs in Gloucestershire the option of playing their lower XVs in the RFU leagues, in the GRFU-run District Leagues or just playing friendlies.

"They told us by a clear majority what they wanted and there will definitely be lower XVs from Gloucestershire, that wish to, playing in the RFU leagues next season.

"They told us that they don't want to travel too much, they generally want local opposition and they want meaningful opposition."

The RFU's overhaul, meanwhile, may see leagues re-structured based on geography rather than county/CB boundaries.

That could mean a club like Cirencester, for example, playing in a league with teams currently in the Wiltshire and Oxfordshire leagues if geography/numbers dictated.

"THE RFU re-structure is a very, very big reorganisation," said Collyer-Bristow, "it will stretch from National One all the way to the bottom.

"The RFU plan will hopefully see less travelling and possibly smaller league sizes as that's what the players are telling them they want.

"So, for example, now, the Old Patesians are playing in a 14-strong league which means 26 league games.

"Throw in a couple of Cup games and a couple of friendlies and that's 30 games a season. So their league - or one like it - could be reduced to 12 teams and likewise leagues that currently have 12 teams could be reduced to 10 teams."

Collyer-Bristow said he did not have a definite date when the structural changes for both next season and the season after will be finalised.