THE NEW FORMAT

Provincial championships are ran off as usual (In a shorter time frame) up to Semi Final stages in the four provinces.

After that

The 8 division 1 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

The 8 division 2 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

The 8 division 3 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

The 8 division 4 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

E.G

Each team plays each other once

The team that finishes top is seeded in the next round & home advantage

The team that finishes second qualifies with a chance of seeding

The team that finishes third qualifies for the next round

The team that finishes bottom is eliminated

24 teams qualify for the next round 

Draw consists of the 8 seeded teams who have guaranteed home advantage

The next four teams draw out from pot 2 (second seeds) join the top seeds with home advantage

The rest of the teams are drawn against those teams

The 12 winners progress to the Last 16 where they are joined by the four provincial winners

If a provincial winner also qualifies through the championship that team will receive a bye to the quarter final

Last 16

QF

Semi

Final

This format ensures that 

• The provincial championships remain but with increased importance
• The league remains the same but league placing a bearing on championship the following year
• A more defined schedule of games for Inter county teams
• Rebooted back door system 
• More games between counties of similar standard

A sample calendar