Oxfordshire will be among the first teams in England to trial rolling substitutions when they compete in the County Championship Shield.

The competition, and the higher level Bill Beaumont Cup, will feature a maximum of 12 player interchanges per team per game – the first English event to use the system.

It is hoped that rolling subs will simplify game management, improve player welfare and increase participation.

Oxfordshire coach Richard Williams said: “I think it is a good idea. It will be nice to experiment.

“I think we are going to get a fairly good squad together this season, so this gives us a chance to look at a few more players.

“It should be interesting to see how it works.

“It will make it quite similar to rugby league.

“It should certainly help the front five, but we don’t want to upset things too much.”

Oxfordshire’s first match in Pool 1 of the Shield is away to East Midlands on May 1, which is the first day of action in the county season.

Interchanges will only take place at stoppages and the full regulations will be available in due course.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) trial has been sanctioned by the International Rugby Board (IRB).

IRB vice-chairman Bill Beaumont said: “The County Championship is an ideal tournament to trial rolling substitutions, as it has done with the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) in the past.

“You don’t know whether things will work unless you try them. I am looking forward to seeing how this one goes.”

Rob Briers, chairman of the County Championship Rev-iew Group and RFU Competitions, said: “All the coaches I have spoken to are saying ‘bring it on’ so there is certainly an appetite to try things.

“Using a finite, one-month competition at the end of the season gives people a chance to see how it may or may not work at a reasonable level of rugby.”

Chris Cuthbertson, chairman of the RFU Laws Sub-Committee, said: “There will be consultation at all levels of the game and there will not be a blanket implementation across England.

“It would be for each level of the game to determine if such a system would be beneficial for them.”

Oxfordshire fixtures – May 1: East Midlands (away). May 8: Leicestershire (away). May 15: Essex (home). May 22: semi-finals. May 30: final (Twickenham).