This week the RFU scrapped the
Championship play-off system that had proven the stumbling block for Bristol’s
promotion back to the Aviva Premiership for a number of years. While this
seemed like a sensible and long overdue decision, it does not necessarily address
the plethora of concerns that continue to haunt English rugby’s second tier.
With the recent and painful demise of London Welsh, there is still some way to
go to provide a stable platform for teams not quite ready to face the likes of
Saracens & Wasps.
While scrapping the dreaded
play-offs is certainly a good thing, it fails to address the real issues in the
Championship. While it will allow the team at the top to better prepare for
promotion, allowing time for a proper recruitment strategy, it only really
serves the interest of those at the very top of the Championship or bottom of
the Premiership, namely Bristol, Yorkshire & London Irish. From 2018 the
club at the top of the table will have sufficient time to ready themselves for
the top flight, time that Bristol & London Welsh more recently found
lacking.
The RFU
also announced a funding boost for all Championship sides, which will come as
hugely welcome news in a division where financial strife is felt from top to
bottom. However, even this may not be enough to rescue the division from its
current state of limbo. The Championship needs re-thinking and re-working.
There is such variety in the division it appears impossible for it to succeed
in its current format.
This term London Irish at top and
are clearly a professional outfit seeking immediate return to the Premiership.
Cornish Pirates continue to push for playoff places, having made the final
twice in the last six years, yet don’t have a ground that means the minimum
standard criteria for the top flight. There are teams such as Bedford, who
openly admit to not be seeking promotion, and this year semi-professional
outfit Richmond are at the bottom of the table. The Championship is not a
suitable proving ground for such diversity.
Ring-fencing, while looking like
the simplest option, is in the long run likely to create a stagnant pool at the
bottom to the Premiership. As we see with most top divisions in all sports
across the northern hemisphere, promotion and relegation is part and parcel of
the drama and passion. Therefore, we must create a competitive and suitably
funded second tier. This would mean shedding teams for the current Championship
to create a smaller group of teams with a desire to play Premiership rugby long
term.
This smaller group of teams would
mean the funding that the RFU currently give to the Championship would go
further in supporting their costs, and allowing them more ambition in
recruitment and facilities. In turn it would create more professional and
competitive teams that are more likely to be able to compete when promoted to
the Premiership. This would require commitment from those at the RFU to ensure
that there is adequate funding, which is currently lacking to support all 12
sides in the division, and from the clubs involved to pursue a sustainable and
competitive division.
The Championship does continue to
provide exciting rugby, and vital experience for professional players. Loan
agreements with Championship clubs have given players the opportunity to enhance
their game at a decent level, with plenty of the current England squad having
had Championship experience in their development. However, with low crowd
numbers and a lack of direction, the Championship is in need of revamping. In
its current format it is not a safe place to build a professional rugby club,
you only need ask those at Old Deer Park about the perils of continuing on the
same road, and it’s only a matter of time before others succumb to a similar
fate.
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