Bristol proof that playoff system would not work
Relegation has been one of the most keenly debated topics in English rugby this season.
Not only has the battle at the foot of the Premiership table been one of the most spellbinding in recent history, but there has been the persistent discussion as to whether the league should become ring-fenced, scrapping relegation altogether.
This is something that has split opinion amongst fans, players and pundits, with both sides having the intention of improving the standard of the Premiership and English rugby as a whole.
Gloucester chairman Martin St Quinton recently weighed in on the debate with a different spin, suggesting a two-leg playoff between the bottom placed Premiership and the top placed Championship sides.
Of course, in terms of excitement and drama, there is no better way to drum up a following and viewing figures than a final or playoff in any sport, simply due to the very nature of what the spectacle is. This is shown at the top of the Premiership, where the final at the end of the season is a big draw, even though it has its critics. However, outside of that, it is hard to see any other positive.
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The main fault with creating a playoff is that there would be no guarantee that a side which may have performed impeccably in the Championship will be rewarded with promotion at the end of the season. Consequently, they cannot plan for the season ahead at the denouement of their current campaign, as their future will still be in the dark until the very end of the season, giving them a much smaller window of opportunity to bring in new personnel.
Bristol this season have been the embodiment of why the playoff system is flawed. The Bears are the first beneficiaries of the RFU scrapping promotion to the Premiership. Unlike this proposed system, the previous one saw the top four sides in the Championship compete in a playoff. Bristol had equally suffered at the hands of this system, as they had failed to earn promotion in the past despite topping the Championship table.
The question is whether Bristol would have been able to attract the likes of Charles Piutau, John Afoa or Harry Thacker midway through last season if their promotion was dependant on a single game at the end. They had been able to lure All Black Steven Luatua to play in the Championship during 2017/18, but it seems unlikely that a player of Piutau’s calibre would have settled for a season in England’s second tier. If they had needed to wait until the end of the season, the horse may have bolted with some of those signings, with other clubs swooping in first.
Likewise, London Irish were able in February to secure the services of British and Irish Lion Sean O’Brien for next season. It seems hard to imagine this deal would have been made if they were not very confident that they would be in the Premiership next season.
The Championship sides will not be the only ones to suffer, as the bottom-placed Premiership side would also be placed in an unsure position throughout their campaign. The purgatorial state of being placed at the bottom of the table would mean a team would not know whether they recruit for a season in the Championship or Premiership, which would require selecting different players. Although the bottom-placed Premiership side would invariably win this playoff, it puts them on the back foot for the next season, meaning they are doomed for history to repeat itself.
Finally from the fans’ perspective, although the prospect of a glorious playoff win at the end of the season is a nice thought, there is another side of the coin. Fans may equally be apathetic if they knew that all their team’s endeavours may prove to be futile come the end of the season.
Many may feel discouraged to follow a team if they know their hopes may be dashed at the final hurdle. The system works in English football, but that is when two teams are already guaranteed to go up, and then teams battle for the remaining place. To put an entire league in a position where one team may or may not go up is just unfair.
Whether relegation stays or is scrapped altogether is one debate, but the playoff system has already had its day in the Championship and we are better off without it. The support that Bristol have had this season and the rugby that they have played is testament to the abolition of the playoff to go up, and it would not make sense to replace it with another flawed model.
Comments on RugbyPass
Who hurt this man.. LoL 😭
197 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
2 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
197 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
2 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
197 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
197 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
197 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
3 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
3 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
197 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
197 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
197 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
197 Go to comments