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'For me to sit here now and say it should shut up shop, I just couldn't do that and be honest with myself'
Rob Baxter has insisted he understands why so many clubs in the Gallagher Premiership are currently in favour of ring-fencing but the Exeter boss admitted he couldn’t be honest with himself if Exeter agreed that the top-tier should shut up shop and close off the pathway that the Chiefs took a decade ago.
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It was May 2010 when Exeter earned their promotion to the Premiership, defeating Bristol in a play-off final and going on to become an annual title contender, contesting the last five finals and lifting the trophy twice, most recently in October when their success was accompanied by Heineken Champions Cup glory.
Exeter made their ascent at a time when there was no guarantee the relegated Premiership team would come straight back up. That rebound is now all too predictable, money dictating the outcome as seven of the last eight relegated clubs have come straight back up, the financially ruined London Welsh the only exception.
Newcastle were the latest club to go down and come straight back, club executive telling RugbyPass in November: “It’s a really bad game of musical chairs: twelve chairs, 13 clubs and somebody misses out – relegation doesn’t serve any sort of purpose.”
That is an opinion so many other Premiership clubs have been in agreement with is winter as they top-flight in England is struggling for cashflow amid the playing of matches behind closed doors due to the pandemic.
"The only upside to not being in the Premiership is u win a lot more but look at the crowds, they are 1/2 or even a 1/3 of what they normally are"@MickHogan2 on the truth abt the Championship, the rebuild myth & why it's time to ringfence w/@heagneyl ???https://t.co/bUlQ5X26aK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 15, 2020
It has been said that the link between the Premiership and the Championship should end when Saracens, as is predicted, win their way back into the top-flight and that the 2021/22 season should be a 13-team tournament. However, while Baxter understands the reasoning behind the arguments of rival clubs who want ring-fencing, he insists the Premiership can’t fully close the door and put an end to lower league clubs aspiring to make it big like Exeter have done.
“I haven’t heard of any announcement or how quickly it might happen,” said Baxter at his weekly media conference when asked about discussions on Premiership ring-fencing. “Am I aware discussions are taking place? Yes. As you can see, there is plenty of chat going on about it.
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“If you want to ask me do I support it? I can’t sit here and promote no promotion into the Premiership because we have fought for it for so long and it was part of everything we wanted to become. We managed to get there and we’re now enjoying the fruits of that hard work so for me to sit here now and say no, this is it, it should all get shut up shop, I just couldn’t do that and be honest with myself.
“But the flip side is do I understand why other people would say we need to do this because otherwise we might be financially struggling? I 100 per cent understand that. I’d be very naive and rather stupid to say I don’t understand clubs who start to look around and question their future.
“If ring-fencing is a way for them to feel more secure in what they have got and what their investment is, I can 100 per cent understand the argument because the financial and security arguments are there. They are real and they are true.
“Does that mean sport should not have something beyond that? It probably should. That’s not me sitting here saying whatever happens we have to maintain promotion and relegation in its current form, but I 100 per cent think we as Exeter have got to support some process of a rugby club being able to get promoted in some way.
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“It was tough for us to get promoted. There were loads of hoops we had to just through around the very basic minimum operating standards you have to have in place. There aren’t many clubs that can get that in place anyway as the current rules stand so it is not me asking for something different.
“But I’d certainly want to maintain some way that a club with ambition and the drive to actually put things in place – as we had to do – would be able to achieve promotion at some stage.”
“Another incentive was cash… when you’re on 25 grand in the Championship, that [Rob Baxter's half-time bonus] becomes a big, big deal”
– @philldollman and @tomajohnson06 re-live the night of @ExeterChiefs promotion 10 years ago with @OwainJTJones ???https://t.co/hQBKsyustC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 26, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I get that Ben's role is to attract SA readers with controversial clickbait, but what about respecting the rivalry of over 100 years? The Boks won, we lost. The Boks have now won 4 world cups since their inclusion back into international rugby, and in that time the rest of the world combined have only won 4! It's an incredible achievement. Show respect, and then hope we win 2-0 in SA later this year. But don't be a whiner; it means you don't understand the rivalry at its essence. Winner takes all when NZ plays SA. Sport in it's purest form. Long may it continue.
16 Go to commentsU Nz never ever use to be such a bunch off whining girls,now this so sad that u got this aasss writing some crap
16 Go to commentsBeautifully written.
5 Go to commentsYou can be a dominating team and still lose. The Boks know that if the ABs are a man down, they play as if they have another two players on the field. The ABs did attack, they did apply pressure, they built more plays but they did not add more points to the board. The ABs are still the most dominant team in sports today as the ABs will go for a win in every game they play. Rassie and Jacques have used the time between World Cups to build squad depth. They were also the last tier 1 nation to start playing rugby after COVID restrictions were eased and still won the series against The B&I Lions. Ben may write to persuade the reader that the Boks are not worthy of the trophy or worthy to be the best in the world but Ben, since you enjoy stats so much, you forgot the most important statistic….the score! That's the one that matters most.
16 Go to commentsNot a fan of Penney to be fair as I don’t see him able to perform at SR level. However he has stepped into a bit of a mess with so many long service players leaving. No matter how good a coach us he can’t wave a magic wind and turn young pups into Crusaders in 5 mins. Wheaven to accept this is a complete rebuild of players and culture. Have some patience just as the other teams have had in years gone by
29 Go to commentsWhat is Ben’s point exactly? Cause if it’s that the ABs should’ve won that game, then yes I think every AB fan would agree with that. But the DIDN'T. You need luck to go your way and it went the Springboks way, just as it went the ABs way in 2011. Given that this article is written 6 months after the final shows that Ben is still incredibly butthurt. Time to move on Mr Smith. Maybe join something that suits your bias… i’m thinking the Australian commentary panel?
16 Go to commentsSA players and fans calling the irish arrogant, ooh the irony!!
78 Go to commentsPersonally i’d have BB off the bench and DMac as 10. BB seems to have more ‘average’ games and less ability to mix it up on the fly than DMac,
7 Go to commentsBen’s Myth History is written by the guy who does the engraving on the trophy. Took Ben six months to write this piece.
16 Go to commentsThis article should have been written immediately after the final, not half a year later. While the content of the article is accurate with the references to the cruel bounce to Savea right before the try line, Etzebeth’s cynical infringement, and the inconsistent cards, some of the hyperbole emotional statements are unnecessary and gaslighting. The fact remains that the Springboks took their scoring opportunities. They had amazing defence throughout the entire match (limiting the ABs to one try is very respectable), their scrum was pretty good and they had quite a solid lineout despite having a part-time hooker throwing the ball in. Let’s give credit where credit is due and move forward. The Springboks won because they know how to win big games through strong defence and kicking, and they had lady luck on their side on the day. The All Blacks miraculously made the final despite everyone’s predictions and could’ve won the whole damn thing with 14 men who should’ve taken better advantage of their scoring chances and committed less mistakes (shoddy lineouts, dropped balls, some poor kicks and passing, etc), and an average coach and captain with some questionable tactics (Jordie kicking for goal late in the game from a dodgy position and perhaps the wrong game plan overall). Time to move on.
16 Go to commentsThere’s no doubt the All Blacks were the better team on the day, but it’s not enough to be better, you also have to have luck.
16 Go to commentsI dunno, Ben. It does feel a little like you are just in denial that the Springboks are really good. Good enough to win two straight world cups.
16 Go to commentsAre we still talking about the World Cup final in May? The final took place more than 6 months ago. Isn’t it time to move on?
16 Go to commentsIt looks like the trauma counseling is not helping the Ben Smith troll much. He is still trying to convince his little brain that his loser team won the RWC.
16 Go to commentsOh dear, Jon. Ben Smith’s Saffer clickbait was at least backed up by some rationale!
16 Go to commentsThe more direct approach to your past time this time I see Ben. Look, it doesn’t need to be said, anyone watching the match knows the ABs played better and just got robbed by the officiating, but lets face it, their dominance in the match was only because South Africa choked and forgot how to play rugby with the ball. South Africa were still the better side. Of course Ireland and France were also better sides that New Zealand. Possibly even England on WC performances.
16 Go to commentsGreat mythology - no surprises Ox didn't talk about being driven backwards by Laulala in the RWC final!
5 Go to commentsJust shows how a hand up can help as long as the invitation is accepted. Good story.
1 Go to commentsKarma is a powerful force
22 Go to commentsFrench players said the same thing to the All Blacks after their pool match in 2011. But the French can back up their s**t talk with action.
78 Go to comments