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Reports: 14-team Premiership could pull up relegation ladder next season
Premiership Rugby could be set to pull up the draw bridge and ring-fence the league next season, according to reports.
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The Rugby Paper reported yesterday that relegation could be scrapped for this season, with one team being promoted from the RFU Championship – Saracens being the hot favourites to bounce back up.
The ring-fencing argument in English rugby has been a talking point for years, with cash-strapped clubs terrified of taking the financial blow of a season in the Championship. With the RFU drastically cutting funding to English rugby’s second flight and with no crowds at stadiums thanks to Covid-19, the prospect of the drop has become even more invidious.
For many of England’s privately run clubs, a drop to the Championship could now represent an existential threat in the context of the financial disaster that was 2020.
The Guardian have suggested the Premiership Rugby could take a leaf from their French cousins’ book and include 14 teams in a new ring-fenced league. Ealing Trailfinders’ victory over an admittedly below strength Saracens in the Trailfinders Challenge Cup over the weekend has only strengthened the case for their inclusion in the top flight.
The club, who went professional just seven years ago, have arguably the strongest case for inclusion in a 14 man league, with former Premiership sides Leeds Tykes now relegated to National League 1 and London Welsh no longer operating as a professional club after facing liquidation in 2017.
If Ealing were promoted alongside Saracens, Cornish Pirates might feel most aggrieved of the remaining chasing pack. They finished third in the league last season and have publically stated their ambitions to make it into English rugby’s top flight.
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Not all of the Gallagher Premiership’s clubs are in complete agreement on ring-fencing the competition. English champions Exeter Chiefs are the biggest advertisement for what can be achieved on the back of promotion to the Premiership, having made the jump in 2009 with the backing of businessman Tony Rowe.
“I haven’t heard of any announcement or how quickly it might happen,” said Exeter Chiefs head of rugby Rob Baxter last week 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.
“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. “
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Premiership Rugby politely declined to comment when RugbyPass requested one on the weekend’s reports.
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*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
29 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
226 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
226 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
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