Cut to Championship Funding

[Mellsblue]

Open letter to the RFU from The Championship Clubs Executive: https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2020/02 ... irvine-rfu

[Oakboy]

Open letter to the RFU from The Championship Clubs Executive: https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2020/02 ... irvine-rfu

Where are the facts in all this? I find the Bedford letter hard to challenge in any detail and this whole business comes across as a shoddy communication exercise at the very least. You'd think that the 'deliverables' mentioned would have been a central theme since the first day of professionalism.

The RFU comes across as a shambles but is that really surprising when there are no published targets for England's head coach, for example; when all English players are 'expected' to make themselves available for Lions tours; and when, somehow, with the simplicity of selling out Twickenham (probably twice over for most matches) they manage to lose money in the first place in building a fricking stand.

[fivepointer]

Does seem odd that the RFU's targets weren't made clear and that the clubs didnt know on exactly what basis they would be getting their cash. Its also pretty hard to accept that the RFU summarily halved their funding without a proper consultation. Its a shoddy way to treat the clubs and the RFU dont come out of this looking good.
That doesnt alter the fact that the Championship is a basket case with half the clubs not interested in promotion, and those that are cannot sustain Premiership rugby. This season Newcastle will go up, Saracens will go up the season after. Any betting that the following season will see the club who make way for Saracens go up replacing the other team out 13 who's turn it is to take a year in the 2nd tier?
We cannot go on like this. Something needs to happen to properly address this state of affairs.
Dallaglio on tv yesterday talked about ring fencing the top 2 leagues, making them pro and the rest of the game amateur. Its something i've seen before (Mark Evans for instance along with Moore) and does, i think, point a way forward.

[Puja]

Open letter to the RFU from The Championship Clubs Executive: https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2020/02 ... irvine-rfu

Not 100% sure of the wisdom of doing it in public. I get that he's trying to publically air his side to get public support, but the tone of that is not so much burning bridges as it is napalming them. Plus, alienating the decision-makers at the RFU to get public support seems injudicious when it's the decision-makers who can fix things and the public can do little but grumble.

Overall, that feels like a letter that was probably very satisfying to write, but should have been saved as a draft, rather than "Send to All"ed.

Puja

[Oakboy]

Open letter to the RFU from The Championship Clubs Executive: https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2020/02 ... irvine-rfu

Not 100% sure of the wisdom of doing it in public. I get that he's trying to publically air his side to get public support, but the tone of that is not so much burning bridges as it is napalming them. Plus, alienating the decision-makers at the RFU to get public support seems injudicious when it's the decision-makers who can fix things and the public can do little but grumble.

Overall, that feels like a letter that was probably very satisfying to write, but should have been saved as a draft, rather than "Send to All"ed.

Puja

I understand where you are coming from but this example of inept blazerdom has to be highlighted, surely? IF, the decision-makers are THIS bad they should not be the decision-makers.

[Puja]

Open letter to the RFU from The Championship Clubs Executive: https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2020/02 ... irvine-rfu

Not 100% sure of the wisdom of doing it in public. I get that he's trying to publically air his side to get public support, but the tone of that is not so much burning bridges as it is napalming them. Plus, alienating the decision-makers at the RFU to get public support seems injudicious when it's the decision-makers who can fix things and the public can do little but grumble.

Overall, that feels like a letter that was probably very satisfying to write, but should have been saved as a draft, rather than "Send to All"ed.

Puja

I understand where you are coming from but this example of inept blazerdom has to be highlighted, surely? IF, the decision-makers are THIS bad they should not be the decision-makers.

Noted and agreed, but the question has to be whether that little polemic will do anything effect change, or is it just going to rile up the powerful incompetents and make them dig in their heels?

Puja

[Danno]

Speaking as a career cynic (literally), the tone of it feels like the writer knows there is little to no chance of swaying them, so might as well muddy them as much as possible. I tend to share their view.

[Which Tyler]

We cannot go on like this. Something needs to happen to properly address this state of affairs.
Dallaglio on tv yesterday talked about ring fencing the top 2 leagues, making them pro and the rest of the game amateur. Its something i've seen before (Mark Evans for instance along with Moore) and does, i think, point a way forward.

You'll have seen that suggestion a fair bit on these very boards...

[Tigersman]

But the thing is can English rugby really have the ability to sustain to full pro leagues?

[Stom]

But the thing is can English rugby really have the ability to sustain to full pro leagues?

Why not? 20 clubs doesn't seem that far-fetched.

The 8 from the Champ are Newcastle (obvs), Ealing, Cornish, Coventry, Bedford, Jersey, Nottingham, and you'd have to go for Donny or Yorkshire to balance them out slightly geographically. Give them real funding (and if you chose Yorkshire, make sure the people in charge aren't anywhere near it) and you've got a league on your hands.

Promotion/relegation on franchise every 5 years.

[Tigersman]

I don't know in reality I don't think Rugby can support 13 teams at this market.

For 20 teams
I don't think there is enough money
I don't think there is enough quality in playing pool.
and most importantly
I don't think there is enough demand.

It's not as simple as give them real funding.
Who is meant to give them that?
Prem clubs are all pretty much making losses.
RFU is looking under the sofa for money.
CVC will want a marketable product and the championship can potentially harm the value of the Prem for outside markets.

[Digby]

Why can't rugby support more than 13? All we need to do is cut funding equally to the Premier clubs such the money is handed off to the Championship clubs instead. The Premier Clubs are mostly competing with themselves when it comes to signing players so it's not going to make a huge difference if we cut their funding by say £400k each, we can even drop the salary cap by the same amount if that makes people happy

[Mellsblue]

But the thing is can English rugby really have the ability to sustain to full pro leagues?

Why not? 20 clubs doesn't seem that far-fetched.

The 8 from the Champ are Newcastle (obvs), Ealing, Cornish, Coventry, Bedford, Jersey, Nottingham, and you'd have to go for Donny or Yorkshire to balance them out slightly geographically. Give them real funding (and if you chose Yorkshire, make sure the people in charge aren't anywhere near it) and you've got a league on your hands.

Promotion/relegation on franchise every 5 years.

The RFU would need to throw an awful lot of money at it.
Ealing, Bedford, Nottingham and Jersey will need new stadia. Virtually all will need new training facilities and income generating ancillary facilities.
All would need substantial backing for player salaries. Bear in mind all but those with very generous benefactors will now probably be going semi-pro after losing less than £300k pa. Even getting into the Prem won’t release menu new income streams as PRL is a members only club.
All would need to seriously uplift attendance:
Bedford - 2,900
Cov - 2,500
Pirates - 1,800
Nottingham - 1,100
Jersey - 1,100
Doncaster - 1,000
Ealing - 900 (not a typo)
That won’t be easy. Bedford, Ealing, Coventry and Nottingham all have top flight clubs on their doorstep.

How many millions is all of that?

To be fair to Yorkshire/Leeds’ previous management team, that club has been a difficult sell for years and years. They are a distant fourth behind, football, RL and cricket.