* PRL sold 27% of its revenue to CVC for a lump sum that most clubs wasted on imported players.

* The BT renegotiations were bumbled, leading to a DECREASE in annual revenue of over £250k/annum per club. (£40m/annum to £36.67m/annum)

With those three factors, each PRL member could expect to see their non-Gate non-Merchandise revenue drop from £5.23m/annum in 2019 to £2.84m in 2022. Without savages cuts to the Championship budget, the gap between leagues would have become almost manageable, and some of the clubs who have been mismanaged could be caught.

Even with those cuts, the gap will be much smaller for the next 3 years at least - it is absolutely no coincidence that that is the time frame that the PRL and RFU are mooting for a hold on promotion relegation. The cads.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-9463677/Premiership-relegation-set-suspended-2024-25-season.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-9463677/Premiership-relegation-set-suspended-2024-25-season.html

NB it's the Daily Mail - so it appears (to me) highly speculative, listing a chain of events that is being talked about by some, and could happen, but might well not, raising some major and as-yet unanswered questions along the way...

It will also, hopefully, continue the practice of clubs looking to bring in their own ‘homegrown’ players rather than bringing in players on short term contracts on high £££. It could even result in the Championship taking 4 years to get its own house in order. 

The whole framing of relegation being a huge draw negates the fact that in most years there is no relegation scrap at all, it’s been 5 years since the club relegated was even within 10 points of the next placed side, going back 10 years to when it was even more than a two horse race!

If it’s a case of things getting ‘worse’ before they get better, then it’s a positive. 

I fear most of the ranting is standard anti-RFU bile without consideration of the wider picture. 

There needs to be root and branch reform of the professional setup in England but unfortunately turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. 

I disagree with the above quite strongly. No club is forced to pump millions in to avoid relegation - developing your squad through your academy will avoid that in the long term. If clubs mismanage their player development and need to bring in outside players, that's their choice within the salary cap. 

I'm unsure what you mean by the Championship 'getting its house in order'? If you are talking of sustainability, then In what universe does being cut adrift from the pyramid structure, denied funding, and denied exposure do anything to enable the Championship to grow and become sustainable?

In regard to relegation being a draw, I will only point to the tense battle between Newcastle and Leicester 2 seasons ago and contrast that to the garbage teams/games that have been plopped out by Gloucester and Worcester recently. They 'blooded' a lot of youngsters in these games, but only in the sense that you blood a sacrificial lamb, creating dead rubbers that no one should ever have to pay for.

Unfortunately I think you have sampled the cool aid, there are plenty of English coaches in the Premiership if this is your measure of success. There is a concerted PR exercise by the Prem to convince everyone that ring fencing will solve everything. When all it does is save them money. 

Recent results in the Champions Cup would suggest that mediocrity in the Premiership is already a reality with the French clubs, in particular, setting new standards in terms of skills and intensity. 

Personally I think it is more do do with the differing budgets/salary cap levels between the leagues. But then Exeter were able to do it last season...

Probably not a great comparison but I used to think how average some of the American heavyweight boxers looked when fighting each other in the early eighties and how Frank Bruno would beat them easily - then he fought Tim Witherspoon...

Likewise - how good do Bristol, Sale and Exeter look at Premiership level?

Sometimes two evenly matched heavyweights makes for a dull spectacle.  

Plus you cannot compare rugby with NFL, different sports, different countries, different commercial markets. Ringfencing already exists in rugby and the Pro 14 is how it looks. 

Also, do you really want a situation where the 'owners' can decide on what teams are in or out, regardless of merit? You could ask the Southern Kings, the Cheetahs, the Western Force, and the Sun Wolves how that goes. From 'ring fencing paused' to a full on franchise system is a very small step.

I only saw the second game which was played in very bad weather. La Rochelle played with a great deal of skill and intensity in dismantling the Sale South Africans the day before however.

IMHO, of course.

Totally agree Cherub

The problem is that we have not played a season, so who would you promote.

Leeds would have a case that it should be them - but they would be a totally unknown quantity whever they play.

Otherwise we are talking Rosslyn Park, Rams, Chinnor and Blackheath to make a 14 team league.

Rosslyn Paerk andBlackheath need no introduction.

Rams came up from National 2 and surprised everyone - including probably themselves.

Chinnor are a narly little club that have been doing very well in National 1. They beat Ampthill at home in their encounter at National 1. One of the coldest winds I have encountered blowing across the ground.

There is going to be a major shake up of the league at the end of next season. If theChampionship could survive for one seaosn with 10 sides - perhaps playing each other 3 times then it would make life a lot easier - and we would know how good Leeds really are.

14 seeems to be the number the NCA and RFU have agreed for maximum league size, but I would argue that  there is a case for a 16 team championship.

But I am not sure there are 44 clubs wanting to travel the length and breadth of the country - so I am not sure that National 1 would be viable.  It might be that it is 6 up and 10 down to the new regional leauges. But if there are it would be 6 up and no relegation in National 1. With two up and no relegation at National 2

Technically Rams and Chinnor are both in South Western Division.

It is sort of a fact of life, though Hockey has 7 out of 11 London and South East clubs in its top league.

Could all change next year. The other clubs just need to do better. Darlington and Plymouth could easily be in contention.

I know the RFU wanted 12, but getting rid of the third National league and the associated travel funding might be sufficient. The big question is how much support the Championship clubs would get, the RFU might simply take the current reduced sums and divide that by 16 instead of 12.

That's quite an assumption GJ (your first one). As introduced, the recent story is in the Daily Mail and is highly speculative, and even that doesn't say that a second club would be promoted this season (if there was it would make a bit of a farce of the play-off). The article claims the 14th team would be added 'in due course'.

If it was just one up this summer, with a 14th club to follow in 2022, that makes next season hard to manage: when would the 14th club's identity be confirmed, and would they have to win the Championship next season in order to seal the deal? What would happen if they didn't? What if more than one club want to bid for the 14th spot? (seems unlikely, but you never know)

I'd expect LS to be back in the Champ mix by September, but bringing up clubs from Nat 1 after they haven't played for 18 months would present lots of challenges...

I don't pretend to know the answers; the future looks somewhat murky. 

I am aware, but the last season they played was in the Championship.

Even if they failed to pay their players.

Had we had a National One season they were suggesting they put out a team with significant numbers of university students who normally play against Loughborough's second XV.

I was expecting them to struggle.

But without results they could claim that as they would not have been relegated were the league expanded this season so should be considered for promotion.

But if the expansion is at the end of next season, we would know how good Leeds are.

Surely that should read - "assuming the Top Two Teams in the league go up" as far as I see it there are two teams ahead of Sarries currently, and still will be after this weekend, and Pirates are on the same points as them.

Ealing’s crowd size is just the easiest stick to beat them with but the idea that crowd size alone should be the sole arbiter of success is flawed. Why bother with the Prem, just give the trophy to Leicester each year! 

Very well said dumbape 

PRL are not a cartel.

If they were it would be illegal.

I believe this has been decided in court, when challenged by Rotherham and Londn Welsh.

CVC?

Im not sure about the womens

But the club is massive, one of the biggest in London? 

Gate wise yes there are low, but in terms of playing numbers from across the club it's very impressive.

Spoken like a true Bedfordian! 

I quite agree.

Can't remember what happened with Roth, but it's worth noting that Welsh didn't get to court as the opposition folded in advance.

A successful business?