John Newcombe Article
WITH Bristol and Exeter miles ahead in the Championship table and the only clubs certain to pass Premiership entry criteria, there is a lot to be said for promoting both clubs into an expanded 14-team Guinness Premiership for season 2010/11. This would obviously take away the tension from the end of- season play-offs which, as things stand, would see the winner of a two-legged contest win the title and possibly promotion, depending on facilities.
Given that the play-off final has already been altered from a single match to two and the play-off situation is being skewed by clubs going in and out of administration, I don't think there would be too many complaints - other than from the RFU - if the inaugural Championship Final did not turn out to be the winner-takes-all showdown that it was originally
intended to be. One area, though, where people are likely to be more sensitive is the suggestion by Worcester chairman Cecil Duckworth, amongst others, that there should be a two or three-year moratorium placed on the current system of promotion and relegation. Duckworth has stressed he is not advocating a ringfenced Premiership and that the pathway for aspiring clubs to reach the promised land must remain open. He says the current system is not giving clubs, coaches or players a proper opportunity to develop in a stable environment because of the omnipotent fear of relegation. “I don’t think there will ever be permanency but there would be a mechanism to enter,” he said. “When we last looked at it about a year ago, on balance it was felt that (expansion) was not the way forward. But there is a change of mood now because there is a recession on that is not going to go away in two minutes. “Yes, you would be dividing your pot between 14 clubs and not 13 with a parachute. But you would find you could reduce the cost of your squad and develop your players. “There are a lot of good players on the fringe of things but given the light and the opportunity someone’s career can take off. That’s happened to a number of players. Will Skinner at Harlequins, for example. He was virtually giving up rugby because he couldn’t make it at Leicester. Dean Richards knew him, took him to Harlequins, made him captain and now he’s a bloody good player.”
Duckworth makes the equally valid point that the team promoted from the Championship this season - most likely Bristol or Exeter - will have virtually no time to put a squad together that is capable of surviving at the higher level. Most Premiership sides have their recruitment targets in mind already but, with the Championship play-offs not concluding until mid-May, the promoted team will have less than a month to improve their squad for pre-season training. That, Duckworth insists, is wholly counter-productive and he believes promoted sides need more time to get their house in order and acclimatise to the top flight.
“It (the Championship) was a tough league when we were in it. We were five years in National One. “If there were no play-offs Exeter may start to recruit now. They can’t do that at the moment so it’s tough.” He also believes a moratorium on promotion and relegation would give the remaining Championship sides a chance to get their facilities and finances in order before making their own eventual moves on the top flight. That would probably entail expanding the Premiership further and adopting a conference system similar to America’s NFL.
Duckworth added: “If it comes in they would all go a little bit mad but if they had a three year period to consolidate a real strategy and make a five-year plan of being in and you don’t try them because the director of rugby will go for the more mature player. Some get frustrated and give the game up, the Premiership it might work for them too. “It’s worth a try because we are stuck in a rut at the moment. For the benefit of rugby I still think it’s worth the experiment.”
John Newcombe.
