RFU Council has finished its business for the year. The new Council will meet for the first time on October 1st. CGB has further meetings planned for 5th July and 27th July in order to finalise planning for 2021/22 season
Premiership/Championship Structure – You will, no doubt, have read plenty in the Press about this !
As you will be aware RFU Council met on June 29th and suspended relegation from the Premiership for the next 3 years. We hope the below will reflect some of the discussion and debate that preceded this vote. Ted and Jim are happy to receive questions about this and will try to reply in good time.
Why? – All Premiership Clubs have suffered financially during the pandemic with the majority of clubs having loaned £10m from the Government during that period. It was felt that to relegate a club, with the ensuing financial burden of Championship Funding and the possibility that relegation could have been outside a club’s control (e.g. match cancellations due to Covid) was inequitable, thus Council voted back in April to suspend relegation for the 20/21 season.
2020/21 Season – is now concluded and congratulations go to Harlequins who won an absolutely fantastic final to be crowned as champions. Congratulations, also to Saracens who comprehensively won their play-off against Ealing to regain their place in the Premiership. This means that for the 21/22 season there will be thirteen teams in the Premiership and the Championship is reduced to 11 teams, there being no promotion from National Division One
2021/22 – once again there will be no relegation from the Premiership. If the side winning the Championship meets the Minimum Standards Criteria laid out for the Premiership they will be promoted. There will be relegation from the Championship and promotion from Division One
2022/23 Season- the side winning the championship will be eligible for promotion if they meet the Minimum Standards Criteria laid out for the Premiership. This will be by means of a two-legged playoff against the bottom side in the Premiership. Once again there will be promotion/relegation between the Championship and National Division One.
Minimum Standards Criteria – these are already being worked on and, once completed will be presented to RFU Council. It should also be noted that the current Professional Game Agreement comes to an end in 2024 and will need to be re-negotiated.
Championship – it is recognised that the Championship has changed since it was set up and falls very definitely into two camps – the professional sides and the part-time sides. It is not clear what role the championship plays in the rugby landscape and working groups will be set up to investigate this and provide a clear roadway forward, with appropriate funding and RFU Support. RFU Council will have input into this process.
Ring-Fencing – RFU Council was adamant in its various discussions and debates that the Premiership will NOT be ringfenced. All decisions regarding the league structure MUST come back to Council and any proposals must be ratified by Council. In the event that no conclusion can be met between the parties then the structure will revert to the current situation i.e. promotion/relegation between the Premiership/Championship.
This is, obviously a very complex situation between Premier Rugby Limited. The RFU, The Championship and the Rugby Players Association. Negotiations are currently under way and reports are that all sides are behaving positively in seeking a resolution that satisfies all parties.
RFU Council – as noted in the last blog Council will welcome twelve new members when it reconvenes in October. We hope that Joe Bedford, as Yorkshire’s new Representative, has a fulfilling and rewarding time. We also note that Jim Chapman was recognised with Distinguished Membership of the RFU at the AGM.
Future Competitions Structure – this has now moved to the implementation phase and a Steering Committee has been established. This is under the chairmanship of Stephen Pearson (Oxford University) who chaired the original group and has split itself into three strands :
· Structure Detail – Terry Burwell (Hants)
· Organising Committee Review - David McAteer (Berkshire)
· Implementation Impact – Jim Chapman (Yorkshire)
The first task is to populate these groups with an initial meeting panned for Thursday, 8th July
Activities in June (Jim Chapman)
|
Date |
|
|
02 |
YRFU Competitions Sub-Committee RFU Council – Community Briefing |
|
07 |
Future Competitions Structures – Implementation SteerCo YRFU Committee Meeting |
|
09 |
County Championship Review Group |
|
10 |
Competitions Development sub-Committee RFU Pre-Council Meeting |
|
11 |
RFU Council Meeting RFU AGM |
|
16 |
County Championship Review Group |
|
21 |
Adult Competitions Advisory Group |
|
23 |
County Championship Review Group |
|
29 |
RFU Council Meeting England Colleges RFU – Board Meeting |
Activities in June (Ted Atkinson)
|
Date |
|
|
02 |
RFU Council – Community Briefing |
|
07 |
YRFU Committee Meeting |
|
09 |
Area D/North Management Forum |
|
10 |
Player Development Sub-Committee |
|
11 |
RFU Council Meeting RFU AGM |
|
16 |
Meeting with Gary Henderson (Surrey RFU & Chair, Age Grade Advisory Group) |
|
22 |
Meeting ref. Aspirational Pathway |
|
28 |
Council Comms Group |
|
29 |
RFU Council Meeting |
Ted Atkinson & Jim Chapman
July 2021
