I’ve mentioned this topic briefly before but to me there is not a better time than now to revisit it and for the governing body to make a difference. In a previous blog I touched on how the Premiership were considering expanding the number of teams in the league but with relegation being ring-fenced, meaning that 14 clubs would be handpicked to participate in the Premiership for a number of seasons. Then after a number of years they may reconsider reopening it but only when the promoted teams are too weak to compete. When this idea was mooted last season the Premiership wanted Bristol and Worcester promoted, thus taking the number from 12 to 14 teams, although Worcester did earn promotion last season. My beliefs I agree that the Premiership should be expanded but relegation should remain otherwise the competition would be deemed surplus for the majority of teams in the top flight. Personally I feel the league should copy the French Top 14 format where there are 2 relegation spots, meaning 2 teams would gain promotion from tier 2 which here in England is called the Championship (Greene King IPA Championship for sponsorship reasons). By doing this I feel the English would benefit massively as well as there being huge potential commercially within the Premiership. So who exactly do I think should be the 14 teams to compete, well I believe that all 14 should be there on merit rather than the Premierships idea that they should all be shareholders of the Premiership. So regarding teams being there on merit there should be the 11 teams who stay up in the Premiership with 3 being promoted from the Championship for one season only. Thereafter only 2 teams come up from the Championship (the league champions, then the play-off winners involving 2nd down to 5th), replacing the 2 Premiership who finish 14th and 13th respectively. Benefits of restructuring The reason for writing about this now is down to the success the Rugby World Cup appears to be having across the country and the need to tap into the success and passion of the of the World Cup the league needs restructuring to allow more teams to compete at the top level otherwise season upon season we will keep seeing the status quo with 1 of 4 teams winning the league while Newcastle will keep exiting and re-entering the Premiership at the first opportunity. Furthermore by expanding the league and introducing 2 relegation spots there will now be hope for the teams like Bedford, Moseley, Nottingham and Rotherham etc. who are not the wealthiest of clubs and currently promotions only a pipe dream. In addition there would be more lucrative TV deals meaning clubs would get a bigger share of money plus the various commercial opportunities available such as added sponsorship. Also the league could introduce a new range of merchandise like a sticker book for the younger generation which would follow the footsteps of Top 14 as these are huge all over France in many supermarkets, so that would be something worth considering. Overall the most important thing is for the league to engage the fans and maybe one day we will be competing with France for the best league in Europe title and hopefully we won’t lose all our best players across the pond. The time is now to channel the spirit of the Rugby World Cup and promote change! Summary
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