RFU V PRL THE BIG ONE!!!!! (AKA Old farts in Blazers v Greedy money men)

[Kiwiwomble]

in the end i would defer to those of you that know more about the comp but my 2 cents is Promotion/relegation is what missing from the game in the southern hemisphere and it would be a shame to see it go.

for too many years id see the highlanders loose enough games in the first half of the season that playoffs weren't an option but with nothing to loose the players (some of them) just became wage thieves and clipped the ticket for the rest of the season. Conversely when watching my teams in football the fight shown for survival at the bottom of the ladder often exceeds the top.

It may be enevitable to id love to see them worj out how to make it work without ruining the teams coming up

 

[dullonien]

Does it have to be all or nothing? Maybe only have promotion/relegation every 2/3 years; but introduce a system that looks at the average performances of the sides during that period. So the strongest performing championship side over the course of say 3 seasons gains promotion, ditto with the weakest performing premiership side.

This would give those sides being promoted stability for a few years so that they could hopefully grow in a sustainable manner.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Does it have to be all or nothing? Maybe only have promotion/relegation every 2/3 years; but introduce a system that looks at the average performances of the sides during that period. So the strongest performing championship side over the course of say 3 seasons gains promotion, ditto with the weakest performing premiership side.

This would give those sides being promoted stability for a few years so that they could hopefully grow in a sustainable manner.

I think something like this is the best compromise. Yearly promotion/relegation has so rarely worked and it's been the same small selection of clubs that have been yo-yoing between the leagues. Having said that, I feel it's likely it will still be the same set of clubs bouncing back and forth, just every few years rather than every year. We could look at London Welsh though, they probably felt pressured to spend big to avoid being relegated straight away and it ended up causing what they hoped to avoid. Having 4 years or so so you don't need to instantly try replacing the players that got you there could help teams avoid financial issues trying to catch up in 1 year.

Also I think there should be a financial bonus to a promoted club for their first 2 years that can be spent on anything relating to building the club but not on players. Improving facilities, academies etc so even if they do go down again, they could have invested something in their future.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I like the everyone plays everyone home and away league system. I like the idea of annual promotion and relegation, but the reality is that it doesn't work very well. Exeter are totally the exception not the rule. Welsh are the most recent example of things going catastrophically, but let's not forget the plight suffered by Scottish, Richmond, West Hartlepool etc in the earlier days of professionalism. Former top flight clubs all; smaller numbers then, but similar principles.

Not romantic / traditional, but I am coming round to the idea of a conference system.

 

[stus768]

I like the everyone plays everyone home and away league system. I like the idea of annual promotion and relegation, but the reality is that it doesn't work very well. Exeter are totally the exception not the rule. Welsh are the most recent example of things going catastrophically, but let's not forget the plight suffered by Scottish, Richmond, West Hartlepool etc in the earlier days of professionalism. Former top flight clubs all; smaller numbers then, but similar principles.

Not romantic / traditional, but I am coming round to the idea of a conference system.

Yeah. Can't see any other way of increasing teams or reducing numbers of games for player welfare.

 

[McTallshort]

I like the everyone plays everyone home and away league system. I like the idea of annual promotion and relegation, but the reality is that it doesn't work very well. Exeter are totally the exception not the rule. Welsh are the most recent example of things going catastrophically, but let's not forget the plight suffered by Scottish, Richmond, West Hartlepool etc in the earlier days of professionalism. Former top flight clubs all; smaller numbers then, but similar principles.

Not romantic / traditional, but I am coming round to the idea of a conference system.

How would you set out that conferance system?

 

[higgik]

How would you set out that conferance system?

I personally would go with a similar system to Pro14, assuming Irish +1 is added.
North: Newcastle, Sale, Doncaster*, Leicester, Wasps, Northampton, Worcester
South: Exeter, Saracens, Harlequins, Irish, Gloucester, Bath, Bristol

Play home and away in conference, 12 matches, and home or away v other conference, 7 matches.

To make it 10 home and 10 away, teams would play 1 team from the other conference again.

Play off same as Pro14, with another set of play offs for the final Euro spot, between 4-5 in each conference.

Ideally, plans to expand should be created every 3-5 years, with new teams added when they have a valid business plan. Add up to 2 more teams to make a 16 team league.
Then have 4 groups of 4, home and away in group 6 matches, and home or away v rest, 12 matches. Total of 18 matches. Play offs would be group winners and 2 next best records.