Ring fencing premiership and championship

[higgik]

Edward Griffiths has created a plan for ring fencing both the Premiership and Championship

Premiership: RFU considers ring-fencing top flight

A plan to ring-fence the English Premiership and create a draft system of young players is being considered by the RFU.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sounds like a great plan in principle and means there is a talent pathway as well as the chance of squad players in premiership to be loaned out to get game play.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Ew ew ew, no no no.

**** a draft, as well - so the big clubs can steal more players away from the academies of the smaller ones?
**** everything about this, tbh.

 

[Scotty]

Ew ew ew, no no no.

**** a draft, as well - so the big clubs can steal more players away from the academies of the smaller ones?
**** everything about this, tbh.

Can you explain the steal from academies bit? And your reasons in general.

I would rather not ring fence but to not ring fence the level of the championship has to improve so teams can compete in the prem. Team comes up buys a **** ton of new foreign players gets their arse handed to them and goes back down. Thats what happens, bristol and chiefs obvious exceptions.

In the last 10 years i do wonder how many years each team has spent in the prem? Because i think at least 8 will have spent 9 or more. And how many championship team have spent more than a year.

Is there an argument for the RFU to invest heavily in the championship to get good coaches and tv deals to make it a better level to keep ring fencing at bay.(prob wont work).

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Can you explain the steal from academies bit? And your reasons in general.

Because the draft system doesn't reward the scouting and training efforts of the local sides.

Centralising academies into hubs damages clubs in the same way - Sale, Newcastle, Irish etc. have leaned heavily on their academies when funds were low and produced some fantastic players as a result. Now what do they do? Write a nice letter to Northern Globo Gym Academy Incorporated requesting to borrow a few of their players because there's an injury crisis?

These are still rugby clubs with strong links to their local grassroots, they're not soulless NFL franchises.

Look at, say, the Curry twins. They grew up supporting Sale, wanting to play for Sale, now they play for Sale. In this new format they show the promise that they showed at age grade and then get drafted to go play for Bath or Saracens because they picked them first. It's just lame.

The fact that it's Eddie Griffiths championing this should be setting off alarm bells n all

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Draft systems makes zero sense in England.
There is already a talent pathway also.

Teams can literally loan out players now and do so.
Tigers loaned out like 6 players to Nottingham last season and another 6 to Loughborough, Lions and Hinckley.

As Oly says the fact Griffiths is leading it all is very worring also.
It's also idiotic too think that a draft would level teams like it does in the NFL, NBA and MLB because UK sports are not as based on individual talent as USA sports.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

They would be better building up Uni rugby and trying to have a proper league for players who didn't make senior squads/got left out of rugby acadeies/maybe coming from another country and then getting a smaller draft from that.

To see if there is a actual point to it.

But I don't see how 6 centres will ever have a bigger reach than 13 academies.

 

[McTallshort]

Draft systems makes zero sense in England.
There is already a talent pathway also.

Teams can literally loan out players now and do so.
Tigers loaned out like 6 players to Nottingham last season and another 6 to Loughborough, Lions and Hinckley.

As Oly says the fact Griffiths is leading it all is very worring also.
It's also idiotic too think that a draft would level teams like it does in the NFL, NBA and MLB because UK sports are not as based on individual talent as USA sports.

Which Loughborough?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Which Loughborough?

students

 

[Scotty]

So drafts = no...just no...**** no....

But what about ring fencing?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I'd be dead against it, I like promotion/relegation even if it (generally) is the same clubs at the top of the league and the same at bottom.

Makes for a far more interesting season long product than the pro 14 or super rugby

 

[McTallshort]

The situation with Sarries has highlighted the importance of relegation to me. What would sarries sanction have been for cheating if there was no relegation or threat there of

 

[Scotty]

I do agree with you both above tbh but I do think there needs something doing to bridge the gap if we dont ringfence to make the team coming up competitive or at least a play off game.

 

[higgik]

The concept of ring fencing is that there is not enough money or talent to support 2 fully professional leagues.
I would like to see 16 teams in Premiership and 16 in Championship, where these teams are farm type clubs.
Maybe going to a full conference style league and include the Welsh, Scottish and Irish teams as well.
One thing that is important is the 'less is more' concept and that there are less league games, that create more of an event type feel to them and it would also mean international players would be playing a greater proportion of club games than currently.

 

[Which Tyler]

As I and a few others have been saying for over a decade now...

Reduce the Prem to 8/10 teams, with another 10/12 in the Champ - ring-fence between Champ and NL1.
Replace the AWC/PC to include all 18-22 English clubs; in an orthodox format (with Cup, Plate and Bowl finals for extra games); with the prem clubs limited to no first XV players (anyone who played >60% of the previous season). Play that domestic cup competition during all international weekends. Split Sponsorship deals more evenly between those top clubs; with a TV deal that necessitates coverage of the championship.

Boosts player welfare, as the starters are given rest weekends; and gives the backups a chance to challenge for a place.
Boosts the quality of the prem by cutting any deadwood there is to cut.
Boosts the quality of the Championship by replacing 4-6 poorest quality clubs with 2-4 premiership quality ones.
Reduces the impact of relegation, protecting investment, by introducing ring-fencing (just not at the level the top 12 clubs want).
Boosts income for the Champ by adding TV coverage (and consequent sponsorship and fan-base), adding big-name opponents to the league, and adding giant-killing opportunities in the cup.

The only cost is game-time for the first XV; but there is simply no way to reduce game-time which doesn't include a reduction in game-time. This is a good thing for everyone except the club owners, who really ought to see it as a good thing as well; they've just proven that they don't.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Doncaster beats Ealing away, puts them 7 points ahead of Ealing but Ealing have 2 more games to play.

 

[Scotty]

Doncaster beats Ealing away, puts them 7 points ahead of Ealing but Ealing have 2 more games to play.

Come on Donny....my old hometown! Love a yorkshire team in the prem.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yep if anything it stops the Sale fans claiming everything North and outside of Newcastle as local.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

All this salt because we signed Dom Barrow

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

All this salt because we signed Dom Barrow

Sheffield is not local too Manchester dammit

 

[GlosJoe]

As long as Doncaster or Ealing finish top and Cinderford get a top 2 finish in L1 then I'm happy as it would mean a Forest of Dean derby in the second tier next season