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Ring fencing premiership and championship

Rumours on Talksport that Irish about to go into Administration. Really hope this isn't true as a real soft spot for Irish since Wasps demise as next closest club to where I live in London (apart from ma club Rosslyn Park).

If they are, then think we are verging on a crisis, clubs are struggling to accept players from Wuss and Wasps, now have to include huge waves of players from Wales and potentially Irish.

RFU still sitting on their hands doing nothing, if 3 clubs collapse in the same season and Premiership Board and RFU do nothing then sack the lot of them.

Also I realise there is no definitive news yet... but no smoke without fire and clubs tend to not over play it.
 
This is on top of rumours of other clubs struggling, think Newcastle are definitely another. Certainly from their signing it looks like they are trying to trim their wage bill.

I think it's already a crisis. I don't think the premiership is viable in it's current form and it's a matter of when not if it collapses. I know there are some ideas for how to improve the situation, but honestly I'm worried about the future of English rugby.
 
www.thetimes.co.uk

London Irish could follow Wasps and Worcester into financial meltdown

London Irish are at risk of following Worcester Warriors and Wasps into financial meltdown after players and staff failed to receive their April salaries. The
www.thetimes.co.uk www.thetimes.co.uk
Yeah, really not good news - this American consortium don't even own the club and have already had to pay out last months wages and will have to cover this months too, once American banks open today (supposedly)

Realistically what can the RFU do, though? Reportedly they're £50m in the red this season, not like they can just pay off all the clubs(/funnel a ton of money in the Championship, as everyone keeps demanding they do)
 
Reiser99 said:
This is on top of rumours of other clubs struggling, think Newcastle are definitely another. Certainly from their signing it looks like they are trying to trim their wage bill.

I think it's already a crisis. I don't think the premiership is viable in it's current form and it's a matter of when not if it collapses. I know there are some ideas for how to improve the situation, but honestly I'm worried about the future of English rugby.
Click to expand...
It's interesting that this is happening in England as well. Super Rugby has been going down the drain for years (albeit a bit slower). Rugby Australia only avoided insolvency due to a series of loans. A large number of Springboks are based offshore and i hear negative things about the domestic comp in SA too.

All because, in my view, the player salary market has been massively distorted by France and Japan.
 
will311293 said:
RFU still sitting on their hands doing nothing, if 3 clubs collapse in the same season and Premiership Board and RFU do nothing then sack the lot of them.
Click to expand...
What do you want them to do? How is that likely to pan out in the real world?
Bear in mind that doing anything financial to assist those clubs would result in them being in breach of contract to the surviving clubs; and that they're deep in the red themselves.
 
Which Tyler said:
?/What do you want them to do? How is that likely to pan out in the real world?
Bear in mind that doing anything financial to assist those clubs would result in them being in breach of contract to the surviving clubs; and that they're deep in the red themselves.
Click to expand...
I guess it's more that why didn't the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the clubs see this coming and do more to stop it. I personally wouldn't know exactly what they could have done, but it does feel like they have waited until clubs went under to propose changes to the premiership structure.
 
Reiser99 said:
I guess it's more that why didn't the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the clubs see this coming and do more to stop it. I personally wouldn't know exactly what they could have done, but it does feel like they have waited until clubs went under to propose changes to the premiership structure.
Click to expand...
and it would be a worse situation if it wasn't for the likes of Leicester and Exeter having good ownership and attributing extra funding....

I don't understand why the RFU and Premiership Rugby, despite seeing the dangers, turn such a blind eye.

Loss of clubs = players out of work = lower salaries = players leaving England = weaker England Team.
 
will311293 said:
and it would be a worse situation if it wasn't for the likes of Leicester and Exeter having good ownership and attributing extra funding....

I don't understand why the RFU and Premiership Rugby, despite seeing the dangers, turn such a blind eye.

Loss of clubs = players out of work = lower salaries = players leaving England = weaker England Team.
Click to expand...
Neither organisation are set up to deal with this. RFU don't have control over prem and prem didn't have single decision maker that could react to worsening situation.
 
TRF_Olyy said:
Realistically what can the RFU do, though? Reportedly they're £50m in the red this season, not like they can just pay off all the clubs(/funnel a ton of money in the Championship, as everyone keeps demanding they do)
Click to expand...
Sad state of affairs.

True, but you also have to wonder how many gazillions have been squandered on the vanity project that is Twickenham though. Fra, Ita and Ire are all based in multi purpose stadia and Wales football only moved from the Principality due to low attendances. Heck, even the venerated Eden Park hosts cricket and occasional football and RL. Quite apart from the potential benefit of taking the big games around the country.

Worrying times for the pro game. I hope the decision makers are thinking properly outside the box on potential solutions. I love the league structure but times change and if it's not fit for purpose we must move on.
 
Is there any reason why the RFU do not seem to use Twickenham for gigs etc?

The Millennium, Wembley, Spurs, Emirates etc all get used quite often. I can't think of many times Twickenham gets used at all. Surely this would generate a considerable income.
 
They kind of do (I went to see Metallica there a few years ago) - But I believe there's a limit on how many events they can host at Twickenham though (not sure if that's a yearly/monthly/weekly target) because of the surrounding roads? houses? Something like that

Edit: Jeeze, Metallica in 2019 was the last concert held there, next is this June - that feels like massive underutilisation
 
Saintjay said:
Is there any reason why the RFU do not seem to use Twickenham for gigs etc?

The Millennium, Wembley, Spurs, Emirates etc all get used quite often. I can't think of many times Twickenham gets used at all. Surely this would generate a considerable income.
Click to expand...
They do from time to time. I think those are limited to keep the local residents onside.
 
The rugby paper saying RFU owe £5m to Compass Group because they own 45% shareholding in the corporate hospitality at Twickers. So not even getting all income from that.
 
will311293 said:
I don't understand why the RFU and Premiership Rugby, despite seeing the dangers, turn such a blind eye.
Click to expand...
What do you want them to do? How is that likely to pan out in the real world?
Bear in mind that doing anything financial to assist those clubs would result in them being in breach of contract to the surviving clubs; and that they're deep in the red themselves.
 
Which Tyler said:
What do you want them to do? How is that likely to pan out in the real world?
Bear in mind that doing anything financial to assist those clubs would result in them being in breach of contract to the surviving clubs; and that they're deep in the red themselves.
Click to expand...
no its not that i expected them to help financially, just that there should have been some form of action taken to help in some form... all clubs are struggling, unless a significant benefactor. a weak premiership affects the RFU and England doubly.
 
will311293 said:
no its not that i expected them to help financially, just that there should have been some form of action taken to help in some form... all clubs are struggling, unless a significant benefactor. a weak premiership affects the RFU and England doubly.
Click to expand...
So what do you want them to do? How is that likely to pan out in the real world?
 
Rfu should have purchased wasps, Worcester and Newcastle and declared that to play for England you had to play for those two clubs, then get them to join the URC 😂
 

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