by Rugby Football Chief Executive Bill Sweeney’s ultimatum over the Premiership 2 has been branded “unacceptable” by Championship clubs who have warned that the English team will be significantly harmed if they are forced into the community game.
Championship clubs remain united against the governing body’s vision to introduce a franchise-based Premiership 2, including a potentially reformed Wasps. The clubs’ main objections relate to the lack of details on promotion to the Premiership, player development plans, governance and funding, which could be halved in the new Premiership 2. The league’s bidding process, which is designed to be launched for the closure of the 2025/26 season, in February.
Sweeney argued last month that if not enough clubs signed up “then you go back to the status quo and you lose this opportunity.” However, Simon Halliday, chairman of the Championship clubs, appealed to the RFU Council and Sport England to stop them being exiled into the community game.
“What Bill said before Christmas is unacceptable,” Halliday said. “It’s just binary. Why does that have to be the result? So he needs to be challenged and I think most of the game would expect us to challenge him. I think the result is easily found and together we want to find that solution. We don’t want it imposed on us, especially when it’s not a whole game solution.”
Sports telegraph The RFU understands that the RFU has made direct appeals to a number of National 1 clubs, including Rams in Berkshire and Darlington Mowden Park, to join Premier Division 2. While there have been many meetings at Twickenham, the Championship clubs believe that their opinions were always ignored. Alistair Bow, the clubs vice-chairman and chairman of Nottingham Flood, directly accused Sweeney of disrespecting them at a meeting in August.
“They mix it up to fit their own agenda on that particular day,” Bow said. “It gets very frustrating, especially when the chief executive sits there and spends all the time on his phone. We’re doing our best to get along but it’s very difficult when you have some people who obviously don’t want to be involved.”
Funding at the heart of the problem
Under plans shared with the Championship, the RFU would commit £4 million to the proposed Premier Division 2. However, the RFU will keep £1.4 million for core initiatives such as marketing, £1 million will be allocated to player development, leaving just £1.6 million for the 11 clubs. Minus an estimated £600,000 for insurance and that would give each team around £80-90,000, which is less than the paltry £160,000 they currently receive in core funding. Championship clubs would also have to pay to meet the new minimum standards to enter Premier Division 2.
“So technically the new tier two competition is 50 percent less funded than where we are today,” Bow said. “We need to get rid of the myth that everything we do is about funding. We have invested around £200 million from owners in this league since the Championship was established. We want to protect that £200 million. We are happy to continue investing but we want others to come on board and invest with us. At the moment the RFU are the least investors in the league for a long time.”
The Irish Championship clubs are present in a united front against the progress of the RFU. Conor O’Shea, the RFU’s director of performance, admits that Premiership 2 would play a vital role in the pathway for young English players, but as Sweeney admitted they would not be able to create Premiership 2 without a significant share of break out the clubs.
With the RFU in charge of the purse, the Championship appears to have little leverage in the negotiations, but Simon Cohen, the former Leicester chief executive who is now advising the Championship, insists that the second tier is fundamental to giving game time to the next generation of English players.
“If you’re talking about leverage, the Premiership is going to go to 37 players plus 12 transfers so they’re going to cut their squad significantly,” Cohen said. “England lack players coming through and depth in certain positions. If you are right in what they say they have the best English team possible then to do that they need the Irish Championship clubs. They need that game time and they need that game time in the right environment and the right context to produce those players because you’re not going to produce them in an academy system going into 37 plus 12 .”
The RFU is hopeful Championship clubs will continue to bid for Premier Division 2. A spokesman said: “The RFU has been in consultation with Championship clubs for over a year. We have researched and produced a commercial strategy and provided the clubs with confirmed funding at minimum current levels for season 24/25 and proposals for increased funding from season 25/26. We will continue to consult with Championship clubs and look forward to them choosing to be part of a potentially more successful and sustainable second professional tier.”
