Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CRASH OF THE TITANS
Ailing giants warned: We won’t change rules to stop you going down
ENGLISH rugby’s biggest clubs have been told one of them will be going down this season and there is nothing they can do to stop it. Former European champions Leicester, Bath and Northampton are among a host of heavyweight teams gripped by relegation fear. Almost halfway through the most competitive Premiership, seven of the 12 clubs are within four points of bottom spot.
Out of that uncertainty has come a recommendation from the top division elite to end promotion and relegation – with some keen to slam shut the trap door immediately.
Into the debate waded the Rugby Football Union – and acting boss Nigel Melville wasted no time in slapping down the clubs.
Crushing talk of ringfencing the league in midseason, the former England captain said: “That’s called wishful thinking, isn’t it? That’s not how it works. It’s a competition regulated by the RFU.
“It’s not just about them in the Premiership. There are teams below probably investing to come up and also teams below them.
“If you start shutting doors halfway through a season. It has a huge impact on everyone below.
“Should Premier Rugby want to change their structure, they can bring that to the Professional Game Board for a vote.
“It would then be put to the Council. But nothing is going to change as regards this season.”
Leicester are 10-time English champions but after being thrashed by Bristol, caretaker boss Geordan Murphy admitted: “If we play that badly every week then relegation would be a factor.”
Bristol boss Pat Lam reckons relegation is bad for the English game, saying: “Everything is about survival whereas if you scrapped it you could get serious development.
“Everyone is making decisions based on not going down rather than bringing the best English players through. The best teams, Ireland and New Zealand, are similar with central contracts.”