Euro triumph by top-tier ‘upstarts’ shows folly of ring-fencing Premiership
THE weekend saw two English clubs winning their respective European Tournaments. Bristol the Challenge Cup and Exeter the “big boys” competition, the Champions Cup.
Following on from a number of seasons where from England only Saracens, thanks to breaching the salary cap, were competitive in Europe, this has to be seen as a good thing for English rugby.
Naturally there are reasons which indicate that we’re probably not entering a period of English dominance such as was seen in the 1980s. The English game has managed to get more practice and a restart during the Covid pandemic, and the Irish, in particular, were eliminated while still trying to re-find their feet, but a welcome result nonetheless.
A key point to note is that both the winning clubs have only been in the top tier of English rugby for a limited period. Exeter’s rise from the fourth tier to likely double winning champions took just 24 years – a remarkably short time – and they have only been in the Premiership for 10 years.
Bristol, a traditional giant of the game, have spent a long time in the doldrums and only returned to the Premiership last year.
Yet both of these clubs, in common with the rest of the Premiership, would cut off the ladder to the top level without a second thought on the basis of protecting their business.
Now, the reality is that the Covid crisis will almost certainly mean there will be a period of enforced ring fencing.
As it stands, a “next” season taking place below the very top level seems quite unlikely, which would suggest that there will be no one to come up to replace the bottom team.
I would, however, predict that some means will be found to elevate Saracens back to the top table, probably in a 13-team division, and that at that point there will be an attempt to block the route to the top.
The success of both Bristol and Exeter illustrates just how wrong that would be. Those that argue that a ring-fenced top tier would lead to a better viewing spectacle clearly haven’t watched the dire second team league that the Pro 14 has become or, closer to home, the dreadful standards at the bottom of the Premiership since resumption, where the league was effectively ring-fenced due to Saracens’ preordained relegation.
While promotion may have to be put on hold, the RFU, as custodians of the game, cannot allow it to become the norm.