Two words for anyone trying to end promotion – Exeter Chiefs

Talk of ring-fencing the Aviva Premiership is sad, self-delusional and against the fans’ wishes

Be careful what you wish for. The emergence of the former chief executive of the Rugby Football Union Ian Ritchie from retirement to take over a part-time role as chairman of Premiership Rugby was greeted by speculation that the ending of promotion and relegation, the ring-fencing in effect of the elite league in the coming years, is a fait accompli. It should be no such thing.

The move, and what a sad, self-delusional day it would be if it did come to pass, has to be argued and justified and delivered with a certainty, as well as committed belief that simply does not appear to be the prevalent view among rugby followers.

Perhaps Ritchie’s first task might be to go out and take ale with them in the clubhouse on a Saturday evening. And, even then, to whatever arguments are promulgated there is a clinching two-word riposte – Exeter Chiefs.

The Chiefs are defending Premiership champions. The Chiefs are sitting pretty at the top of the league. The Chiefs run a tight business and make a profit. The Chiefs are rooted in their community, are the pride of the South West and find, as well as develop, home-grown talent for the club and also for England – Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Harry Williams, Sam Simmonds and Luke Cowan-dickie in this Six Nations alone. Without promotion in 2010, none of this would have happened.

If there were clear and obvious sporting reasons for the Premiership to be closed off from future Exeters, then you might just about cock an ear.

There was a time when the closed shop of Super Rugby with its feed into the high-achieving southern hemisphere national teams was held up as some sort of virtuous model. But that competition has been shown to be so flawed in its structure that it changes format every five minutes.

That the Pro14 (formerly the Pro12) does not have promotion and relegation should also be glossed over. That tournament, the Celtic League as was, expanded its borders beyond all logic by inviting two South African franchises, the Cheetahs and the Kings, to join its ranks this season. It, too, has had to seek solutions.

And if there is one thing that might be said to have galvanised the Celtic League, it has been the introduction of meritocracy when qualifying for the Champions Cup. The threat of effective relegation from that top tier of European rugby, with only the top six finishers guaranteed a place, has made the competitive integrity of that tournament all the sharper.

The Aviva Premiership has been aligned with the sporting ways of this country, with the fairness of promotion and relegation very much at its heart. It is a tough, unforgiving business but it is that prospect that lends drama and excitement to the action on the field itself. We would not be acclaiming the feats of Newcastle Falcons as they make a considerable push for play-off honours for the first time in decades with the same vigour and relish were it not for the fact that they have been basement dwellers for so much of their Premiership existence and, indeed, relegated themselves in 2012.

Rugby union is not an easy sell up in the North East and they have had to battle for every shilling that has been put into the business. The yield was clear at St James’ Park on Saturday, when they drew a record 30,174 for their maiden game at the famous football stadium.

It is clear that the primary push to bring an end to promotion and relegation is commercial. For all the fancy crowd figures generated at the weekend at St James’ Park and the London Stadium, the clubs are still bleeding money season on season. The most reliable collective ballpark figure for losses stands at £30 million per season.

There is one rather obvious way to reduce that arresting bottom line – pay the players less. Instead, the only movement in that business-saving cap has been upwards. Not only has there been an incremental increase, the purse strings have been stretched still further by the allowance for two marquee players to be hired on over and above the £7 million threshold. If two star names in any squad are getting a decent salary over the norm, then it is a sure bet that there will be plenty of knocks on the doors of directors of rugby.

Wasps are not alone in having had to reduce their squad sizes in recent years, trimming from 45 to 43 then 41 and currently standing at 39, and all because the money pot has been squeezed. More output on salaries, fewer players.

The debate on promotion and relegation may not be new but it is as heated and pertinent as ever. There is plenty of push among the clubs. There is little, if no, appetite for it among supporters. That should be the overriding consideration.