JEFF PROBYN
That Barbarians defeat could hold a few England players back
“Lancashire breakaway may provide Premiership with the ring fence they have always craved”
The two best Premiership teams played out an exciting, if one sided, finale to a disappointing Premiership season at Twickenham last Saturday as Saracens outplayed an Exeter team that had swept all aside during the regular season.
I must admit I still find it hard to understand how a team that wins the league is not crowned champions and have to compete in a play-off. If there has to be a play-off, I would allow the ‘champions’ a break at the end of the season, while the four teams below play for the chance of competing in a grand final.
Under the current system, the club with the biggest bank balance and largest playing squad have the best chance of winning, as they can rest players once they qualify for the playoffs in preparation for the big game.
Anway, with the formal club season over it was time to focus on the summer festivities, starting with a game that is usually just a formality in England’s preparations for their summer tour.
A group of players thrown together with minimal preparation time and a remit to entertain are faced with the challenge of playing an established international team.
The Barbarians are a side that I know well, having played for them many times and been a part of their committee. The great skill the Barbarians have is an ability to pick players who feel they have a point to prove. Either because they feel they have let themselves down when given their international break, or because they were dropped before they felt it was time to go.
This time (despite what he said) it was Chris Ashton with a point to prove having been dumped by Jones and moving to France which ended his England dream. And what a job he did in destroying any hopes of a happy sendoff for England.
Three tries and a couple of assists were enough to add more salt to the wounds inflicted on Eddie Jones’ squad before they fly to South Africa.
The reality of the defeat by the Barbarians is that the slow motion car crash, which was England’s three Six Nations defeats, has now taken on a greater significance as it seems there is something wrong in how Jones and his coaches are preparing the team for games.
Selection to play against the Barbarians is difficult, as you want to create a balance of ‘blooding’ young talent with the need to have enough established players to ensure a confidence-boosting win against a team you, as an international side, are expected to trounce.
For the players, a Barbarian week is a mixture of fun and training, with nights out team building (socialising) creating friendships and working hard on the training field. Of trying to find the fluidity of a regular team in the limited time available, while being constantly reminded of the Barbarian ‘style’.
When you face a team like the Barbarians, made up of quality players with a point to prove but under no pressure to prove it, you have to be focused and remember to do the basics right and not get caught up in the festival that inevitably surrounds the game.
The problem is there can be only one winner in these games and that normally is not the Barbarians, as they are expected to lose, but play with panache. But if they win, hopeful England players will need a strong individual performance or else.
Failure to focus, and your international career takes a backward step, as some of England hopefuls who got their chance last week will now know.
Ihave been thinking about the new Lancashire league and now believe it could be a dream come true for the Premiership and the RFU. All the recent years of calling for a ring fence or a short moratorium against promotion and relegation may prove to have been unnecessary if the new league is a success.
Just think, if the Lancaster model works for the clubs involved, helping to reduce costs and improve membership while playing locally, more and more clubs across the country may look to form similar leagues.
If they did, it would divide the game, undermining the whole current league structure, making it virtually impossible for any of the current lower league competitions to function as they do now.
It would create two parallel grassroots league systems below National Leagues, one the official RFU league with promotion possible up to the Premiership, and the other the local league.
The RFU league structure below the current national leagues would probably have to become national contests to ensure there would be enough clubs in each league to provide for a full season of rugby.
If that happened it would increase costs for clubs and possibly the RFU, who currently provide some limited help with travel costs for clubs who travel over a certain number of miles to games.
Any such shake-up of the leagues would naturally require time for the lower leagues to realign themselves, which could take a number of years.
Until the realignment is complete, it would be unfair for any promotion or relegation to take place to or from the leagues above. This would effectively create a ring fence around the current National Leagues including the Premiership and Championship.
It would then be likely that a call for a moratorium on all promotion and relegation (at least until the leagues are realigned) would then be made, potentially providing the Premiership with the ring fence they have always craved.