Vaughan: Close the league but prepare for expansion
GLOUCESTER chief executive Stephen Vaughan says Premiership Rugby must get their head around an expansion system if they are to win the war over ring-fencing.
Vaughan, right, is firmly in favour of a closed Premiership, which he believes will deliver commercial benefits and lead to the development of more England-qualified players.
However, he is cognisant of the emotive arguments on keeping the pathway open for aspiring clubs like Yorkshire Carnegie, Cornish Pirates and Coventry.
With discussions over ring-fencing and a 13-team Premiership for next season set to intensify, Vaughan told The Rugby Paper: “It doesn’t mean you close the league at 13 clubs. Expansion is not off the table.
“If the league went to 13 and then you have other clubs that are sustainable – with academies and stadia – and they were adding to the Premiership, it’s a conversation Premiership Rugby would be happy to have.
“If someone’s got a genuine business case to be a Premiership club – Yorkshire Carnegie for example – I don’t think anyone at Premiership Rugby or the people at (investors) CVC would say that wouldn’t be a fantastic fit for us. I don’t think that’s the case.”
Vaughan added: “We’ve got to position it in a way where if you’re a Cornish Pirates or Coventry, and genuinely have aspirations about being a Premiership club, the criteria should be agreed, attainable and we should bring them in.
“It’s not like football, we don’t have 15 clubs in our second tier who are clamouring to get into the Premiership with big support, stadia and academies.
“Exeter were the exception in rugby, but if we can get the balance right in terms of a clear pathway for Championship clubs to make it into the Premiership after a moratorium, I’d support an increased, closed Premiership that provides security to ensure the elite part of our game – Premiership Rugby – is as good as it can be in future.”
Vaughan insists the promotion and relegation system is archaic and damaging to the game. He also dismisses the argument that a closed league would result in dead rubbers.
Vaughan said: “I appreciate people using the old story of Exeter but taking the romantic hat off, there are issues around relegation and a key one is investment.
“As there’s relegation and jeopardy involved, commercial partners are reluctant to get involved in Premiership clubs that are on the precipice year-in, year-out, so those clubs need some stability.
“That stability would allow all clubs to blood their younger, Englishqualified players quicker rather than going for expensive foreign imports. I believe you could potentially increase the threshold for EQPs – our clubs are very open to that.”
As for dead games, Vaughan adds: “There is not a chance that clubs like Gloucester, Bath and Harlequins would throttle back and not aspire to win the league.
“Maybe one or two clubs trying to gain a foothold in the league would be able to develop at their own pace without having to break the bank in order to simply survive.
“If there’s no relegation, you could look at the playoffs – increasing the number of teams involved – and meritocracy payments based on finishing positions. What we cannot do is sit here and do nothing.”