Regionalise National 1 and reduce salary cap
WHAT a shame that lowering salary caps at level 3 seems to be failing to gain sufficient support, TRP April 26.
Most clubs don’t fear relegation or promotion and the cost involved in moving up or down a league, but most fear going bankrupt.
There are two solutions to the problem: lower salary caps and more local rugby at a higher level.
All this money is usually generated by club volunteers who want to put something back into the game and are then allocated “commercial” or “sponsorship” roles which involves cold calling local businesses to beg for money. Not fun.
This money then goes straight out of the game in wages to a few players. Just image what clubs could do with £250,000: improve club houses, pitches, infrastucture, pay for socials for all club members, develop coaching for 2nd and 3rd XVs...the list goes on.
The travel cost in terms of money and time for many journeys: Plymouth to Darlington, Tonbridge to Caldy, Redruth to Canterbury, Bury St Edmunds to Barnstable, etc. to play matches in front of a few hundred with no away supporters, often none or few of the away team’s committee, is crazy.
It’s unfair on players who are away from their family spending ten hours on a coach on 15 Saturdays a season and thy are unable to even socialise in the bar because understandably they need to jump on the bus to be home before Sunday.
This lack of away supporters and early departures render many rugby club bars empty after 6pm.
Better to have four regional leagues at level 3 to include current level 3 and 4 clubs. Games like Darlington v Blaydon, Redruth v Plymouth, Tonbridge v Canterbury and Stourbridge v Moseley generate local interest, bigger crowds, bigger bar takings as people can stay and socialise. The four regional winners should play a national knockout for promotion to the Championship.
In terms of playing standards there would be little drop off; we know players understandably don’t want to travel all day and would likely return to the game and if clubs are honest all the longer journeys stop it being a true meritocracy because, guess what, if you spend five hours on a bus before you play you tend to lose.
With clubs under threat of financial ruin post Covid this is a format to prevent any being lost.