French system is set up for success – Adamson
FORMER Bedford wing Dean Adamson has launched an impassioned plea for English rugby to save the Championship from descending into oblivion.
Adamson, a Championship try-scoring machine before moving to French Pro D2 outfit Rouen last summer, describes France’s second tier as being ‘worlds apart’ from its English counterpart and reckons ring-fencing the Premiership would be a disaster.
The 27-year-old told The Rugby Paper: “There’s a massively different emphasis on second tier rugby here and it doesn’t look good what’s going on back home in the Championship – in fact, it’s worlds apart in terms of what the French have going on here.
“They’ve now got three fully professional leagues where teams can go up and genuinely compete in the league above. In Pro D2 this season you’ve got the likes of Biarritz, Perpignan and a lot of other well-established sides and every single game is very close.
“You just don’t get that in the Championship where the team coming down from the Premiership generally batters everyone.”
Adamson believes English rugby must think bigger, adding: “I don’t think ring-fencing is the way forward for English rugby. If you look at French rugby now, the French national game is growing so much and it’s only going to get better and better.
“Look at the French team that played England last month. It was pretty much France’s B-team but they challenged England all the way and a lot of those players would have played in Pro D2 before moving up and all their leagues are competitive.
“That’s done through TV rights and sponsorship in Pro D2 and the Top 14 and they’re extending that down now into their National League 3. It grows the game, not just at club level but at national level too because it’s something younger players aspire to.”
Adamson believes ringfencing the Premiership here would also impact negatively on the geographical spread of the professional game. He explained: “If you’ve got a better geographical spread of teams playing competitive professional rugby, it provides younger players with more opportunities.
“You need more teams in the North and you need teams like Cornish Pirates to do well, but if you ringfence the Premiership, you’re just limiting that geographical spread. Money’s the big issue, but the Championship needs to be better supported.
“It’s not looking good right now but if you look at Bedford – and I’m a Bedford boy – that club has so much potential and has the fanbase to be successful, so I just don’t see why there’s no funding in the Championship to develop bigger clubs like that.
“French rugby is a different world and I see the French national team accelerating away from the rest over the next few years.”
Adamson, meanwhile, has settled well at Rouen, scoring a try every other game, and he still dreams of following former Bedford teammate Josh Bassett into the top-flight.
He said: “I’d never thought of moving to France but when Covid struck an opportunity came up. It’s been a challenge but it’s gone pretty well.
“You always want to play at the highest level and Josh has done really well since he went to Wasps. If that opportunity comes for me, that would be great.”