Stokes wants tier two teams in Prem Cup
LONDON Irish fullback James Stokes believes the Premiership Cup should be expanded to include clubs from the second tier to give it the feel of football’s FA Cup.
Back in February 2004, Pertemps Bees pulled off the last of the great shocks in English cup rugby.
Bees were given little chance when they travelled to champions Wasps for a Powergen Cup quarter-final, but they stunned a team coached by Warren Gatland and garlanded with internationals to win 28-24.
Two seasons later, the Premiership clubs teamed up with the Welsh regions to form the Anglo-Welsh Cup, freezing out Championship sides whose contact with the top flight is now restricted to receiving players on loan.
Stokes, right, who started his career at Nottingham and played for Cambridge and Coventry before joining Irish in 2019, said:
“It is up to the RFU to sort out, but there are so many positives to it. “From a financial, development, playing and spectacle viewpoint, it would be a good move. Saracens going back to Cornish Pirates would be an interesting experience after what happened there last season.
“The Premiership Cup is a good format because it gives clubs the means to give young players a chance and including Championship sides would make it like the FA Cup
and raise the prospect of a giant-killing.
“It would be a way to grow the Championship which has been struggling with cuts to its funding. Helping it would reflect well on the Premiership and I think it would be popular with fans. It is essential for the game in England to have a strong second tier.”
Like Stokes, Wasps lock Tim Cardall reached the Premiership via the Championship having joined Nottingham after a year in Northampton’s academy.
“The Championship is a very under-rated league,” said Cardall, 24. “The more
exposure it gets the better and being part of the Premiership Cup would definitely increase its profile. The division beneath the Premiership needs to be strong and you only have to look at the number of players in the England squad who have played in the Championship to realise how important it is as a breeding ground.”
Stokes also believes the short forms of the game, Sevens and Tens, have a role to play in making union more of a global game. He took part in the inaugural World Tens Series in Bermuda last year, playing for Miami Sun.
“Rugby is a big sport but it is not the biggest,” he said. “The more who are involved in it the better. Bermuda was a great experience and it exposed a number of American athletes to the game. They were very raw but on big pitches with lots of space it was a format they got a hold on.”
Tens was invented in Malaysia more than 50 years ago and has proved popular in Asia. Plans for a 12s format have been announced for next year although the bid has not received much support in Europe.
“Anything that helps the game grow globally has to be welcomed,” said Stokes. “You can see the impact T20 and the 100 has had on cricket. They get fans through the gates and that is what we want in rugby.”
Stokes is relishing his time at Irish who have started putting results together. “I love it here,” he said. “There are many routes to the Premiership and not many players have appeared in the top five leagues, as I have. I used to work as an environmental consultant and now I am a professional rugby player. It is all about taking your opportunities.”