Vaughan: Championship is stunting growth of top clubs
FINANCIAL problems surrounding London Welsh and Jersey prove the Championship in its current form is unfit for purpose, according to Gloucester chief executive Stephen Vaughan.
Tier two outfit London Welsh are facing windingup proceedings for a third time this year at the High Court next month, while struggling Jersey recently sold their grounds and clubhouse at St Peter for a paltry £1.5m just to keep their heads above the water until the end of the season.
With other Championship sides known to be facing financial difficulties against a backdrop of falling gates, Vaughan believes the impoverished state of the Championship is detrimental to English rugby and is stunting the growth of Premiership teams.
Vaughan has called for a moratorium on promotion and relegation, telling The Rugby Paper: “The issues at London Welsh and Jersey have brought the magnifying glass back on the Championship and the league in its current guise appears totally unworkable.
“If we had two strong leagues of professional clubs that were self-sustainable and had the ability to operate in a way that was good for English rugby, there wouldn’t be a debate. But someone like Nigel Melville has come in with a fresh pair of eyes and seen that’s not the case.
“What are the objectives of the Championship? Is it to provide a pathway for talented young English players to play in the Premiership or for England, or is it for stand-alone clubs to push themselves forward? Maybe it’s somewhere in the middle, but currently it isn’t working.”
Vaughan explained: “All I can see at the moment is two or three clubs yo-yoing between the Premiership and the Championship and that can’t be good for anybody. In fact, you’re actually stunting the growth of Premiership clubs who are petrified about the drop.
“If I were (Bristol owner) Steve Lansdown, who’s put fortunes into that club in creating a first class facility and academy, and I ended up back down in the Championship, I’d be feeling pretty fed-up. It’s the same with London Irish.
“It would therefore be sensible to look at the scenarios around promotion and relegation and whether there’s an increased funding option for Championship clubs, potentially adding more players from the Premiership, and then lock it off for a period of time.
“That would allow Premiership clubs who have traditionally been around the bottom three to invest and make sure we have a top-flight to be proud of. And it would give Championship clubs time to reflect and work out what their main goals should be.”
RFU director of professional rugby Melville is reviewing the future of the Championship, with early indications that he believes the league should adopt a developmental role.
Vaughan added: “Nigel’s recognised the Championship isn’t right. Whether we can move to a 14-team Premiership, I don’t know, but there are long conversations to be had with the Championship clubs and maybe Nigel can be a force for pushing sensible debate.”