Stream all Championship games live to grow the league says Judge
BATH prop star Christian Judge has urged the RFU to afford the Championship full attention when it resumes in March rather than allowing it to wither and die.
Judge, who served Bedford and Cornish Pirates before a meteoric rise saw him arrive at Bath in 2019 after a loan spell at Saracens, welcomes an RFU suggestion that matches may be streamed live but says Championship players deserve greater recognition.
“One thing that is certainly lacking in the Championship is exposure,” Judge, 27, said.
“When I was at Bedford and the Pirates, we might have had one or two games a year on Sky, but towards the end of my time at Pirates we started streaming a lot of our games to fans who lived up country and they responded positively to the initiative.
“For the league as a whole, to be able to stream games live would be massive because there are a lot of great players in the Championship. If people can access games, when crowds get back it will maybe encourage people to support their local Championship club.
“It’ll put players in a better shop window and for the clubs as a whole, the more people they can get through the doors the
better. More money will come in, it will help the league grow and it’ll be positive for English rugby because there’s a lot of talent.”
Despite a growing clamour for ring-fencing among the Premiership elite, Judge insists the RFU cannot afford to drop the ball and must nurture the second tier.
He said: “I still keep in touch with a lot of boys I played with at Bedford and Pirates and it’s been tough for them with how stopstart it’s been. They haven’t played since March last year, but now they’ve got a start date for this March they’ll be keen to get going.
“It’s important because I’m someone who played in National Two (Launceston), National One (Plymouth) and in the Championship before getting into the Premiership, and being a professional league you can really prove yourself in the Championship.
“A lot of people probably think that beyond the Premiership it’s all easy, but it’s not. There are great players and tough teams in the Championship and now they’ve got a definitive start date in March, the RFU need to make sure it’s a league that succeeds.”
Judge does not expect relegated Saracens to have their own way, adding: “It’ll be a new challenge for them. Some of their guys will have played a bit of Championship, but there’ll be a lot of others who haven’t and they’ll do well not to underestimate teams.
“Having been a Championship player, when the ex-Premiership club comes to town you want to prove yourself and play your best rugby. Saracens will respect the opposition, but after a year out of action Championship players will be raring to go.”