Boulton: Tier Two is ‘sleeping giant’
CHAMPIONSHIP stalwart Phil Boulton believes the second tier of English rugby is a ‘sleeping giant’ that requires more attention to take it to the next level.
The 34-year-old clocked up a century of Coventry appearances against Nottingham recently, adding to the 203 times he booted up for Bedford before switching clubs in 2016.
Having played the majority of his career in the Championship, he is better placed than most to pass judgement on the current health and future of the division.
“I’ve had a long time in this league,” said Boulton, who spent three seasons in the academy at Leicester without making the senior grade. “I think I made my debut something like 14 years ago for Rotherham.
“I’ve seen lots of different changes, the league structure change and trying different things. I think that the powers that be can see the value in it, and they’ve tried to get their best out of the league.
“What it comes down to, unfortunately, is investment.”
The Championship has seen its RFU funding slashed in recent times along with the devastating financial impact of Covidthat has kept fans locked out for nearly 13 months.
Coventry, who have won two of their opening four rounds of the revised 2021 season, have overhauled their squad accordingly with director of rugby Rowland Winter drafting in a number of dual-registration signings to fill gaps left by departing players.
In recent times, the Butts Park Arena outfit has provided a springboard for the likes of Henry Purdy (Bristol) and Luke Wallace (Leicester) to bounce back to the Premiership.
Hooker Nic Dolly, right, released by Sale Sharks last year, scored in each of Cov’s opening three rounds, which caught the eye of Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick.
The 21-year-old made the switch to Welford Road and was selected on the bench for yesterday’s Challenge Cup last-16 tie with Connacht.
It is another example of the important role the Championship plays within the structure of English rugby.
“You just have to look at the international team over the last five, six, seven years, and see the number of players that have been through the Championship to show what value that has,” added Boulton.
“Those players certainly wouldn’t undervalue it, and I definitely don’t. Can more be done? Definitely. It’s a great competition, there’s some fantastic clubs in it and the support is definitely there for it, it just needs that extra bit of refinement to take it to the next level. “Potentially you can say it’s a bit of a sleeping giant as a league.” Boulton pointed to the ProD2 that operates below the Top 14 in France as a working model that the RFU and Championship should aspire to replicate.
“There’s some good examples of how second tiers can work, and help with structure of other organisations,” said Boulton.
“If you look at France, they have a very strong second tier and you see how that affects their national team and the rest of the competitions. I think we could probably do more.”