Canterbury want no part in shortened National League season

CANTERBURY chairman Giles Hilton says promotion and relegation plans for a 15-game season are ‘nonsense’ and that his side will not be travelling to far flung places.

The RFU announced last week that third and fourth-tier rugby would not take place in September as Covid-19 continues to impact live sport.

While clubs are planning for a November start, the new campaign could be forced back to January, with places decided over 15 games rather than 30.

But Hilton, chairman of National 2 South side Canterbury, is staunchly against this proposal.

He told The Rugby Paper: “There’s no point having a 15-game season that holds promotion and relegation – that simply can’t happen, it’s just nonsense. There has to be a plan B and the sooner we see it, the better.”

Canterbury travelled the country last season before suffering relegation from National League 1, but the Kent side would not be willing to travel again in a 15-game season.

Hilton added: “When the fixture list was announced, I said ‘that’s fine but please remove us from the fixture list if it falls that we’re away to Guernsey, Redruth and Barnstaple – we’re not going’.”

Hilton suggests a regionalised, friendly league would be the best option for the 2020/21 campaign.

He said: “Why don’t we just take the view of a county cricket season where you arrange your own games on a local basis?

“Why can’t we do Canterbury, Tonbridge Juddians, Blackheath, Old Elthamians, Bishops’s Stortford, Rochford Hundred and possibly Worthing?

“Keep it local, cut out the overnight stays, cut out the travel. It could enhance the spectator numbers as it’s not as far to travel, which would be good for gate money and increase bar sales.”

The RFU also announced last week they were cutting more than 100 jobs, including community coaches and rugby development officers in response to short-term revenue losses of £107m.

Hilton warns this could have a damning impact on the third and fourth-tier game.

“The way I look at it is that the community game is the game – it starts at Level 14,” he added.

“They’ve got to give these guys as much assistance as they can. Don’t forget your roots. If you forget your roots, you lose your culture, you lose your structure. Any business will tell you that.

“With an uninvested community game, I don’t see how you will get the progression and this could set us back five or ten years in the game.

“There’ll be issues with players not coming forward and other sports being chosen and – dare I say it – clubs possibly going out of business, player pathways gone.

“It pushes responsibility back on the clubs at a time when they are hanging on for their own survival. It’s a very unpleasant circle.”

Moving forward Hilton wants the entire community game to be regionalised.

“Clubs will fight but I do see a different shape coming out of all of this,” he said.

“You have to allow for progression but outside of National 1 I see no reason why Level 4 should not be regionalised.

“There’ll be pressure on players and pressure on their employers to get time away from work.

“The whole business climate is changing dramatically and the sporting environment has to change with it. If we don’t, we’ll lose people.”

WARREN MUGGLETON / Title image: Liam McEvoy