The Papa Johns Cup has staggered into its second season with almost as many walk-overs as matches played, despite an increase in RFU travel funding.
One director of rugby, whose club did not enter “because it was such a mess last year”, proposed this solution: “What hinders it is being played at end of the season after the leagues have finished.
“A better cup format is to play the three pool games at the start of September, instead of pre-season friendlies, with the league season starting at the end of the month. This gives you the four semi-final teams, which would keep the clubs intereste...