By NICK CAIN

Simon Halliday has condemned the threat by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney to relegate the 11 Championship clubs if they fail to sign up to the “Premiership 2” franchise plans in the PGP deal, as not only outside RFU regulations, but also probably illegal.
Halliday, who is chairman of the Championship clubs, called into question whether Sweeney’s approach, which they consider to be unduly autocratic, is exceeding his role as chief executive.
As the gridlock between the Championship and the RFU intensified going into the new year, Halliday told The Rugby Paper: “We are asking...