It is always easier to bury English rugby’s alleged leaders than to praise them, but it would run counter to the seasonal spirit not to welcome recent signs that the Twickenhamites are shifting their bloated carcasses in an overdue effort to do their job: namely, to give some shape and meaning to a domestic game ravaged by the pandemic and its aftermath.
The governing body’s tentative plan to replace the dog’s breakfast masquerading as the “Championship” with a tournament for franchised second-tier teams harbouring realistic first-tier ambitions throws up more questions than answers, but it ...