Championship clubs’ rage over Anglo-Welsh proposals

Championship chair- man Geoff Irvine believes it is highly unlikely the Rugby Football Union will sanction a 16-team Anglo-Welsh league, describing plans as “scandalous.”
Regional Rugby Wales (RRW) has slapped the Welsh Rugby Union with a January 31deadline over a new participation agreement or else it will pursue ‘further competition options,’ widely interpreted to mean tying-up with Premiership Rugby Ltd (PRL).
Plans for the new competition are reported to be well advanced, with sources in Wales suggesting a deal guaranteeing three of the four regions immunity from relegation has already been covertly agreed between representatives of RRW and PRL, as reported in The Rugby Paper last week.
But that proposal has angered England‘s second tier clubs, who feel they should be granted first refusal in the event of any Premiership expansion.
An Anglo-Welsh league would stir up a hornet’s nest in respect of the RFU‘s England-qualified player scheme (EQP), which operates in both the Premiership and Championship, and Irvine claims PRL has no authority over promotion and relegation.
“I really cannot see the RFU admitting four Welsh clubs – the English game would go berserk,” Irvine told The Rugby Paper.
“What’s the point? The whole system that we’ve developed over English-qualified players seems to be working well.
“As for agreeing to give Welsh clubs immunity from relegation, they simply can’t do that. The regulations over promotion and relegation are governed by the RFU, not Premiership Rugby, and they can’t just make the rules up as they go along.
“It’s scandalous, but it’s just typical of the way this game is at the moment. We (the Championship) ask Premiership Rugby every year if they want to go to 14 teams, and every year they tell us they don’t. But now all of a sudden, because they’re in the mire over Europe, they’re talking about going to 16. It’s nonsense.
“It’s the same old story, though, the Championship are at the back of the queue. Premiership Rugby do whatever they want to do and we live off the scraps. But I’d be very surprised if this came to pass and I think it’s just sabre-rattling on their part.”
Bristol head coach Sean Holley, formerly of the Ospreys, believes it would be wrong to accept Welsh sides into an enlarged Premiership ahead of his own side and other ambitious Championship clubs such as London Welsh, Leeds and Plymouth.
Holley said: “Bristol has huge support and potential, so why can’t we have a crack? It’s nothing to do with Bristol that the Welsh regions are failing, so why should we accommodate them?
“I’m a Welshman and I may think different with a Wales hat on, but I have a Bristol hat on and we want to be playing against Leicester, Bath, Gloucester and Northampton.
“I don’t know how much traction this Anglo-Welsh plan has really got, but it would create huge problems for the RFU. You’ve got to look after your own clubs first.”
David Jenkins, chief executive of London Welsh agrees. He said: “Bristol, ourselves and Leeds all meet the criteria so if the Premiership expanded to 16 clubs, the Championship clubs should be given first option to come up.
“As a Championship body, it’s about time we made our views to the RFU clear.”
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