London Scottish consider switching to Pro12

London Scottish say they are “open-minded” over a potential switch to the Pro 12, with chairman Sir David Reid saying much will depend on Championship funding and how the future governance of the league pans out.
With Scottish established as a top-half tier two side and plans to redevelop the Richmond Athletic Ground well advanced, the ambitious Exiles are plotting the next stage of their journey from near extinction in 1999.
Close links to the SRU mean talk of a Celtic League tie-up as a ‘third Scottish pro team’ is never far from the agenda north of the border.
Sir David told The Rugby Paper: “We’re in the RFU Championship at the moment and there are possibilities around how that joins up with professional rugby: does it join up with Premiership Rugby or does it stay independently managed by the RFU? We’re open-minded, not dictating things, but we’re a participant and a responsible stakeholder so we’ll need to look at our best options.
“A lot of people would need to approve a move into the Pro12 and we’d be happy to look at all that, but in the meantime we’ve got to keep doing what we have been doing, which is to strengthen the club year-on-year by moving incomes up, bringing in further support and improving our coaching, youth and academy programmes.”
Sir David has urged the RFU to come forward with solid funding plans.
He said: “Premiership clubs are getting between £2m and £3m each and the Championship are getting just £350,000, so we believe there’s a case to provide a lot more funding to second tier rugby to keep it healthy.
“Championship clubs are doing a great job and there are some excellent players and coaches at our level. We’re providing jobs for those people and the job we’re doing for elite rugby deserves more of the pot.
“We’re looking for double the money we currently get and that would help all the Championship clubs to become a vibrant professional tier working alongside the Premiership.”
Gareth Davies will run for the chairmanship of the Welsh Rugby Union in 16 days time.
The former Wales and Lions fly-half has made no public announcement but  backers expect him to stand in what will almost certainly be the first contest for the position in almost 20 years.
NEALE HARVEY