NICK CAIN
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GLOUCESTER’S 90-0 capitulation to Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend reflected all that is rotten about a ringfenced Premiership. The same was true of the 85-14 rout inflicted on Newcastle by Bristol last month.
It confirmed that the 10 club Premiership has been turned into a parody of a competitive league by the suspension of promotion-relegation. This is because with two clubs – Newcastle in 10th place and Gloucester in 9th – adrift in the playoff race before the league’s Six Nations break in mid-March, on most weekends two of the...