RFU considered move to Midlands, opted to stay at Twickenham

TWICKENHAM chiefs considered moving the home of rugby to the Midlands last year before deciding to stay put and revamp the stadium.

The RFU had three proposals on the table last spring, one of which was a shift to a greenfield site near Birmingham.

It recently came to light that another proposal was to sell Twickenham and buy a 50 per cent stake in Wembley Stadium which was part of a radical ‘leave’ option.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has now also revealed the union pondered moving from south-west London to the middle of England before plumping to stay and renovate the current ground.

Long-term plan for Twickenham

“We looked at a range of different options,” said Sweeney.

“There was the merger with Wembley option which was a conversation.

“There was a move somewhere else to a green field site which might have had better access for the whole of the country. It was in the Birmingham area and they were quite keen to work with us.

“All of the numbers at the end of the day led to remaining at Twickenham and redeveloping the stadium here.

“That was partly to do with the hospitality market in London, from a commercial point of view, plus the traditional piece couldn’t be discounted in terms of the home of rugby being based in Twickenham.”

Work at the stadium will involve upgrading all four stands and the RFU offices being moved.

Any work on improving facilities at HQ will not start until 2027 when there are no autumn internationals because of the World Cup in Australia.

England’s World Cup warm-up games, and the women’s internationals, will be played elsewhere.

Sweeney is also determined to stage more non-rugby events at the ground.

Sweeney added: “Meetings are ramping up. It is very important we get flexibility with local councils in terms of events. If you look at the non-sporting events at places like Wembley and Tottenham, it is important it is part of our future thinking. Work would not be starting any time before 2027.”

Anglo-Welsh league still a no-go

At last week’s announcement of the new Male Professional Game Partnership, at Twickenham, Premiership CEO Simon Massie-Taylor appeared to blow hopes of an Anglo-Welsh league out of the water.

And Sweeney gave hope to Wasps’ fans saying they would be very welcome back in the Championship if their finances stack up following their collapse in 2022.

There would seem to be an appetite for an Anglo-Welsh league as witnessed by the full houses at Cardiff when they hosted Bath and Harlequins in recent European games. But Massie-Taylor insists that is pie in the sky.

He said: “There is lots of speculation about that.

“We have just gone through this process around establishing what is best for the English Premiership. That is the absolute focus. There is a ton of stuff we should be really proud of with the Premiership.

“I think it is a great product. So if you were to change the club system, in Europe or elsewhere, it would have to be something that would massively trump that and give confidence to the English system and the existing clubs. I am not sure what that would be.”

Championship expansion

The RFU are aiming to expand the Championship to 14 clubs by 2025-26.

Wasps, now owned by Chris Holland, and Worcester plus London Irish could be in the running if they get their houses in order.

Sweeney said: “We would welcome them back. We are in conversations with Wasps. Chris Holland has spoken about the plans around Swanley and developing a stadium there. It is a great catchment area. It was the number one potential area when an audit was done in terms of a likely catchment area.

“The idea of having Wasps, London Irish and Worcester back, initially in tier two, is really appealing. If you want to talk about a sustainable tier two, that gives, from a commercial, fan and marketing-the-game point of view, three great clubs with great histories.

“You talk about Wasps’ academy – London Irish had a fantastic academy. Look at some of the players that have come from there. So yes, we would welcome them back in. Simon and myself and people involved in those clubs have had those conversations.”

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