The end of top flight relegation???

[Scotty]

To me its a really good idea. Every season you see the same thing, a championship side...bristol this season, being big spenders trying to get to the prem and stay, and prem side... Lirish this season, losing players yet keeping enough to dominate next season in the championship.

Its a revolving door of prem teams going down and coming back up. Let them settle, yes we will have weak teams but still they will be able to develop and keep players rather than losing them on religation and having to sign more foreign players to get back up and stay up.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

To me its a really good idea. Every season you see the same thing, a championship side...bristol this season, being big spenders trying to get to the prem and stay, and prem side... Lirish this season, losing players yet keeping enough to dominate next season in the championship.

Its a revolving door of prem teams going down and coming back up. Let them settle, yes we will have weak teams but still they will be able to develop and keep players rather than losing them on religation and having to sign more foreign players to get back up and stay up.

A bit ironic given the team you support.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

A bit ironic given the team you support.

In fairness, it's the one exception

 

[Scotty]

A bit ironic given the team you support.

Haha your not wrong, Chiefs are an exception and im sure bristol could be to but i stand by what i said.

Wonder if any prem teams will invest in championship clubs as feeder teams to develop players aswell as their A league teams keeping English qualified players coming through. Just an idea.

 

[j'nuh]

Five years out of the Premiership will end any team as a serious contender. The financial and quality gulf between the two leagues will widen so much in five years that they won't be likely to get back in. A team that yo-yos between the two leagues keeps some of its Premiership-quality players when it goes down, whereas any team that goes down for five years will be entirely shorn of any player of Premiership quality in those five years. There's no hope that they would ever get back in based on similar play-offs.

If we must ring-fence, then we should make a decision on which teams can sustain themselves in the Premiership and then create a format to accommodate this number of teams.

 

[higgik]

Think London Irish should jump ship and move to Pro14, they would get better crowds v Irish teams, better standard overall. The league would also benefit from London interest and sponsorship.
This leaves 3 spaces for a 14 team AP. Add Bristol, Yorkshire, (they have ground and finances), and maybe Ealing.
2 conferences of 7, play home and away in conference, plus home or away v other 7, (19games) with the last v one team from other conference.

 

[Which Tyler]

Ok, so I don't know how accurate this is, but apparently the premiership are going to have a playoff between the relegated and promoted side at the end of the season before closing off relegation for the next 5 years. They think this will allow financial security for the top their sides and allow them to invest in inferstructure without being worried about relegation.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/controversial-relegation-shake-premiership-cards

If true, I'll start supporting the Top14 instead, and spend a lot more time at the local club.

If we absolutely have to ring-fence (we don't) then it should be the gap between fully professional and essentially amateur (so paying less than a living wage). Even then it should come at a big cost to the clubs, as in fewer of them at the top.
PRL is already a cartel, I see absolutely no need whatsoever to strengthen their hand versus all other clubs ever further.

 

[curtbob7]

bring in financial fair play. Force teams to grow their fanbases rather than relying on owners pumping money in and running at massive losses.

 

[MarkyH]

Simple solution, without ring-fencing the prem but to give promoted teams a chance. Will also not exclude Rugby giants like Coventry from ever getting back to the top where they should be.

Make relegation every 2 years. At the end of the season, the team with the worst two-year average is relegated. Same for the top of the Championship, best average is promoted. Similar to how the Argentine Primera Division works out its relegation.

 

[MarkyH]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/02/champions-cup-rugby-premiership-wrangle

 

[higgik]

The Champions Cup should stay as current qualification, but reduce to 4 groups of 5 playing home or away, yes I know there is an unevenesss in the draw, but this reduces the rounds by 1. The whole event could be played at beginning of season in 10 weeks, (5 group, rest week, quarter finals, rest week, semis and finals played at one venue)

Although this would mean an extra week, everything could be played before autumn internationals.

 

[higgik]

The Champions Cup should stay as current qualification, but reduce to 4 groups of 5 playing home or away, yes I know there is an unevenesss in the draw, but this reduces the rounds by 1. The whole event could be played at beginning of season in 10 weeks, (5 group, rest week, quarter finals, rest week, semis and finals played at one venue)

Although this would mean an extra week, everything could be played before autumn internationals.

Forgot to add that the maximum games would be 7 matches over the 10 weeks, so built in rest for all players.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

How would the voting work if they wanted to change the European structure (Again)

Can't see anyone but the Prem sides going for it.

 

[higgik]

Maybe best way would be to combine Pro14 and AP into a British and Irish League, moving the Italians to the Top14 and move the Saffas out back to Currie Cup.

Start with the current 10 Celtic teams, London Irish, London Scottish (as part of SRU), and the remaining AP 11 and Bristol.
2 conferences of 12 each with 3 groups of 4, play home and away in group, (6 matches), home or away v one of the other groups in conference, (4 matches), home or away v one group of other conference (4 matches).
Each group winner and best runner up from each conference into play offs, (5 weeks)

This gives a maximum total of 19 weeks.
Added to 11 weeks of internationals and the 10 weeks of euros, would give a total season of 40 weeks.
A typical international would play a maximum of 11 internationals, 18 B&I League, 7 Euro, = 36 matches.