RFU Feedback Part Three - finally

BD - Why has the union forged ahead with the Championship when so many people seem to be against it?

MT -
"The NCA voted for it. I don't think we were ever going to get a buy in from PRL once we introduced the concept of a play off.
"It is ironic they are saying play offs aren't on when they introduced one at the top of the Premiership.
"I am trying to take an objective view, there are going to be casualties. You say 'force' a structure on clubs but what we are trying to do is put them on a more sustainable footing to improve the quality of their rugby for England.
"I actually want to see young English players performing in a strong, vibrant Championship. I don't want to see foreigners in there.
"We have got far too many foreign players in the Premiership for my liking - particularly in key positions like the front row.
"The EQP figure is fairly constant at 64-65 per cent. That's not a bad number to be cracking at if more than 50 per cent at English qualified.
"But if you watch rugby you see the situation in the front rows is severe. We do have some problems in the front row at the moment.
"I don't profess it's ideal, should we just sit and wait?
"We have been in the leagues a long time now. FDR never understood where they were in the leagues, they kept saying are we professional or part time.
"They have got the answer now, they are professional and we are recognising that and the cut off is below them.
"I just think we had too many [professional clubs]. The argument is in fact what about the Premiership? Can we actually sustain 12 clubs up there?
"The Championship will also improve the geographic spread of professional rugby."

BD - But why now?

MT -
"We have got a Premiership that has been professional since 1995 is being bankrolled in a very similar way to the English banks. By people putting money in when in truth the model is not economically sustainable.
"Maybe the time has come with the financial climate we are in to be honest, take our heads out of the sand and say rugby as currently structured is not sustainable.
"The pockets of the guys that have been bankrolling the Premiership for whatever reason - most of them laudably - are not as deep as they were.
"They have got to start thinking about that. If rugby does not take the prudent economic steps it should do - there are a long string of companies that have gone to the wall.
"It's not going to be easy. Multimillionaires don't always want to talk to people who are not multimillionaires and wonder why they would have a view."

BD - Has the economic climate wobbled your conviction at all?

MT -
"Not at all. If we were going into choppy, stormy waters with 16 teams, with the disparity in old FDR it would have been highly likely that there would be bigger casualties.
"We have been close to having a few in good economic times. If we were to sail on merrily in the current climate I think there would have been a few more.
"It's not going to be easy, we will lose some clubs - they will go to the wall - because of the current situation and structure in which we are operating. I think that's inevitable, it's going to happen right down the lower leagues as well.
"I think for all the criticism and antagonism towards me on some of these issues, I have fought for every rugby club I can to keep it going.
"I don't want to see even a single one go. Some of them have been able to help themselves and dig themselves out but others sadly have gone.
"We have lost London Scottish, Richmond, Wakefield, Rotherham has sunk considerably from where they were - Waterloo too.
"There are some tremendous names that have gone. Hopefully some of them come back."

BD - Why have these changes been announced half way through a season?

MT -
"It has not been done in a rush. When we signed the agreement with the Premiership in October 2007, it stated quite clearly that FDR would move to a 12 professional team competition.
"We encouraged some sort of relationship to ensure where they have talented youngsters in the Premiership they can get their rugby in the Championship.
"Francis Baron met the FDR board in November 2007, I went to meet them in very early January and said to them that part of our deal with PRL was that we would require the league at the end of the current season to become a 12 team league.
"I made it absolutely clear at that meeting in January 2008 that this would happen at the end of the season.
"RFU representatives went to various other meetings and certain people within that organisation stalled it and stalled it and stalled it. It's very easy to do that.
"I went with Francis Baron to three meetings with their negotiating team in the summer to push this one having lost the end of the season spot that was critical.
"Nevertheless I made it absolutely clear it is going to happen. Through the summer I said I wanted it to happen before the first ball was kicked off.
"Again it was delayed and delayed and I didn't get it through until the November council meeting.
"I don't accept that any single individual in charge or control of any of the FDR clubs is entitled to say that they did not know because they were all represented at that meeting in January. I laid it on the line."

BD - So there it is a fait accompli. What does a club have to do to get into the Championship from National Two?

MT -
"There is going to be a gulf there. They have got to win the league.
"We are in difficulty with the Premiership because historically they were able to create their cartel - that won't be allowed to happen if we are in control.
"The Rugby Football Union's policy is always going to be if you do it on the pitch that's enough.
"But as the Championship moves on and it grows its professional strength there is going to come a point where someone is going to say 'Clubs at least have to have some way of accommodating crowds of what might be an average of 2,000'.
"If a club is playing on a parks pitch with no facilities and the changing room is a pub down the road I would be reluctant to do it.
"But I don't want the television cameras to say they won't go to a particular club. That is going to be a source of revenue. The big money is going to come from sponsorship and broadcasting in a few years.
"You have got to accommodate the broadcaster and what he wants. They want to be seen in places that are vibrant with crowds and everything else.
"I don't want someone to say that would never happen, I think it will be a long time but there will come a time when someone decides there has to be a standard.
"But I don't think the Rugby Football Union will allow anyone to ring-fence by stealth.
"I am permanently looking over my shoulder to make sure no one steals an inch in that respect."

BD - Will you admit the uncertainty has been unsettling in terms of agreeing player contracts, sponsorship and future season ticket sales?

MT
"I would accept it's been unhelpful. I am not happy with it.
"I wanted it done and it could have been if there had been integrity and goodwill by everyone around the table.
"A number of people have deliberately set out to try and derail this or spread it over two years and Guinness were never interested in a two-year spread."