RFU told to 'take head out of the sand' over long-term vision for rugby outside of Premiership

The Rugby Football Union has been blasted for its negligence towards the Championship, with a leading club chairman suggesting that the sport faces an existential crisis if its governing body does not look beyond the Premiership and England’s national team.

Alistair Bow, of Nottingham Rugby, explained that confidence in the RFU’s ability to operate the Championship was at “an all-time low” and called upon others to “vocalise their scepticism” over “mismanagement and a lack of strategic direction” for England’s second-tier club competition.

“I strongly urge the governing body to take their head out of the sand and reconsider the long-term vision for rugby into one that extends beyond Twickenham and the Premiership,” he said.

“Unless a strategic overhaul of the RFU is imminent, I fear for the longevity of our wonderful sport in this country,” Bow added. “We are one of the three most popular sports, yet there are no intentions to grow the popularity of rugby beyond the national team and the Premiership.”

In February 2020, just as the Covid pandemic hit the United Kingdom, it was announced that the RFU would be slashing Championship funding.

Bow directly referenced Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, who told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last year that: “We’ve cut it [funding to Championship clubs] because we are not clear of the benefit we’re getting from that spending.”

“The systematic funding cuts, and the fact that RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said ‘there is no clear benefit’ for spending money on the Championship, is a damning indictment of his inability to operate a governing body that fundamentally would not exist in the absence of grassroots sport,” Bow said.

“After years of false promises and statements that lack substance from the RFU, we are unable to continue operating as we are, waiting for the governing body to instigate a solid strategic plan that will initiate progress.”

England’s autumn Tests provided definitive evidence of the Championship’s worth as a breeding ground – and a safety net – for talent. Mark Atkinson, the 31-year-old centre whose career was invigorated by a spell at Bedford Blues between 2012 and 2014, made his debut against Tonga.

Of all the individuals to have impressed for England, Eddie Jones spared special praise for Nic Dolly. Born in Australia, the hooker had been affiliated to Sale Sharks while winning honours for England age-group sides. He spent time on loan at Jersey Reds before joining Coventry and then signing for Leicester Tigers in March.

Last weekend, Dolly replaced Jamie Blamire to win his maiden cap against South Africa and fed the lineout that launched Raffi Quirke’s telling try.

“He made his debut in front of 82,000 people at Twickenham,” Jones said of Dolly. “What a story in terms of resilience, in terms of just keeping doing your work and when the opportunity comes, taking it.”

Bow went on to propose that “the Championship is being deliberately scuppered” by the RFU and voiced his frustration at what he believes to be half-hearted and hap-hazard attempts at reform.

“Even the Championship strategic review, which is currently taking place, is starting to feel like an extension of COP26 – showing lots of promise but lacking any real commitment to make the necessary change needed now,” Bow said.

“After 11 years of representing Nottingham at the Championship chairman’s committee, action for change is continuously ignored and probably gets lost somewhere between the gin and tonics at Twickenham.

“This is further highlighted by the recent RFU Championship survey, which the RFU only gave respondents a few days to complete – not enough time to offer any significant feedback, so the results will likely end up in the same place as the 2018 Ernst & Young Review, which never saw the light of day despite clubs being promised sight of the full report.”

'We cannot blame the pandemic'

The RFU’s annual report, released on Wednesday, outlined that 512 community clubs in England had received a share of the £18.2m grant from the Governments winter sports survival package.

It is estimated that the RFU has lost £120m of revenue due to the pandemic. However, Bow, who claims not to have seen a strategic plan for the Championship since becoming Nottingham chairman in 2010, stressed that Covid could not be used as an excuse.

“We cannot continue to blame the pandemic, but it does further highlight the inequality,” he said.

In response to Bow’s comments, an RFU spokeswoman outlined that all the money the RFU raises is re-invested in rugby to support 1,900 community clubs as well as those in the Premiership and Championship.

“Funding for the Championship was increased in 2016 to £7m and over the following four years that funding did not deliver against supporting objectives,” they said. “The money subsidised losses and it made no material difference to a Championship club’s ability to go on and compete in the Premiership.

“Although the RFU made a loss in 2020-21, we continued to maintain funding to the Championship and did not pro-rata it for a shorter season. The RFU has committed to retaining current funding levels to the Championship until the end of 2023-24, providing certainty to the clubs, which would not otherwise be there.

It was also emphasised that the RFU has helped Championship clubs in applications for Government funding and setting up streaming services, although they acknowledged that “broadcast appetite has been limited”. As for the ongoing strategic review, the RFU believes that “significant progress is being made”.

“The RFU is working collaboratively with representatives from the Championship and Premiership Rugby to review the league structure to develop recommendations for the RFU board on how we can support a sustainable Championship, while continuing to offer clubs the opportunity to aspire to promotion to the Premiership should they wish to.

“Significant progress is being made and rather than dismissing the financial support provided and the hard work being put in by all parties, we would welcome any suggestions and contributions that support the aim of creating a thriving Championship that can be self-sustaining without the need for millions of pounds of funding to subsidise losses.”