On the Flank: Top-Flight English Rugby Will Become a Franchise If Bid to Scrap Relegation Succeeds

Summary

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IN ALL their dealings with the Guinness Premiership clubs, the RFU has always held the idea of relegation and promotion to be sacred, but all that may be changing. Chief executive Francis Baron admitted last week that the Union will consider shelving relegation from top-flight rugby, something that club owners have long asked for. This would enable them, they argue, to invest money in the sport and enjoy long-term planning without spectre of relegation hanging over. If the RFU do adopt the franchise route, how much money will they have to set aside to bribe, sorry, compensate, League One clubs for the loss of promotion, and how long before one of those clubs takes them to court?

WHATEVER else Frank Hadden may claim, the Scotland coach did not pick last week's training squad on form. Several of the players he chose cannot get a start for their clubs, including the four who found themselves on Glasgow's bench. The old saying about form being temporary, class being permanent springs to mind, but Jon Petrie could not even make Glasgow's bench last Friday - hardly ideal preparation if the veteran No.8 is required for the upcoming autumn Tests. Perhaps Petrie would have been better served playing in Glasgow's back-up game last Monday evening rather than attending the national squad session.

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On the Flank: Top-Flight English Rugby Will Become a Franchise If Bid to Scrap Relegation Succeeds

SCOTLAND may not need him, but it is nice to know that Castres' new fly-half, Gordon Ross, has made some friends in the French media. Each week the two big French sports papers, L'Equipe and Midi- O...

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