Quote:harristocratt
With less games where is the income to run the club going to come from?
I think that that is the main sticking point. The players and the RFU want to limit the number of games to help with player welfare, while the clubs and the premiership want to keep (or even increase) the number of games to maximize income.
<pedantry alert>It should be 'fewer games', rather than 'less games'</alert>
Quote:harristocratt
Doncaster are currently 5th in the championship, Carnegie 6th and Pirates 7th.
I think the discussion here is about clubs that have the facilities and the ambition to play in the premiership, rather than where they are in the table. You could argue that if they get Premiership status, then they will have the money to be able to attract the players to stay there, and the players will be prepared to move club to play in the premiership. Which does rather argue in favour of 'franchises' and ringfencing.