By Michael Smith
April 28 2002

For Saracens, Bath, Harlequins and Leeds the thought of relegation into National Division One maybe too much to bear and some say this may spell disaster for the unlucky Premiership club that does make the drop...

Saracens Official Site (www.Saracens.Com) has recently posted a special feature with Nigel Wray saying “NO” to relegation! Does this mean that should one of the BIG clubs drop then the R.F.U. or Premier Rugby will step in? Who knows only time will tell, but should Sarries, Bath or Quins avoid relegation via a late change in the rules then this will only infuriate the many Rugby supporters who believe in Promotion and Relegation.

Just as the clubs have an incentive to win the Premiership, European and Powergen Cup’s, which ultimately keeps the interest in Rugby alive, then the relegation issue should also be an integral part of this equation, as any relegation decider is just as exciting as the Heineken Cup final.

Sarries owner Nigel Wray firmly believes that relegation shouldn’t be an issue, although he does state that promotion is perfectly acceptable…Now from a business sense he is perfect right, after all how can you build a successful business if your club is dropped from the high profile Zurich Premiership into Division 1? Perhaps Rugby Union should consider running franchises as per Rugby League! Or much to the distaste of many a Rugby supporter, scrap relegation?

Wray’s main argument stems from looking at probably the two greatest sporting nations in recent times, the good old U.S of A and our friends from down under, Australia, both of whom have excelled in sport and in the main neither have relegation. Perhaps we should look a little closer to home for an event that doesn’t have the spectre of the dreaded “R” word…Our very own 6 Nations Championship, now you must admit that this tournament is hugely popular and continues to go from strength to strength, but then if you look outside our beloved 6 Nations to say Romanian then you’ll see a Rugby disaster waiting to happen!

Nigel’s other arguments can easily be summed up…

 

1. As a new and growing industry it needs long term investment, that means investing in Stadium facilities and the local community, but with the current rules how can this be achieved on a 12-month basis?
2. Relegation doesn’t account for geographic location, case in point Newcastle, if the Falcon’s were relegated then top class Rugby Union would cease in the North East.
3. Probably the biggest concern is entering Division One, which with the exception of Worcester mainly operates on a part time basis with crowds rarely going above a few hundred.
4. With Premiership clubs investing in bigger and better Stadiums can you imagine watching Division One rugby at Vicarage Road, the Stoop or the Rec, these stadiums normally cater for 10,000+ yet they could be seating just 3 or 4 hundred?
5. Onto probably the biggest issue, unemployment, if you start playing in Division One then something’s got to go, this means back room staff and possibly some players.
6. And finally, the relegation issue doesn’t cater for those clubs like Saracens, Leicester and Wasps (to name but a few) who are trying to nurture young talent for the home nations, therefore it’s much easier to import your talent from overseas.

So with the relegation issues aired should the “R” word be banned from the Premiership or should we ignore Rugby as a growing sport and business and expect sugar daddies to bail us out and then moan when they want some sound business sense…The choice is yours, tell us what you think on our message board….