The Rugby Football Union is coming under renewed pressure from semi-professional clubs in England to clarify the future shape of the domestic game amid mounting calls for reform at Twickenham and significant disquiet about the effects of the new tackle-height directive set to be introduced in the community game.
With no firm agreement yet reached on precisely how many teams will feature in the Premiership and the Championship from September 2024, a growing number of National League clubs are pleading for greater clarity.
There is widespread concern about “terrible decisions” affecting the wider club game as well as the unintended consequences of not introducing the revised “belly tackle” initiative at every level this summer.
Gary Reynolds, the chief executive of Rams in third-tier National One, is among those urging the RFU to get off the fence and offer some long-term certainty. “I’d almost take anything as long as we can plan and know what it’s going to be,” said Reynolds, whose table-topping team could still win promotion to next season’s Championship if their rivals Cambridge slip up against Birmingham Moseley on Saturday.
“Trying to explain what is happening in the leagues at the moment is an absolute joke. I’m concerned that if the Championship goes to 10 teams in future we may be told there is no promotion. Does that mean we won’t be playing for anything? That’s no good for anyone. I would like to see certainty for the Championship and the Premiership. It’s got to a point where it doesn’t matter what that is.”
The Rams still believe their home town of Reading, with a catchment area of around 340,000 inhabitants, could support a Premiership rugby side with London Irish having now relocated back to Brentford. Along with all National League clubs, they play a vital role in nurturing young English players but are increasingly frustrated with how the game is being run and would like to see a major RFU overhaul.
“Some RFU employees are making terrible decisions at the moment and everyone knows it, apart from the RFU council,” said Reynolds. “There’s a lot of appetite among the community clubs for big change. If you want to screw anything up you appoint a big committee and that’s exactly what the RFU has got. You’ve got an amateur structure running a multimillion pound business and it doesn’t work. The question is: what are we going to do about it?We’re members of the RFU so it’s up for us to force through change. Hopefully there’ll be a bit of a move in that direction.”
Last week’s decision to vote through a motion requiring all tackles to be below the base of the sternum in the community game has also raised fresh questions about young Premiership hopefuls on loan at National One clubs, who must now potentially adhere to two different law-books in training and games.
“Why did the RFU need to rush it through for National One downwards before the Premiership and the Championship go down the same route?” Reynolds added. “Not to bring it in across the board is crazy.
“Are we going to say that you can’t let pro loanees go into National One? The council were almost bullied into voting it in. The real tackle height problem – and you see it every week – is in the Premiership. Some struggling community clubs with limited numbers will find a lot of players will give the game up. It’s an absolutely appalling decision by some people on the RFU payroll and on the council.”
Reynolds also fears that a lack of support for ambitious community-based clubs such as Rams could precipitate a further decline in rugby participation in state schools. “It’s those clubs that are really giving state school players the chance to play. I don’t think this has been thought through at all. There are a lot of issues that haven’t been considered.”
