England’s leading rugby clubs "are proposing a radical plan to expand the Premiership" for the start of the '16-17 season and then scrap promotion and relegation -- "which would be the biggest overhaul of club rugby since the game went professional," according to Gavin Mairs of the London TELEGRAPH. It "is understood that the proposal is to increase the top flight from 12 to 14 teams by a meritocratic process before dispensing with promotion and relegation, which have been a bedrock of English rugby since leagues were introduced in 1987." The fine details of how the new league structure would come into existence and how the new fixture schedules might work "have yet to be ironed out." But "it is understood that the concept has the support of the majority of the Premiership clubs following a meeting of owners and shareholders on Monday." The full support of the 14 clubs who own Premiership shares "would be required before the plan could be agreed as policy." It "would then have to be put before the Rugby Football Union for approval." A club source said, "There is real momentum behind this. This can be a watershed moment for the professional game" (TELEGRAPH, 2/26). In London, Mairs wrote in a separate piece England coach Stuart Lancaster said that "he expects to be consulted over the radical proposals to ring-fence the Premiership from 2016." He warned that "any changes to the league structure could have implications for the national squad beyond the next two World Cups." The plan’s supporters are "keen for it to form a central plank" of the negotiations with the Rugby Football Union that are under way over the next long-term "heads of agreement" with the clubs over the release of England players (TELEGRAPH, 2/27). In London, John Westerby wrote "there was frustration and resentment among clubs in the second tier of English rugby" that have been "left in the dark over radical plans" to remove automatic promotion to the Aviva Premiership. Clubs in the Championship "are awaiting details of the plans hatched by Premiership clubs to tighten entry criteria to the top league and abandon relegation from the 2016-17 season." A club chairman said, "We are all aware of the arrogance of Premiership Rugby. This topic never comes as a surprise, but they seem determined to keep their cards close to their chests this time." Cornish Pirates Chair Ian Connell believes that Championship clubs "should be included in any discussions regarding promotion and relegation at the earliest opportunity." Championship Chair Geoff Irvine emphasized that Premiership clubs "would still have to satisfy the game’s governing body of their motives." Irvine: "They’ve still got to get it past the RFU and in particular the RFU Council, which may be a problem" (LONDON TIMES, 2/28).
