Radical Semi-Pro League - is this a more sustainable financial model
Following on from Lewis Hughes’ look at semi pro rugby union and his challenge to debate this burning rugby issue, we offer this structure for rugby fans to consider and debate.
It is more relevant this week with the sad news for London Welsh. The announcement from the RFU was blunt and harsh.
Responses from the club and officials point to disappointment at the way the announcement was handled. For the players, full time employees, this will have been devastating and points to the requirement for adequate resource to professionally “look after” employees, their welfare and employment rights.
In offering these ideas for debate, we recognise that ambitious, well run and well-funded clubs will be offended by the ideas, nonetheless, a debate is required and here’s our ideas.
We are calling it England Rugby Elite Conference:
Assumption 1 – Yorkshire Carnegie and London Irish join Premiership; no 2017 relegation
Assumption 2 – each club can have a maximum of 2 loan players per match day squad plus a maximum of 2 Premiership academy players per match day squad
Assumption 3 – salary cap in year 1 of £250,000 on players for Conference League Season. Player/coaches salaried for playing at rate of highest paid player. England Qualified players have salary discount of 20%. Salary cap increases annually by £100,000.
Assumption 4 – two additional teams added to make pool of 60
Assumption 5 – postponements not replayed
Assumption 6 – bottom of conferences play Knockout Cup versus top 4 from current National 3
The 60 teams are in 4 conferences of 15, the 4 conference winners plus 4 runners up go into Conference Cup quarters with winners having home ties. The final being played at Twickenham.
Conference 1
Tynedale
Blaydon
Wharfedale
Otley
Harrogate
Doncaster
Rotherham
Sedgley Park
Preston Grasshoppers
Fylde
Sale FC
Sheffield Tigers
Scunthorpe
Hull Ionians
Darlington MP
Conference 2
Macclesfield
Chester
Caldy
Coventry
Birmingham Moseley
Hinckley
Leicester Lions
South Leicester
Stourbridge
Luctonians
Loughborough Students
Nottingham
Bedford
Ampthill
Cambridge
Conference 3
Cornish Pirates
Redruth
Taunton
Clifton
Hartpury
Barnstable
Exmouth
Worthing
Cinderford
Old Redingensians
Jersey
Plymouth
BSE
Bishops Stortford
Plus 1
Conference 4
Richmond
Barnes
Rosslyn Park
Blackheath
London Welsh
London Scottish
London Irish Wildgeese
Ealing Trailfinders
Esher
Old Albanians
Chinnor
Canterbury
Henley
OE’s
Plus 1
Implications: some ambitious and well-funded clubs like Doncaster and Cornish Pirates would see limitations on salaries and some players would see their contracts downgraded. That would be unfortunate and for the players involved catastrophic. Potentially the RFU would need to put in place a compensation mechanism – not debated in this article but requiring debate.
Implications: this would become the RFU’s very own elite competition and an annual budget for the competition and its teams would need to be allocated. Let’s start the bidding at £15m; potentially £250,000 per team
Implications: after 3 years the salary cap would allow teams to have 25 semi-pro’s able to earn at the average, £20,000 per season.
Implications: TV rights would need to be re-negotiated with Sky as they currently hold rights for GK-IPA Championship. Ideally all knock out games would be covered (7 games) plus a monthly game at a minimum.
Implications: as a semi-pro Elite Conference, this can be considered to be in parallel with Premiership Rugby. It would allow English registered academy players to get competitive game time.
Implications: With 14 Premiership Teams, A-League Rugby could become a under 23’s league and be combined with the RFU/BUCS SuperLeague to form either a 22, 24 or 26 team Monday Night under Lights Competition.
