Is Dual-Registration all good for the Championship?

Talking Rugby Union contributor Arun Watkins focuses on dual-registration in the second tier of English rugby.

Following a recent announcement by the RFU, the number of dual-registered players in Level 2 match day squads has been increased. This change will allow a Level 2 side to select up to 10 England Academy Players. 

Firstly, let’s deal with the facts. Up until last season, four players were allowed to be dual registered, however this year up to 10 players may be selected in the matchday squads of clubs in the Championship.

According to Nigel Melville, Director of Professional Rugby at the RFU: “There’s a large pool of young players in academies who are getting great coaching, strength and conditioning but they are not getting enough competition. We are freeing up the movement to allow our young players to be put into environments where they can play on a regular basis and increase the level of competition time they get. It’s about giving them opportunity.”

In principal, I am completely in favour of dual registration, but in the interests of balance, let’s consider the positive and challenging aspects of dual registration.

Dual Registration is good for Championship:

Undoubtedly, the positive benefits of giving academy players a theatre to express themselves is a huge massive plus point.

-          Players available for clubs, so they do not have to employ so many players and this would lead to less club expenditure and less financial insecurity.

-          Players who aren’t yet able to make in the Premiership squads would be able to gain vital experience in Level 2 and there may be a chance for clubs to gain a better quality of player, for no cost in a dual-registration deal.

However Dual-Registration does present some challenges for the Championship. Some considerations that I would make include:

-          It limits the opportunity for more professional rugby players, as less players will be signed up to Championship squad because there would be less dual-registered players available. This leads to less chance of a youngster making it through a Championship club, but also the employment opportunities available to player’s decreases. In turn, this could lead to the division’s officials contradicting themselves as one of the reasons for creating professional league, is to allow for more opportunity for players to play full-time - A factor that would be minimised in scale if the inclusion of dual-registered players would be increased.

-          It could affect the quality of the league too as players will be young, and only still in the Premiership senior academies. The quality of the players isn’t guaranteed to be of a good standard if they want to be of the standard needed to replace an experienced Championship player.

-          Clubs stop being clubs in some respects. Rugby clubs that are individually competing in a fully-professional league would stop being individual clubs and more in the shape of 2^nd XV or development side of the club’s who’s dual-registered players there using.

In conclusion, I believe in the development opportunity for dual registered players in a manageable / non-diluting quantity where clubs have one or two dual registered players, but don’t create the squad around them. This way, the use of the dual-registered player system works for its use as players gain some experience at clubs and clubs can supplement injuries with these replacement players. Hopefully, this would not have to compromise too much on quality. In this respect, dual-registration could be a good thing.

However, when clubs abuse the system and the contracted player to dual registered player ratio becomes even or in support of the dual-reg players, the system and order of dual-registration becomes dangerous to both the clubs and also the league as the clubs become Premiership 2^nd teams, AKA ‘Feeder Clubs’ and the Championship becomes a Premiership trial league. Also, players may not guarantee quality as they are free and on offer from Premiership sides.

Like all new indicatives, let’s work with it and see how it progresses over time. It could be that we see the positives without the challenges espoused causing too much of an issue.