Should elite rugby be ring-fenced?
Should elite rugby be ring-fenced?
©Press Association
What a great piece of rugby writing in the Daily Telegraph today; with the focus on the negotiations between Aviva Premiership and the RFU that could lead to a 14 team league.
The shock to many is the concept of no relegation. Some think this may take a temporary form others are not so sure.
Our feature writer Alex Shaw posted an article as the debate about The Daily Telegraph article was creating fierce debate on Twitter.
Here are a few of the posts from well-known figures in the game:
This got us thinking about the impact on other leagues including the Greene King IPA Championship, National 1 and National 2 plus BUCS University Rugby.
Earlier this season we were hugely impressed as Martin Haag assembled a Championship XV to compete against the Canadian national side. The result was a win for the Championship.
We know that the England Saxons have until recently competed in the Churchill Cup with Canada as an opponent; so we asked our correspondents Alex Shaw and Steve Smith to select a Saxons and Championship side. Here’s who they picked; but who would win?
| England Saxons |
|
Championship XV |
| Alex Corbisiero |
Northampton |
1 |
Gaston Cortes |
Bristol |
| Luke Cowan-Dickie |
Exeter |
2 |
Max Crumpton |
Bristol |
| Jake Cooper-Woolley |
Wasps |
3 |
Campese Ma'afu |
Nottingham |
| Maro Itojie |
Saracens |
4 |
Matt Cox |
Worcester |
| Graham Kitchener |
Leicester |
5 |
Sam Betty |
Worcester |
| Dave Ewers |
Exeter |
6 |
Brent Wilson |
Nottingham |
| Luke Wallace |
Harlequins |
7 |
Chris Brightwell |
Moseley |
| Jack Clifford |
Harlequins |
8 |
Mark Bright |
London Scottish |
| Joe Simpson |
Wasps |
9 |
Dwayne Peel |
Bristol |
| Henry Slade |
Exeter |
10 |
Douglas Flockhart |
Doncaster |
| Marland Yarde |
Harlequins |
11 |
Tom Biggs |
Worcester |
| Kyle Eastmond |
Bath |
12 |
PJ Gidlow |
London Scottish |
| Elliot Daly |
Wasps |
13 |
Andy Symons |
Worcester |
| Christian Wade |
Wasps |
14 |
Sam Smith |
Worcester |
| Mike Haley |
Sale |
15 |
Chris Pennell |
Worcester |
Tonight at Fylde Rugby, England Counties take on Scotland and the team is full of National 1, 2 and 3 players.
So we asked Steve Smith and Chris Heal to select us a National 1 team to play against a National 2 team. These are the two teams but who would win?
| National League 1 XV |
|
National League 2 XV |
| Jamie Kilbane |
Ealing |
1 |
Max Ashcroft |
Sedgley Park |
| Alan Walker |
Ealing |
2 |
John Gatford |
Taunton |
| James Cleverly |
|
3 |
Sean Olayanju |
Dorking |
| Llewellyn Jones |
Ealing |
4 |
Joe Makin |
Hull Ionians |
| Chris Wearmouth |
Blaydon |
5 |
Charlie McGowan |
Worthing |
| Dan Thomas |
Hartpury College |
6 |
Oskar Hirskyi Douglas |
Henley |
| David Allen |
Blackheath |
7 |
Lawrence Cowem |
Hull Ionians |
| Hugo Ellis |
Rosslyn Park |
8 |
David Ford |
Chester |
| Alex Walker |
Ealing |
9 |
Isaac Green |
Hull Ionians |
| Gareth Thompson |
Hartpury College |
10 |
Joe Tanner |
Ampthill |
| Oli Brennand |
Fylde |
11 |
Harry Hudson |
Otley |
| Chris Briers |
Fylde |
12 |
Nick Hankin |
Bishops Stortford |
| Robert Knox |
Coventry |
13 |
Tom Allen |
Henley |
| Philip Chesters |
Ealing |
14 |
Joe Berics |
Ampthill |
| Cliffie Hodgson |
Coventry |
15 |
Matt McClean |
Worthing |
