Saq
This weekend saw the respective returns of the Top 14 in France and the NFL in America as well as level 3 of what is known as “community” rugby union in England.
Together, these events have raised questions about the future of a 10-team Premiership and how the competition must be very powerful – and blessed with a stroke of luck – to command attention.
To be as clear as possible, the Premiership spoiled us last season with a gloriously chaotic and highly competitive campaign. Northampton Saints were worthy champions and the subplots were numerous.
One of them, which will extend into this season, is the overhaul of the Saracens squad. The man overseeing the project is Mark McCall, who shared his thoughts with the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast in May ahead of the 2023-24 semi-finals.
Asked whether he would prefer a 10-team league, McCall paused. While he is aware of the benefits of the new format (greater availability of Test stars, concentration of talent and other aspects), he believes that “time will tell”.
Such comments came to mind this weekend, as the Top 14 was relaunched and the Premier League, with four fewer clubs, was put into perspective. Even across the Channel, it felt like a momentous occasion.
This is partly due to summer migration. You could pick a decent team made up of (mostly) England-qualified players who would have started in the first round of the Top 14. Here’s my attempt:
15 Joe Simmonds (Pau)
14 Henry Arundell (Racing 92)
13 Joe Marchant (Stade Français)
12 Sam James (Racing 92)
11 Ali Crossdale (Perpignan)
10 Owen Farrell (Racing 92)
9 Dan Robson (Pau)
1 Mako Vunipola (Vannes)
2 Sam Matavesi (Lyon)*
3 Will Collier (Castres)
4 David Ribbans (Toulon)
5 Junior Kpoku (Racing 92)
6 Lewis Ludlam (Toulon)
7 Jack Willis (Toulouse)
8 Billy Vunipola (Montpellier)
There is an obvious problem at hooker. Curtis Langdon swapped Montpellier for the Saints a year ago and Luke Cowan-Dickie’s move to France fell through. That’s why I’ve chosen Matavesi, the Truro-born Fijian international.
Kpoku, a world champion with England U20s, also wore the six shirt on Saturday and Joe Simmonds was a fly-half rather than a full-back for Pau against Clermont. Otherwise, it’s a legitimate exercise. There were even some amusingly familiar selection dilemmas.
I opted for a set-piece specialist over Kyle Sinckler, who indicated his intention to progress to the scrum during his time at Toulon. Manu Tuilagi, now at Bayonne, is injured, which leaves a rather thin midfield. Incidentally, it is strange that Billy Vunipola and Sam Simmonds are once again competing for the same position, this time at Montpellier.
In reality, only six of the above line-up – Arundell, Marchant, Farrell, Collier, Ribbans and Willis – could have competed for a place on Steve Borthwick’s tour this summer. But the scale of this exodus has become worrying.
There are also Courtney Lawes and Jonny May, two members of the England team that faced South Africa in the World Cup semi-finals last year, in Pro D2, with Brive and Angouleme respectively. Cynics will point out that the combined age of these two players is 69. Yet there seems to be a tangible awareness of the French landscape.
Premier Sports is showing up to four Top 14 games every weekend this season. British newspapers including The Telegraphsent reporters to Castres for Farrell’s Racing 92 debut. There was also coverage of newly promoted Vannes, who despite losing to defending champions Toulouse, saw their first Top 14 try scored by Mako Vunipola.
The intrigue is not just about exiled English stars. The diversity and depth of the French club scene has an undeniable appeal. By contrast, financial fragility has led to a contraction in the Premier League. Now it is cautiously consolidating. One source cited Lyon scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud’s six-year deal as something that would not happen in England at the moment due to constant changes to salary cap rules and the competition’s infrastructure.
To announce the new NFL season, which started last Thursday, Sky Sports aired adverts for its three live games every Sunday. My senses were stimulated by this frenzy Receiverthe Netflix documentary that mixes behind-the-scenes footage with nuggets of technical information. American football represents a rival for attention and attention away from rugby.
The 2024-25 Premiership campaign begins next Friday, with Bath hosting Northampton on the opening night, a repeat of June’s final. Having strengthened their squad and retained several big names, they should make a strong bid for the title, provided Finn Russell remains fit. Saints and Sale Sharks look best equipped to stop them at this stage, with Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs, Saracens and Harlequins all vying for a place in the chasing pack.
In truth, the ceiling should sort itself out. I hope next season the floor will rise. Steve Diamond is aiming to revive Newcastle Falcons with five or six wins. Gloucester have brought in new halves, Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe, to try to get back on track. Leicester Tigers finished eighth last season. Michael Cheika can propel a talented team into the top four.
But the most important thing is not to get left behind by the other teams, because English rugby union can certainly produce more than ten teams capable of surviving in the top flight. On the face of it, promotion from the Championship is a more realistic prospect thanks to adjusted minimum criteria that allow a team to move from a 5,000-seater stadium to a target of 10,000 over four seasons.
When the Professional Gaming Partnership (PGP) deal was announced last week, executives acknowledged the importance of a strong second tier. However, they stressed that the gap was still “massive” in terms of commercial clout. Despite numerous meetings over the past 18 months, questions remain over the promotion mechanisms. Will a team need planning permission for the entire 10,000 seats, for example?
There is also debate over parachute payments for teams that drop down. A league salary cap has been proposed to mitigate the risk of clubs yo-yoing. This proposal has met with some resistance.
Another personal wish would be that whoever finishes top of the Championship – Ealing Trailfinders, Coventry, Doncaster Knights or another contender – has a chance of making the two-legged play-offs. Ealing beat Bath without Russell in a pre-season friendly on Saturday and will be optimistic. A high-stakes penalty shootout will certainly add to the suspense while widening the Premiership’s scope beyond 10 ringside teams.
Think of Shane Drahm’s predicament in 2005, when the Northampton fly-half could have condemned Worcester, the team he joined the following summer, to relegation on the final day. Remember Guy Thompson’s phenomenal performance to beat Newcastle and inspire Leicester to survival in 2019? Those stories were gripping.
On Saturday in Hampshire, Havant scored their first fourth division win since 2009 by beating Sevenoaks 25-15. Rotherham, back in National 1, beat Rosslyn Park. While not comparable to France, the sport’s footprint in this country is remarkable.
Last May, McCall suggested that the Premiership might need to expand again, which would have obvious benefits: providing more playing opportunities, varying the fixture schedule, attracting broadcasters and plugging holes in the calendar that are tricky for cash flow. On top of all that, it seems ridiculous that eight clubs qualify for the Champions Cup.
Last season it was fortunate that the play-off race retained an element of risk until matchday 18. Compared to the Top 14, a 10-team Premiership requires compelling chaos on the pitch and astute marketing off it to compensate for its reduced size.
Saq
