Stuart Barnes looks at why relegation and promotion are vital for growth and development
Monday 22 December 2014 16:17, UK
In his final column of 2014, Stuart Barnes looks at why relegation and promotion are vital for growth and development.
It may have been the last Saturday before Christmas but even so the crowds were a worry. Not at Northampton where, as ever, the Gardens were packed for their mini-epic of a victory against Leicester, but Sale.
Sale’s attendance is as big a worry for the northern team (or it should be) as London Welsh’s woeful capitulation yet again. 1,800 and a few spectators – Friday night before Christmas or not – is pathetic. The crowd for Saracens in the European Cup looked woeful and gave a real 'so what is the big deal about Europe?’ vibe to any sports fans tuning into a tournament much beloved by so many of us. Sale will not survive unless the crowds improve. Players will not want to play home games in front of empty and atmosphere-free stadiums.
The north of England remains a worry that the RFU/clubs have yet to address in the professional game. Sale are relatively recent champions. You wouldn’t believe it judged by the apathy, worsened by the fact they are having a decent season in terms of results and quality of performance. With Danny Cipriani in their ranks the claim of southern bias (which has long been a well-grounded gripe) from the media does not ring true. Yet still fans don’t come for a good old fashioned Cipriani v Owen Farrell tabloid tussle.
Newcastle are not packing them in. The first champions of the new age are tootling along, safe from relegation and miles from contention for Europe. The team are playing some decent stuff but without a core of passion as you see in Northampton, Leicester and the like, what’s the appeal when nothing is at stake?
The clubs should remember that the next time they target an end to promotion and relegation – and that will come. Once Worcester and Bristol – clubs with more appeal and perceived potential – are promoted the trap door will be slammed shut if a few clubs have their way. Without promotion/relegation Exeter would not be where they are and who knows where the next Exeter are? 10 years down the line the greatest of all English club stories could be written. I want that club to have the chance to write it.
Salary cap concerns
The worry is linked to the argument over the salary cap. If Saracens have their way the big guns will get even bigger and the struggling clubs will survive only with the sop of no relegation. It appears a world where English clubs can compete with the French but in reality it is a world where the rich will get richer and the poor get poorer.
The implications are great for the English clubs, who are not the united voice some claim. It would also threaten the southern hemisphere and the Celtic game. Unfettered rugby markets are a potential disaster for the game; an advertisement for selfishness.
Although the narrow-minded do not realise it, England need Wales and Ireland. No salary cap (in Wales and Scotland) strips these countries of their best players and ravages the game. There must be some form of global regulation for the breadth of the sport, against the avariciousness of the few.
Ospreys played some superb rugby against Ulster but the crowd was a disappointment as it so often is. Welsh rugby has never recovered from the regionalisation of a great club game. Asset-stripping will only hurt Wales even more. To rely completely on the national team is to risk the demise of the sport in a great rugby country.
Regulation is the sort of word that gets people a 12-week ban from the world in certain quarters but without it rugby could find itself one day in the same sort of hole financiers left the world not so long ago. The IRB has been rebranded as World Rugby. It is not brand awareness it needs, but strong management.
For 2015, in World Cup year, the body responsible for running the game should show more sympathy and support for clubs than it traditionally has but in tandem with bodies like the RFU it needs to utilise all the positives that a World Cup brings for the good of the game in general and not just the few.
On that note, may I say Merry Christmas to you all. Next stop is Ospreys versus the Scarlets. A full house would be a lovely present for all rugby fans in Wales and beyond.
Stuart answers your emails...
Got a question for Stuart? Email him at skysportsclub@bskyb.com, Tweet @SkySportsRugby #askskyrugby or use the feedback form on skysports.com.
Hi Stuart, what did you make of Dylan Hartley's latest red-card and will it have any effect on his England career? Mark Lukes
STUART REPLIES: Mark, I was more concerned with the fact the referee did not take responsibility for the decision than the incident which was not pretty but nor was it a red card. It was a derby day skirmish....SL should discard it, these things DO happen and while work clearly needs doing on DH's temperament he has an edge and the expertise England need.
Stuart, I read with interest Stephen Jones' column about reffing the game and that the newly-branded World Rugby will start to crack down on things like crooked feeds in the scrum and entering rucks and mauls. About time too! My personal bugbear is players rucking beyond the ball, seeing that the opposition have fanned out, and then reaching back into the ruck to pick up the ball and then running through unopposed. Once the player is beyond the ball he is part of the ruck, and so any touching of the ball is technically hands in the ruck. It's never penalised though, and happens about once a week somewhere in the pro leagues around the planet. What are your bugbears and do you see World Rugby being able to stamp their authority regarding these rules? Mathew Smit
STUART REPLIES: World rugby/IRB has been more problem than solution in recent years....as for my bugbears, Steve and I chat a lot and when it comes to referees we have pretty similar viewpoints so for those who haven't read Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times, go online, there's an interesting piece on the Delon Armitage case too!
Do you think Richard Cockerill is under pressure? The Tigers have no excuses for not winning that game. A numerical advantage for 63 minutes - barring Tom Croft's 10 minutes in the sin-bin - did not result in a much-needed victory on the road as again their away form is a concern. They are now seventh in the table going into the Christmas period with a Boxing Day trip to Sale Sharks their next assignment - can he afford to lose this game? Bradley Reuvers
STUART REPLIES: Bradley, The Leicester DOR is always under pressure! Expectations are high. Leicester will be smarting to lose against 14 men but the real worry is the lack of improvement in the Tigers' game. The back play has gone backwards and tactical nous is not what it should be. In terms of points and quality of players Leicester are still in a position to challenge but if they cannot improve performance the pressure will mount. Leicester, even with injuries taken into account, have regressed from last season. That is more significant to me than league position.
