Not necessarily I think, plan's etc could considered I believe!
Play-off between Premiership's worst and
Championship's best unlikely to take place
Charlie Morgan The Telegraph
The prospect of promotion and relegation between the Premiership and the Championship is hanging by a thread with Doncaster Knights expected to be the only side eligible for a play-off this season.
In theory, the winners of the Championship will face the bottom side in the Premiership in a battle for the final spot in the top flight at the end of the campaign.
Over the summer there had been renewed hope of movement between the divisions with Championship teams granted a 'runway' to develop their stadia to the required capacity of 10,001 by January 2028.
However, in light of criteria published last week, planning permission is proving to be a significant obstacle to the 'runway', provoking fury from the Championship with insiders branding the situation a de facto continuation of ring-fencing despite Newcastle Falcons' ongoing struggles.
Newcastle have finished bottom of the Premiership in the past two completed seasons and suffered a fourth Premiership loss of the current campaign to Sale Sharks on Friday night, their 25th successive league defeat. Steve Diamond, their director of rugby, recently said he vehemently supported promotion and relegation.
January deadline 'too tight' to submit plans
Championship clubs must outline detailed proposals for life in the Premiership on the date of the first audit, January 25 of next year, but believe this to be impossible because of too many variables and additional costs. As one source put it: "The runway might be there, but
the club cannot get on it because the engines have been taken out of their
planes."
The minimum-standards criteria (MSC) require "a fully costed plan with key performance dates on a phase-by-phase basis to achieve a total licensed capacity of at least 10,001 by the start of such club's fourth season in the Premiership".
Should they not satisfy the professional rugby board (PRB) over any aspect of this plan, a promoted club would risk being relegated back to the Championship at the end of the season in question.
Were a club to win the Championship this season and then be promoted via a home-and-away play-off against the bottom-placed club in the Premiership, their plan would be scrutinised at various checkpoints over the ensuing four seasons. Theoretically, a team can go up with a ground that holds 5,000, as long as they progress to 7,500 for their second season and then reach 10,001.
There is also anger at the manner in which the Premiership MSC was passed through. It is understood that the tier-two board had not seen the document and had challenges to make.
Championship clubs had hoped to agree a more lenient approach to planning permission. They also wanted to address the issue of bridge funding, believing that parachute payments to any relegated Premiership team would cause an inevitable yo-yo effect, while the promoted Championship side would not receive enough money to become competitive in the top tier.
However, the Premiership MSC is thought to have been ratified by the new PRB - which comprises three representatives from the Rugby Football Union, three from Premiership Rugby and one from the Rugby Players' Association -- before the Championship's newly established board had appointed an independent chairman.
The MSC was announced on Wednesday, with the Championship clubs holding a meeting the following day.
"It was a bitter pill to swallow, that document," admitted Nick Johnston, the chief executive of Coventry RFC and a member of the tier-two board that is preparing for an expanded 14-team Championship in 2025-26.
'Dismissive nature of our league is frustrating'
Coventry are top of the Championship, with four bonus-point victories
from their four opening games. They have just paid £600,000 for planning permission on improvements to Butts Park Arena, their home ground.
This could see a hotel and an assisted-living centre added to the site, with the redevelopment of a stand giving them scope to pass the Premiership's
10,001-capacity threshold. Though they are 22 months into this process, producing a fully costed plan by the end of January would not be viable.
Championship clubs would be able to pass the Premiership MSC by sharing a ground, but this option is likely to incur further costs and would mitigate their match-day revenue.
"If it's really about sustainability, surely it would be better for money to be spent on funding a squad and infrastructure than empty seats?" said Johnston.
''The Championship clubs have been working their socks off, pivoting and being agile with Covid and other challenges. The dismissive nature of our league is the frustrating bit."
Doncaster were the only team eligible to go up at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, but ended in fifth place. Ealing Trailfinders finishing top meant that no Championship team was promoted for the third consecutive season.
Having acquired high-profile signings such as Semesa Rokoduguni and Telusa Veainu ahead of the season, Doncaster were beaten 30-14 by Nottingham at the end of September and, despite a dramatic 36-35 triumph over Ealing last weekend, went down 12-0 to London Scottish on Saturday. They are currently down in ninth.