Kassam Stadium: Blocked by the RFU
This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with farewells and some damn fine rugby. But also some more RFU idiocy. Plus ça change...
Leave aside politics. Pay no heed to laws and law interpretations. Cast no thought to promotion or regulations or how to fit six teams into five. Just look back inside the 700 sq.m of grass in 12 different world cities this past weekend and enjoy what unfolds.
There were 12 top flight rugby matches this past weekend, including Europe's finals and play-offs, and the seven Super Rugby matches. In total, there were 67 tries - that's an average of five and a half tries a game - and an uncountable number of other moments of magic that could have led to more were it not for well-organised defence.
Yellow cards were scant, as were streams of penalties for negative play or faceless kicking contests. It could be that internationals are coming up and players are up to impress just that tiny bit more, or just perhaps that teams are hitting their straps at the business end of the season after all their hard work, but either way, the rugby on display all over the world this weekend was of the highest quality, with big attendances and many teams under immense pressures of victory. If you can peer through the smoke around it, rugby as a pure sport is in terrific shape.
Unfortunately, that smoke has become a little thicker and more cloying this week. London Welsh are furious that they cannot get promotion to the Aviva Premiership on the grounds of their apparent lack of primacy of tenure, a fury that manifested itself on the pitch last week against Cornish Pirates as well as off it.
The Exiles are to appeal the ruling, claiming a double standard applies to their arrangement with the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, given that it is said to be the same arrangement Wasps have with Wycombe, not to mention the agreements enabling Saracens, Sale and London Irish to use soccer stadia.
"Given the fact that we have a legally-binding agreement to use a top-notch stadium and that other clubs appear to be allowed to groundshare with other Football Association clubs, to my mind I would think it highly inequitable, unreasonable and unfair if we are told that we can't go up," said Exiles' Chairman Bleddyn Phillips.
The Pirates' hierarchy emerged as one of the loudest voices behind the Exiles' push (despite the fact Pirates could still scupper their chances on Wednesday night), with long-term backer Dicky Evans insisting the RFU was being unrealistic in what it wanted lower clubs to achieve. The Pirates have also been embroiled in conflict with the RFU over Premiership entry criteria, complicated by a setback in their search for a new local home.
"They've got to change the rules. Primacy of tenure has got to go. You've got to allow clubs like ourselves or London Welsh to play for two or three years at their own ground while they get a stadium together. It should be the same for Wasps and everybody else. At the moment it's not a level playing field.
"They're saying they have to protect clubs who have invested a lot of money. Well, I've invested £10m in this club in the last 20 years. I just can't believe you can allow a situation to develop where you ringfence something that is untenable...I've produced a rugby team but I can't produce a stadium as well. You can't do it all."
The RFU's silence since their verdict on London Welsh's application has been predictably deafening, hardly surprising when you consider the abject lack of tact present in delivering the negative verdict mere hours before the team took to the field for the first leg of the play-off final.
The groundswell of public support lies with the Exiles. Three QCs have offered free services to the club, the matter has been brought before Parliament, and the appeal, which must be lodged before next Wednesday, could drag on and on - something which will affect both the Welsh and Newcastle's recruitment and preparations for the new season.
All of which could have been avoided by some sensible deadline scheduling and thinking by the RFU. Oh wait.... hahahahahahaha....
Gloucester was saddened on Monday by the sad news of the passing of Rugby Operations Manager John Brain.
Brain, a Gloucester man through and through who also coached at Bristol and Worcester before returning to Gloucester where he made over 300 appearances as a player, died in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A club statement said: "Everyone at Gloucester is deeply saddened by the news today that rugby operations manager John Brain passed away on Sunday morning.
"John was a true Gloucester Rugby stalwart, representing his home town club with distinction for the vast majority of his rugby playing career. His passing has come as desperately sad news for everyone at the club and our thoughts are with his wife and daughters at this difficult time."
Shane Williams has finally completed the transition from modern great to past rugby legend, signing off in dream fashion with the title-winning try for the Ospreys on Sunday.
Everyone, everywhere in the world will miss the step, the acceleration and the enthusiasm Williams brought to the game. He may end up being the last of the great small and nippy wingers, but who'd bet against his being the best of them all?
Loose Pass compiled by Richard Anderson
Comments
Frank81 says...
@Waz4before - "how long before a famous club goes the way of Rangers, Portsmouth et al?"
It's already happened (just after the advent of professionalism), London Scottish & Richmond are still rebuilding. Not nice for anyone involved.
Couldn't the RFU insist that any side being promoted has to meet the criteria of the smallest ground currently in the premiership? Not hard to get a larger ground than we have at Bath! I don't like the current vogue of moving away from your roots just to take advantage of a stadium. Just need to look at the gates for Irish, Wasps and Saracens (their Wembley jamboree excepted) to show the potential folly in such a move.
Posted 16:33 31st May 2012
kybone says...
Waz4before i buy your argument but all i want to see is a fair chance for the unestablished clubs to make it to the big time. I agree that a move to Oxford does leave a slightly bitter taste in the mouth, but the fact is that they are being forced in to this move by the ridiculas rules put in place by the RFU. If the issue is about staium size then my argument is simply this- would the RFU rather have Leeds with their 19,000 capacity stadium with 4,000 fans sat in it, or would they rather have London Welsh, Cornish Pirates, Bedford etc. with 5,000/7,000 capacity stadium and near sell out crowds every week. I too would prefer all Prem clubs to play in great stadiums because it looks good for the game. But what doesn't look good is when you see clubs playing to empty stadiums, which is what could happen if the RFU demand that all newly promoted clubs have 10,000+ seater stadiums. Even Newcastle as an established Prem club can't get anywhere near filling their 10,000 seat stadium. It just makes more sense to relax the rule and allow LW to play in the Prem and at Old deer park.
Posted 15:54 31st May 2012
Celtictenor says...
@Waz4before. All the arguments you rightly use can/must again apply to Wasps and the Irish, both of whom moved to their present homes in Wycombe and Reading long after their accession to the Premiership. Both those towns, Wycombe and Reading, had league ambitions; both featured in the professional league structure in its early days, much more prominently than Oxford ever have, but it is doubtful if either club were considered or consulted when the big guns moved into their towns.
You are, of course, perfectly right to use the word "mercenary"; it goes necessarily hand-in-hand with professionalism. As a long-standing, if distant, London Welsh supporter, I am not so much disgusted with the possible move, rather more disappointed, but recognize the commercial necessity.
But when all is said and done, all that is being asked is that the rules on this matter (rather like the rules on tip-tackling !) should be applied fairly and consistently to all.
I appreciate and sympathize with your covert wish to blame RA for it all; perhaps it is the Newcastle connection ??
Posted 13:56 30th May 2012
melkdave says...
Lets not forget that even if the will is there to improve /develope or build new stadiums .You have to get planning permission Wasps off field problems have come about because the local council wont allow them to develope Adams Park.the owner wanted to ect so they could become a really viable club ,only for the council to say no,hence he now wants to sell because he doesnt wont to be funding them forever.Building or improving stadia is full of pitfalls even if the money and will is there ..Perhaps the time has come for the RFU to start offering loans to championship clubs so they can do improvments over 2-5 yrs ,and be ready when /if they get promotion .But then they arnt a bank are they
Posted 13:13 30th May 2012
Waz4before says...
@ Celtictenor - I can see your point. While I have some sympathy for their plight I really strugle with the concept of upping sticks and abandoning London altogether, if that was their long- term plan they could have/should have moved a year ago and then there would be no argument. As I read it they won't move to Oxford unless they're allowed in to the Premiership - why not, is it part of their plans or not? All seems very mercenary to me and if I was a long standing London Welsh member I'd be pretty disgusted at this move and as I say, what are Oxford RFC supposed to make of this?
APV1 - yes that it is areal problem but of course the egg came first is the answer (so I'm told by my PhD friend). Soccer (for once) has it right, their rules on ground criteria is quiet clear - you meet stadium eligibility criteria first and spend on players second - otherwise no one would spend on stadium improvements. LW had the choice to move last year or develop. Again, I'm not unsympathetic here but if you look at the progress the Premiership has made in 10 years it's now averaging decent crowds, full houses are common and we don't play regularly to a couple of thousand people anymore but Rugby needs bigger stadiums and average crowds at or above 18,000 to be relevant to sponsors and be finacially viable so the gap between top and second tier will only become worse and create more issues like his in the future - of courseNewcastle need a kick up the backside and should be relegated but not if that means being replaced by a club that doesn't know what crowds it Might get a 100 miles from home (less than a thousand maybe unless Bath are in town?)
I also think rugby should also follow soccers lead in financial fair play, money bags owners bankrolling clubs isn't a good model for Rugby to follow - how long before a famous club goes the way of Rangers, Portsmouth et al ....?
Posted 00:05 30th May 2012
pog_mahone says...
Fair play to Shane Williams, he and the Ospreys front row won the Pro12 final and fully deserved. I for one will miss watching him as a neutral where Wales are concerned. I don't know why he is retiring now, I would have thought he had another good year or two but maybe he's being smart and getting out at the top and while he's at full health.
On another note, as an Irish supporter they couldn't even beat an over-40s pub team playing tip this evening. Kiwis you can relax (again) this year unfortunately, maybe we'll put it to you some November instead.
Posted 22:34 29th May 2012
kybone says...
Waz4before the point is not whether London welsh meet entry criteria,because we all know that they don't and this was known at the beginning of the season. The point is that there are clubs currently in the Prem that don't meet the entry criteria. How is this fair? Plus for clubs outside the Prem, the entry criteria are completely unrealistic e.g. the club which i support , Doncaster Knights, spent £4.5M building a new stand on the stadium! A massive amount of money for a club at this level and we're still at least 5,000 seats away from having a stadium acceptable to the RFU for the Prem.
Posted 18:54 29th May 2012
Celtictenor says...
@waz4before You mean , like London (Wycombe) Wasps and London (Reading) Irish ?
Posted 16:24 29th May 2012
APV1 says...
@ Waz4before - I see your point but I think you've got the cart before the horse. Would you, as an owner of a club, spend money on facilities you might never need, or on players who might get you in a position where you do?
That's why I think that they should be given a set time period in which to make the improvements. Use the Oxford ground as an interim measure and move back to your "home" once the improvements have been made.
Another metaphore might be the chicken and egg, I suppose. But we all know that the answer to that is the chicken, so it's probably not as useful.
No. Sorry. The egg, wasn't it?
Chicken!
Egg!
Oh, damn it!
Posted 15:26 29th May 2012
Waz4before says...
looking at this [perhaps] a little more objectively than [maybe] some of the posts here, and I'm not one to let the RFU off the hook either buuuuuut...
(1) A rich owner invests in players but not facilities and the RFu are expected to bend the rules to allow them in?
(2) London Welsh propose to leave LONDON completely and move to Oxford and somehow we're expected to believe this is acceptable or somehow the RFU's fault .. surely Milton Keynes is the established place to go for this type of behavior??
(3) Has anyone asked Oxford RFU whether they have Premiership ambitions and whether they mind the London nomads moving in???
I would have had sympathy for welsh had they have moved to Oxford last August but come on, to expect the RFU to believe they can up sticks, abandon their traditional roots (will they drop the name "London"?) and make it work is a real stretch for me.
so sorry, can't blame the RFU on this one for me - they haven't met the criteria so no, keep them out this year - much as I would love to lay the blame at Rob Andrews feet I just can't this time!!!
Posted 14:51 29th May 2012
olepete says...
Do you think there is just the slightest possibility that the RFU is trying to keep a northern club in the premiership at the expense of another club from London?
Posted 21:08 28th May 2012
APV1 says...
@ lawynd - Hear! Hear! Give them time and, perhaps, an opportunity to apply for a grant or loan from the RFU. Funding is an issue and banks are reluctant, so why not use some of the RFU "profits" and reinvest them? Not just in the lower levels of rugby and encouraging "grass roots"; but helping those at the top provide even better facilities. Just because those in the AP aren't under threat, doesn't mean they should have different rules. What if (and it would NEVER happen!) Bath were relegated? Does that mean we couldn't bounce back next season if we don't improve the Rec?
Posted 16:16 28th May 2012
theGadflY says...
well done Shane Williams.thnx for all da great memories. probably the best winger in da world given his stature. his skills are amazing. hope u'l enjoy ur retirement .but I'm sure fans won't: )
Posted 15:49 28th May 2012
lawynd says...
I can't see the RFU being able to enforce their nonsensical rules in court, given that the following grounds are all inadequate according to their own criteria or are just complete armpits - the Recreation Ground, Adams Park, Kingsholm, Franklin's Gardens and Edgeley Park. I appreciate that Sale will be ground-sharing with Salford City Reds next season and that many of the other clubs are 'exploring possibilities', but why do they get the benefit of the doubt but Championship clubs don't? It's already bad enough that AP revenue is highly skewed towards the top end.
Super League gave clubs who's grounds weren't up to snuff three years (from memory) to sort themselves out, prior to re-tendering for their licenses. I don't see why a similar grace period couldn't be implemented for current and future AP clubs.
Posted 14:04 28th May 2012
melkdave says...
Ive posted my disgust at the RFUs handling of the promotion fiasco elsewhere ,and it does look like they are trying to stop a club thru sheer hypocrisary.As i undrstand it London Welsh have exactly the same tenure agreement as Wasps Sale and Saracens ,if so and they win the final then they should be promoted full stop..To expect a club to build stadia before promotion ect in this day and age is a little far fetched imo,also im sure fans would rather the money was used to build a team able to challange for silverware and titles
Also have to agree the rugby recently has been top class amazing the transformation that happens in the NH when the sun finally shines and the pitches firm up
And finally what can you sy about S.Williams ,a fantastic skillfull runner who lite up many a match .a real legend who will be remembered with the likes of Lomu -S.Edwards B.John ect and not just by welsh fans either.Also a humble man who never let his ego come before the team or country (youngsters take note please).A player who had to prove his worth like N.Back and that skill and ability matter more than size.That he will be missed goes without saying as players of his calibre come along all to infrequently im afraid
Posted 11:50 28th May 2012
APV1 says...
It's always sad news when a "rugby man" passes away and the news regarding John Brain is no different.
It's a bit sad that Shane Williams has retired too, but let's celebrate his career and hope he isn't one of the last "great small and nippy wingers"...
The RFU hasn't changed much since the new set of suits moved in, has it? Never mind Manu Samoa and SA, here's where it's really at. On one hand you've got the AP Final, the Baa-Baas match and the upcoming tour. On the other you have this. It's been said time and again, promotion should be about skill and success, not facilities. Do you think the fans mind that they're in the old stadium to watch their team? Of course not. Could the club be given an ultimatum to make the improvements in a certain timespan? Of course they could. Is the RFU still as incompetent as ever? I'll let you be the judge.
Posted 11:38 28th May 2012