RFU Continue to Slash Funding for clubs

[vim_fuego]

The future of the second-tier Championship has been thrown into doubt after the Rugby Football Union slashed funding to its clubs.

Money has been cut from about £534,000 to a 2015-level £288,000 per club.

This is after all clubs from Level 6 upwards at the start of this season had their travel funding reduced and the RFU Grand Draw (a huge opportunity for the smaller clubs to raise funds) was withdrawn.

This is a sport where at the highest echelons we reached the World Cup final and where a cheap seat for a 6 nations fixture this year is around £90. The Championship is where many top level players cut their teeth and a great proving ground for young players coming up the ranks and older ones to play in to recover from injury before going back to the top level...What the actual Feck is the RFU thinking?

RFU to slash funding for Championship

The future of the second-tier Championship is thrown into doubt after the Rugby Football Union slashes funding to its clubs.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Tin basher]

Their thought processes bring that Will Carling quote to mind.

 

[Norman the Storeman]

RFU moving to regionalise second-tier rugby as WRFU did? Hope not.

 

[Gonterseed]

RFU moving to regionalise second-tier rugby as WRFU did? Hope not.

Along with their wisdom on the professionalisation of the sport, that has an almost equal standing. I thought all those fcukwits had died or left the higher echelons of the WRFU

 

[muttywhitedog]

I don't know much about RU, but from what I can gather there is an enormous disparity in terms of income between international RU and club, and just as much between top flight RU and 2nd tier. I had a look at the levels of support for 2nd tier. Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues - 1635, London Scottish v Bedford Blues - 906, Coventry v Bedford - 2106, Yorks Carnegie v Bedford - 750, Nottingham v Bedford - 1055, Newcastle Falcons v Ampthill - 4906.

Newcastle were relegated from the top flight and are running away with the 2nd division, and even they cant attract 5000 regulars - I'll guess their expenditure dwarfs many of the other teams. I'll also guess that they may be the only fully professional outfit in that division.

I would suggest that the almost-halving in RFU grants will be a killer blow for most of the clubs in that division, who are existing solely because of the hand-out.