The Imposition of 12 Team Leagues

Fixtures….Those were the days – Christmas Trees with lights twinkling brightly in the corner of the clubhouse, the warmth of the fire welcoming all, the bar thronged with old friends reminiscing of times past. And a cash register ringing constantly in accompaniment to the festive spirit!

Not this season for LSH, and probably not throughout the remainder of future playing seasons if the RFU has its way in the intended restructuring of the current League formats from 14 to 12 teams.

Twickenham might be awash with money and already the RFU might be counting the vast profits seemingly about to be made from the staging of the World Cup here in England in 2015; but does anyone realise that, north of Watford, many clubs are struggling financially and that the restructuring plans will only add to their cash flow problems? Already in our 14 team league  Liverpool St.Helens FC 1st XV will play only six home games this season between September 6th and December 20th (four months!!). And there is no need to use much electricity with those decorative Christmas Tree lights because, incredibly, thanks to being handed two consecutive away fixtures and two blank dates we play not a single home match throughout December. How does anyone fund rugby under such circumstances? Answers on a postcard please!

Now we learn that a further two home matches are to disappear from our fixture lists at a cost to any club of around two to three thousand pounds when one considers the loss of two sets of bar receipts, sponsorship of matches, raffles, advertising, gate receipts, programme sales etc. In an area too where Rugby League is the dominant sport how many enthusiastic amateurs and even one or two professionals will, as now, join a rugby union club for the winter when offered such a threadbare fixture list? If they did decline to play there would be even fewer teams turning out for some of our clubs than there are today.

Some weeks ago it was stated that a mini league based cup competition would be staged alongside the restructuring of the Leagues for Level Six and below. Now we read that a cup competition is “under review” and “will be decided locally”. By whom? Now we hear that there will be “the possibility” of payments for clubs entering the cup competition. A big change from what once appeared to be guaranteed!

Get real gentlemen with your tinkering with the League structures, and listen to those who have to work hard to fund the game and provide regular rugby for those in a local community who still wish to play for or watch their teams.

Ray French (October 2014)