Many of you will have seen the headlines in the Daily Telegraph earlier this week suggesting that the RFU Championship will be restructured to include Premiership A teams and exclude some of the existing Championship teams, possibly including Richmond.

On Friday the RFU issued a press release (please read below) which will hopefully put an end to some of the wild speculation. Members will be aware that there has always been a cup competition for the Championship, particularly as there are only 12 clubs in the league (11 this season). Initially we played in the Anglo/Welsh/Irish cup which involved long journeys and was a drain on scarce resources. In the last few seasons there has been a cup competition exclusively for Championship clubs which has not proved particularly attractive. There is general agreement that if there is to be a cup it needs to be more attractive both for players and spectators and one possible way of doing this is to include Premiership “A” sides. Richmond along with the other Championship clubs are working with the Championship Strategic Review Group to potentially introduce a reformed cup competition for season 2023/24.

RFU STATEMENT– FRIDAY 25TH FEBRUARY:

The RFU Council today agreed that further consultation on proposals to help support Championship clubs could be undertaken in the coming months to consider the viability of an additional cup competition between Premiership XVs and Championship clubs running alongside a 12 team Championship league in the 23/24 season.

The cup concept will provide additional player development opportunities to strengthen the professional player infrastructure, it will provide progression opportunities for clubs that want them and additional commercial and marketing opportunities for clubs.

The Championship Strategic Review group was set up following RFU Council approval of a Covid recovery plan in June 21. The review includes three sub-groups looking at the strategic direction of the Championship, the commercial realities and the competition structure. Each group includes wide representation from across the game including Championship and Premiership clubs, Council members, PRL and RFU representatives along with external advisors.

The three subgroups have been consulting widely with all levels of the game to provide the RFU Council with proposals to be further explored.

Throughout the consultation the RFU has and will continue to be open to all ideas and considerations from all stakeholders, looking at ways to make the Championship financially sustainable.

Rugby Football Union (RFU) President His Honour Jeff Blackett said: “The Championship is an important part of the rugby eco system in England and we all want to support the league to enable it to become more sustainable. This proposal is designed to do that and therefore, the RFU Council agrees the opportunity should be further explored. The RFU Council, which represents clubs across the country, will still be required to approve any potential new cup competition should progress be made.”

The rest of the 2021/22 season will be used by the review group to develop the additional cup proposal which would go to Council for approval in June 2022 at the earliest.

REMINDER: Tickets are priced at just £10 for Richmond's upcoming Championship clash against Hartpury University on Saturday 12th March (KO 2pm). Click here to book tickets online (offer ends 6pm Friday 11th March).