Why 10 teams?

Sounds like a crackpot idea from that advisor they brought in from that lesser code. What is the point of reducing the number of teams? Surely that is less money, not more? Can they not see the right answer is to stop behaving like a cartel, let promotion/relegation happen naturally and dump the minimum standards criteria.

Richard Lowther wrote: If the rumours are true and the game ends up with a 10 team Premiership and 10 team Championship, what benefits does that give to the game and the Championship clubs playing in the reduced league? When the new Professional Game agreement is signed with the Premiership most suggest it will be on reduced financial terms and the Premiership clubs will have to cut their cloth accordingly but have the "benefit" of a ten way rather than 13 way split to soften the blow.  Do the Championship clubs think they will see more funding as part of this agreement?  The Premiership Cup fixtures may soften the blow of a smaller league but will the finances be any better than now?  Will the "new" Premiership 2 be an 'franchised' league with clubs meeting certain criteria, say a minimum crowd capacity and decent veggie food options 😉 and with a good geographic spread which will see the likes of Ampthill and Caldy back into the cold of probably a regionalised league structure below and replaced by The Brand RFC)™ and Darlington MP for example.  Is the aim of  a Premiership 2 to bridge the gap between the the top two leagues and bring through English Qualified players?  If no new money is forthcoming does 10 make sense?  As someone who now  lives almost in the shadow of the Darlington Arena and who occasionally spectates,  I can tell you there is very little regional or local interest in having a franchise there. We have our own “community” clubs and that’s where our rugby interest lies. That stadium is the most soulless place you could ever watch a game.

Neasham wrote: Richard Lowther wrote: If the rumours are true and the game ends up with a 10 team Premiership and 10 team Championship, what benefits does that give to the game and the Championship clubs playing in the reduced league? When the new Professional Game agreement is signed with the Premiership most suggest it will be on reduced financial terms and the Premiership clubs will have to cut their cloth accordingly but have the "benefit" of a ten way rather than 13 way split to soften the blow.  Do the Championship clubs think they will see more funding as part of this agreement?  The Premiership Cup fixtures may soften the blow of a smaller league but will the finances be any better than now?  Will the "new" Premiership 2 be an 'franchised' league with clubs meeting certain criteria, say a minimum crowd capacity and decent veggie food options 😉 and with a good geographic spread which will see the likes of Ampthill and Caldy back into the cold of probably a regionalised league structure below and replaced by The Brand RFC)™ and Darlington MP for example.  Is the aim of  a Premiership 2 to bridge the gap between the the top two leagues and bring through English Qualified players?  If no new money is forthcoming does 10 make sense?  As someone who now  lives almost in the shadow of the Darlington Arena and who occasionally spectates,  I can tell you there is very little regional or local interest in having a franchise there. We have our own “community” clubs and that’s where our rugby interest lies. That stadium is the most soulless place you could ever watch a game.

I’m going to make the obvious point that, given the RFU thinks the South West starts at Gloucester which is 230 miles from Penzance, one franchise in that space would be insulting, if not surprising.

Poll the fans?

The word I was told was that Premier 1 and 2 would both be professional, then along came talk of "franchises for clubs to bid for. My understanding is the "franchises" would be in Prem2 and there would be no "championship", there would be two Nat 1 's and 4 Nat 2's, how much of that is fact and how much of that still remains in the grand master plan I do not know. I believe there's some talk of "playoffs for promotion and relegation", but no flesh on the bones was explained

To make this work or even vaguely attractive for teams to take on a franchise the RFU or prem rugby will have to find a minimum of an extra 3 million in funding per franchise. Newcastle and Irish are losing that each season running a fully pro team. 

A side note, issue.

kempstonblue wrote: A side note, issue. Recently discovered advance match ground tickets at Bedford going up from £19.00 to £23.50. I work shifts and cannot guarantee getting to every home match, so it’s match by match see if I am working. If this ten team franchise emerges, I wonder what ticket prices will be 24/25 season? For people like me, we will find the money. But when I can watch other entertainment like IMAX or 4DX movies for £18/£20 how easy it to get someone to stand outside in January, with many second tier clubs having few seats, wind and rain. When a cinema, nice seats, dry and warm costs similar price?  Yet, I just feel some at HQ think a rebrand, and tweak of numbers will see customers flooding into the lucky/misfortuned 10 teams.

But you cannot enjoy a match of rugby, with a pie and a pint and good camaraderie in a cinema.

A committed supporter will not be that worried about the cost

You really are a  embarrassment ' Robb '. Your bigotry really isn't wanted on this site.