1. Wasps - they have a ground and could probably assemble a competitive squad quite easily and the RFU are desperate to have them back?

2. Richmond - they were relegated last year . ..  is their current squad strong enough? Would they want to return to the Championship?

3. Rams - Runners up for the last few years and  looking like the strongest squad in Nat 1?

4. Or a hybrid team of some sorts . . England U20's

Surely only 1 or 4 are potentially workable as then Nat1 is compromised.

Or does a White Knight appear for Jersey?

Or as far left field as you can go . . . do DMP get moved up, sign the entire Jersey squad, attract a huge  sponsor as their ground (25,000) would be meet Prem criteria?

Get booking friendlies to fill those gaps.

No club in their right mind would want to join this circus.

Good idea blending the various academy players, perhaps with a core of England U20s, tough fixtures around the country week in and week out, resulting in the perfect opportunity to bond as a squad. 

Who knows, in four years many of them could find themselves jetting off to RWC 2027 in Oz. It would take some logistical work and funding from the RFU to get off the ground, but where there's a will there's a way.

We were both in National One when Old Elthamians pulled out.

And so we were left with a short season.

I would start talking to universities.

Bedford actually do this bizarre thing where we set a playing budget based on expected revenue and expenses so it’s particularly frustrating now with revenue reduced due to another other club’s financial mismanagement. This cancellation means we’ll have nearly 2 months without a home fixture later in the season, which can’t be great for cash flow. I’m sure the RFU will reimburse everyone though…

London Welsh died in 16/17, and everyone in the Championship except Scottish lost a game.

On the bright side, Cambridge were not relegated that season due to London Welsh's demise.

Old Elthamians demise was 21/22, having managed to complete the covid restricted 19/20 season with second string players, and then there was no season in 20/21.

Not dissimilar to Jersey following suit approximately a month before the start of this year's Championship season (albeit having played some Prem Cup fixtures).

To compare the effects of OE withdrawal from Nat 1 and the knock on affect to Cambridge and Caldy at that time, to that of Jersey's demise and what that means for Championship clubs is a tad irrelative. Not least due to the issues surrounding logistics and overall finances - sponsorship commitments, match day takings, ticket revenue etc - relating to the number of fully professional clubs at Level 2, which is markedly different to Level 3 in that respect.

Very good point - no doubt most clubs would have set their budgets according to expected revenue (mostly from home games). As you say, the RFU will step in to make up the short fall. Not!

I assume travel insurance may repay the cost of not going to jersey.

Given the extra cost of going to Jersey, if you can get that money back, it softens the blow considerably.

But, whether in National 1 or the Championship, it is a loss of £15k to £25k of match day revenue

Some clubs have backers who will turn round and fill that, others don't - and the national 1 sides are manly in the latter camp.

I suspect the cost of insuring against that would be too high for most clubs to take on.

Out of interest, would you have the same take on level 4 if Guernsey went under (or the Manx clubs lower down)*? 

Meanwhile, the idea that National 1, running a league from Darlington to Plymouth with basically no central funding at all were unaffected because OE weren't Jersey is if nothing else bleakly amusing. Losing a home game where the RFU aren't handing over a cheque to prop up your club's business model every season is just difficult in a different way, I would suggest...

*last time I checked it was a straight RFU grant of £2k to the travelling club to go to Guernsey or the Isle of Man. So while I'm sure that's welcome the logistics and overall finances etc outlined above sit on the shoulders of amateur clubs with no central funding.
 

To clarify, no one is suggesting that clubs are unaffected by losing a fixture during the season, the point is that the effects of this will differ significantly depending on what level that club is playing at.

The RFU should enter a team, pay for it and manage it and see how much it costs them!!!!!!

Contrary to my previous post, any manufactured team would mean that there would be no relegation.....or would the 10/10 plan cause chaos in promotion and relegation?

Technically we also had Scottish deciding not to play during Covid.

Although season tickets are still sold, at Blues you’re looking at more like £60k lost revenue from all the hospitality and ticket sales. I imagine they will probably get Cambridge Uni in or somehow fill the void. Even if it is a Saints A team which would attract a lot of Saints supporters too.

There is a Petition on Change.org - Petition For Bill Sweeney to resign as RFU CEO

http://www.change.org/p/bill-sweeney-to-resign-as-rfu-ceo" rel="nofollow - https://www.change.org/p/bill-sweeney-to-resign-as-rfu-ceo