Baxter Again!

[Bloke in North Dorset]

I was no fan of the EAs long before the cheating but I’d be surprised if they were doing it again, not least because they don’t really need to to attract players.

Players want more than just a salary, they want honours and to be part of a winning environment. The EAs can say to players they want to sign something along the lines off sorry, we can only offer you [10%] less than [mid table mediocre club that’s not going to be regular winners], whereas we offer play-offs and European rugby every season with a good chance of medals.

The question is, how much is that winning worth? The lower the salary cap the more it’s worth as players reckon they might as well get some glory if they aren’t going to make a small fortune playing.

EAs cheating has baked in their supremacy for a long time, and that’s why their punishment should have been harsher.

[Brandnewtorugby]

Without relegation and promotion what claim does the premiership have to being the top level of English rugby?

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Without relegation and promotion what claim does the premiership have to being the top level of English rugby?

That’s a very good point.

[wasps]

I'm sure that the main argument for scraping relegation had nothing to do with maybe being more competitive.


The main point was that clubs who would otherwise be in danger of being relegated would be able to take the opportunity to play their youth players in an attempt to be stronger in future seasons.


The theory being that if you're scared of relegation, you're more likely to sign overseas journeymen who might be able to make you more competitive against the other teams at the bottom




The other expected benefit was that teams at the bottom of the league would be less likely to go into their shell and post boring rugby. Instead, they could throw the ball around and try to excite fans without having to worry about losing