In the past week, the RFU and Prem Rugby have announced that promotion and relegation between the Prem and the Champ will be brought to an end. This is a move that had been rumoured to be happening for a while but its announcement came as a surprise to many. In truth, the game in England had been trending in this direction for a while and now we are here. It's a decision that will have ramifications throughout the game so I've taken a look at some potential positives and negatives from this momentous decision.

Pros 

Financial stability

English rugby has never been completely financially secure, but the pandemic was devastating for the game. Prem teams are still yet to pay off all of their loans from the UK Government that were given in order to keep the clubs going. Three other teams didn't make it. London Irish, Worcester and Wasps all collapsed for a variety of reasons and the pandemic was amongst the most prevalent. They have not been replaced in the top flight which now consists of just 10 teams rather than 13 as it did during the pandemic. 

Removing a big financial liability from these teams should help ease some of their burdens. The other benefit of franchising the league is that it allows teams to cooperate more without worrying about their own situations as much. This could come in the form of league-wide kit and brand deals or a better use of media rights. Leagues such as the NRL and NFL show that, when teams become equal partners in a project, great things can happen at a very quick pace.

Increased Investment

Newcastle looked like it could be joining those teams that have gone under until Red Bull bought the club and they have already injected significant amounts of cash. The team now known as the Red Bulls will look very different by the time the 2026/27 season comes around. In hindsight, this move sealed the end of relegation from the top flight. Why else would Red Bull invest in a team that was almost guaranteed to finish bottom of the league?

There is now more reporting about American investment coming into the game. It has been reported that Knighthead Capital Management, the owners of Birmingham City FC, are looking to expand their sporting portfolio in the city after also acquiring a large stake in the Birmingham Phoenix Cricket Franchise. It remains to be seen if this interest will amount to anything but it could be a sign of things to come in a league that has removed the risk of relegation. Tony Rowe, who owns the Exeter Chiefs, has been looking for investors for several months. Reporting in the Mail suggests that there is some American interest but that the interested parties were waiting for relegation to be axed. 

It gives teams the space to develop young talent 

Prem rugby has a couple of core principles; to grow the domestic game within England and to develop English talent at the highest possible level. The latter of those two points is why the RFU invests so heavily in the Prem and hands now hands out six-figure guaranteed deals to the most valuable English talent within the competition. In order to develop more of those stars, Prem teams have to bring through new talent. That can be risky and teams towards the bottom of the table could be dissuaded from giving opportunities to those who are lesser known entities. Ultimately, teams are more likely to take risks when the consequences are minimal.

Cons

Slows growth of smaller clubs

Pulling up the rugby drawbridge does protect those already at the top table, but what about those who are left behind? The likes of Bristol and Exeter have come through the rugby pyramid in the last 15 years and are now established teams that can draw big crowds. It looks like other teams will have a much harder time achieving that success. The likes of Coventry, Doncaster and Ealing are ambitious teams within the Champ that would've had far more investment if promotion was ever a truly realistic scenario.  Had Promotion been opened up properly, those teams and many others could've drawn far bigger crowd and subsequently could've received far more investment. Now it looks like they are going to have to sit around and wait for wealthy investors to take a punt on them for a shot at the top level.

This move could stop English rugby from reaching its full domestic potential

As I alluded to above, the second tier of English rugby could already be much stronger than it currently is if it had not been deliberately held down by those in power. One could argue that ending promotion to the top flight is just a formalisation of the system that already existed in reality. 

To view the full potential of English rugby one can simply look across the channel to France where there are 2 divisions of professional rugby and another that is semi-professional. England may never quite reach that level, but it is certain that this country could get close. Even cutting off the top 2 divisions from the rest of the pyramid would be a comparatively progressive step that could actually grow the game. 

For now it looks like the only additions to the top flight will be teams that were in the top flight during the pandemic or ones that are bought by rich Americans. This could work out but this situation really didn't need to occur. The situation that the game finds itself in is not an accident but rather a result of multiple choices at multiple levels.