REFERENCES in letters from RFU Board member Wayne Barnes and interim chair Bill Beaumont in support of the beleaguered current Twickenham administration has led to head-scratching about the RFU’s latest position on promotion-relegation.
This is because of the RFU’s shifting stance. In June 2024 the RFU conceded that its Council “had approved the mechanism for promotion-relegation” through a playoff, bringing to an end the ring-fence brought in by a four-year moratorium.
When Championship clubs asked the RFU for clarity on funding in September, relations be...