Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly it's hard to breathe
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed
I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down... Oh no
So don't you bring me down today
Beautiful - Christine Aguilera
Rob Baxter's views regarding the future use of the dual registration and loans system to allow injured Premiership players game time before a return to first team duties is both patronising to, and dismissive of, the Championship.
It's something everyone involved the Championship should distance themselves from, whether supporters, players, coaches, administrators or sponsors. Everyone.
If evidence were needed, and it really isn't, of the arrogance of the PRL and its apparent contemptuous attitude to rugby outside of the closed shop that is the Premiership, then this is it.
Rob Hill, DoR at Richmond, rightly points out in this week's The Rugby Paper, that Baxter's remarks question the integrity of the Championship and fears Championship clubs would come to resemble invitation sides and would lose their identity'.
I have to say, I share Hill's concerns. In the past, Coventry has used the dual registration/loans system to it's own advantage but in recent seasons they have been used rather more sparingly. When Rowland Winter took over in 2016, an early spate of injuries and a run of 4 losses in just 6 games saw him turn to Wasps and Worcester to bolster his beleaguered squad, bringing in Jack Willis, Owain James and Tom Howe.
All three made an immediate impact, with Howe amongst the leading try scorers that season. They were a welcome addition at the time but only because our own players were unavailable.
Even at 18, Jack Willis was a star in the making but he was never going to stay for long and in fairness it was no real loss when he returned to Wasps after just a few appearances in a Cov shirt.
Winter rightly preferred not to reach out to Prem clubs if he could avoid it after that first season and I always felt Cov was a better side without the to-ing and fro-ing of players between us and their parent clubs. Currently, I think we have a couple of players from, ironically, Exeter Chiefs, on a season long loan (much the better option since they then fully buy into the club's ethos and have far more of a vested interest in its success) and have picked up Dodd and Wilson from Worcester for the remainder of the season (a different scenario completely)...?
There have been plenty of examples of rival clubs in recent years who have been reliant on Premiership loans - Loughborough in Nat One, Ampthill and London Scottish in the Championship for instance - and none of them have been overly successful. Perhaps the only exception is Hartpury but that's very different given its relationship with Gloucester.
It's Baxter's contention that a change to the loan system would not only help in the return to match fitness of Premiership players, Championship clubs would also benefit financially too and interest in Championship rugby would increase with the appearance of elite players from time to time.
Nice try, Rob...but I'm really not sure that is the case.
At the very best it would be short term. And as a pretty ardent Cov supporter, I'd rather see my own team play regularly week in, week out than a mishmash of players who don't all share the club's long term goals. And any club using Cov, for instance, as a feeder would have no interest in seeing it promoted into the Premiership for obvious reasons. There would be a huge conflict of interests for sure.
But more than that, clubs outside of the Premiership should never be subservient to the PRL, grateful for any crumbs that might be thrown their way, whilst constantly being at their beck and call. Cov has its own identity, a history that is the equal of any side in the top tier. It must never lose sight of its values and traditions.
Of course we must move with the times, but in doing so we should remain as independent as we can, masters of our own destiny and not to the whims and vagaries of the PRL. Should Championship sides become little more than academies for their nearest Premiership club, then I'd rather the league broke away from the RFU and set up its own autonomous governing body, perhaps aligning itself to one of the Principalities in much the same way as Ealing is looking to do.
Radical I know, but I'd vote for it should Baxter's wishes ever become a reality.
Rob Hill's suggestion is the ideal path though:
We should go back to a maximum of six or seven dual registration and loan player. the Championship should play a part in helping develop young Premiership talent, but we should not give a whole team over because it would undermine the credibility of the Championship
Still too many for my liking if they're all in the match day squad but that is certainly a far better suggestion that that proposed by Baxter.
With future plans up in the air, everyone seems to be promoting their own cause with little concern for the long term survival of the game. If English rugby is to prosper, I firmly believe that there needs to be a thriving second tier, separate from, but supportive of, the Premiership but not beholden to it. Promotion and relegation should be sacrosanct but if changes are made that mean the top two tiers become fully professional and ring-fenced then so be it. Cov must do everything it can to be part of it, provided the club is able to remain it's true to itself.
But if the Championship becomes little more than an adjunct of the Premiership with no real value other than in a supporting capacity, then it's not something I would want to be part of. Far from it increasing the attendances of Championship clubs as Baxter suggests, then I think the reverse would happen and interest from genuine supporters would dwindle.
I'd vote with my feet for sure.
And I don't think I'd be alone.
The Championship might not be perfect and there are always areas that can be improved, but compared to Baxter's vision for it, well...
...it remains 'beautiful to me'.
I listen to what's coming out of the PRL and 'suddenly it's hard to breathe/Now and then I get insecure/From all the pain, I'm so ashamed'.
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