Post by billhunt on Apr 8, 2016 12:33:11 GMT
Interesting piece in The Guardian's "The Breakdown" feed:
DONCASTER PLAN TO MAKE AN IMPACT
As Newcastle prepare for their game against London Irish at Kingston Park on 17 April that will go a long way to decide who finishes at the bottom of the Premiership, attention turns to the Championship, where three clubs, Bristol, Doncaster and Leeds Carnegie, have already secured their places in the play-offs, with Bedford close to clinching the fourth spot.
The Championship winners are only allowed to join the Premiership if they pass a strict audit procedure. The auditors have yet to complete their report to the Rugby Football Union but Bristol and Carnegie should have no problems, having spent 17 seasons between them in the top flight. Bedford, since being burned in the Premiership 15 years ago, have opted not to redevelop their Goldington Road ground or explore groundshare options.
Doncaster are the wild card. The Knights plan to stay in their Castle Park ground, which currently has a capacity of 5,000. It would need to be doubled to meet Premiership standards, along with a myriad other upgrades. They have submitted plans to the auditors and, a club who were in National League One two years ago and came close to a return last season, have their sights set on the top.
"Our aim is to play in the Premiership and we are doing all we can to meet the conditions laid down in the criteria," said David Ryall, Doncaster's chief executive. "We have won more promotions than any other club in England, so why not another? And there are more clubs in Yorkshire than any other county. We will do everything we can to get there."
Bristol will finish at the top of the Championship but one of their two defeats was against Doncaster - and they needed a last-minute try to win the return match. It is seven years since the Ashton Gate club last appeared in the Premiership and each play-off failure increases the pressure the table's big spenders face.
"We won on aggregate by 10 points, which would do if we met them in the play-off final," Ryall said. "We still have to secure second place from Leeds Carnegie and, as it stands, we would meet them in the semi-final. We know that playing in the Premiership would require extra investment but there is no way the board would bankrupt the club in trying to keep us there."
Some Championship clubs see the audit criteria as a means of keeping them out of the Premiership but Ryall believes they make sense. "I think it is fair that minimum facilities are demanded," he said. "My concern is the timing of the auditors' decision. Whoever wins the Championship needs to be able to plan as early as possible and get on with recruitment."
Doncaster's head coach is Clive Griffiths, who was part of Wales's 2005 grand slam management team. Three new signings were announced this week but many more would be needed if the Knights found themselves in September playing their first match in the Premiership.
"What we are doing is challenging for two reasons," Ryall said. "You have to have the ability to change from the very small squad we have, in comparison to some other clubs, to a large playing squad in a very short period of time. Then there is the sheer weight of work we'd need to complete in an equally short period of time to take Castle Park to the standards in terms of capacity and facilities required to operate at Premiership level."
Not since Exeter in 2010 has the Premiership been invaded by an upstart. The Chiefs have thrived to such an extent that they are in line for not only a top-four finish this season but a home draw in the semi-final - and they are in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
They are the inspiration for clubs such as Doncaster, who own their ground and derive income from the facilities there during the week, not only on match days. The club president, Tony de Mulder, has also invested in the Knights' rise and, if they do go up, Doncaster should make more of an impact than London Welsh last season - but would that be enough?
DONCASTER PLAN TO MAKE AN IMPACT
As Newcastle prepare for their game against London Irish at Kingston Park on 17 April that will go a long way to decide who finishes at the bottom of the Premiership, attention turns to the Championship, where three clubs, Bristol, Doncaster and Leeds Carnegie, have already secured their places in the play-offs, with Bedford close to clinching the fourth spot.
The Championship winners are only allowed to join the Premiership if they pass a strict audit procedure. The auditors have yet to complete their report to the Rugby Football Union but Bristol and Carnegie should have no problems, having spent 17 seasons between them in the top flight. Bedford, since being burned in the Premiership 15 years ago, have opted not to redevelop their Goldington Road ground or explore groundshare options.
Doncaster are the wild card. The Knights plan to stay in their Castle Park ground, which currently has a capacity of 5,000. It would need to be doubled to meet Premiership standards, along with a myriad other upgrades. They have submitted plans to the auditors and, a club who were in National League One two years ago and came close to a return last season, have their sights set on the top.
"Our aim is to play in the Premiership and we are doing all we can to meet the conditions laid down in the criteria," said David Ryall, Doncaster's chief executive. "We have won more promotions than any other club in England, so why not another? And there are more clubs in Yorkshire than any other county. We will do everything we can to get there."
Bristol will finish at the top of the Championship but one of their two defeats was against Doncaster - and they needed a last-minute try to win the return match. It is seven years since the Ashton Gate club last appeared in the Premiership and each play-off failure increases the pressure the table's big spenders face.
"We won on aggregate by 10 points, which would do if we met them in the play-off final," Ryall said. "We still have to secure second place from Leeds Carnegie and, as it stands, we would meet them in the semi-final. We know that playing in the Premiership would require extra investment but there is no way the board would bankrupt the club in trying to keep us there."
Some Championship clubs see the audit criteria as a means of keeping them out of the Premiership but Ryall believes they make sense. "I think it is fair that minimum facilities are demanded," he said. "My concern is the timing of the auditors' decision. Whoever wins the Championship needs to be able to plan as early as possible and get on with recruitment."
Doncaster's head coach is Clive Griffiths, who was part of Wales's 2005 grand slam management team. Three new signings were announced this week but many more would be needed if the Knights found themselves in September playing their first match in the Premiership.
"What we are doing is challenging for two reasons," Ryall said. "You have to have the ability to change from the very small squad we have, in comparison to some other clubs, to a large playing squad in a very short period of time. Then there is the sheer weight of work we'd need to complete in an equally short period of time to take Castle Park to the standards in terms of capacity and facilities required to operate at Premiership level."
Not since Exeter in 2010 has the Premiership been invaded by an upstart. The Chiefs have thrived to such an extent that they are in line for not only a top-four finish this season but a home draw in the semi-final - and they are in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
They are the inspiration for clubs such as Doncaster, who own their ground and derive income from the facilities there during the week, not only on match days. The club president, Tony de Mulder, has also invested in the Knights' rise and, if they do go up, Doncaster should make more of an impact than London Welsh last season - but would that be enough?
