Is Griffiths getting his own back on the Prem?

Finally, the Championship has a champion in Edward Griffiths, who is going to shine a light at the end of the long tunnel that has been the clubs’ battle to survive in these professional times.

- JEFF PROBYN

Griffiths has stepped into what could be called a nightmare situation in trying to find a way forward for the rest of the game as the Premiership seems to be sailing slowly off in its own direction.

The financial advantages that have been showered on the Premiership since the dawn of the professional game has proven to be too big a gulf for the vast majority of clubs seeking the dream of topflight rugby.

The majority of the current Premiership are the clubs who ignored the RFU moratorium in the first year when the game turned professional and took advantage to sign as many players as possible to reinforce their position of strength and stop any potential repercussions.

The negotiated agreement stated that there would be no elite rugby between the Premiership and international game, thus ensuring the primacy of the Premiership as the top of the club game and the place from where the union would have to pay for access to players.

This has enabled them to build a virtual ring-fence that now seems to have been accepted by all the Championship as they prepare to restart the game after lockdown.

Griffiths has come forward with a number of suggestions that appear to be trying to take rugby back to its roots in the pre-professional era, with a number of regional games and a re-vamped England Counties side.