Sweeney, the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, has come under fire from the Championship clubs following the demise of Jersey Reds. They issued a statement at the end of last week saying they had “very low levels of confidence” in the governing body and added there would be a review of their relationship with Premiership clubs.
“We firmly believe that a strong second tier is important for the development of the game,” said Sweeney. “It is not something that is easy to get right. We have had consistent talks with the Championship clubs since a meeting in Farnborough last February.
“We have been talking about the shape of Premiership 2, academies, player development and mechanisms. We have not been able to confirm the level of funding which will have to wait until the Professional Game Partnership is agreed.
“We have said we will advise them ahead of next season and there has been much more dialogue than before. It has been a challenge but we are committed to it and would ideally like to have a system similar to France, but the average attendance in the Championship is 1,300. We need to grow that and it will not happen overnight.”
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England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
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Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.
