Doncaster Knights’ Steve Lloyd - Championship still hopeful RFU will change its mind over savage funding cuts

The future of the second-tier was thrown into turmoil last week after the governing body decided to drastically slash funding to its clubs.

In a move that took all Championship clubs by surprise, the RFU halved the central revenue figure from around £534,000 to £288,000 per club for the 2020-21 season – and offered no details on what would happen thereafter.

It has left many facing uncertain futures and there are fears the division will essentially become part-time, jeopardising the welfare of players, coaches and staff and end any realistic hopes of aspiring sides reaching the Premiership.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said the Championship had failed to achieve five targets set out when the current funding deal was put in place in 2015 – although the staggered second-tier representatives counter that they did not even know these aims had been set.

The sport as a whole, however, has come out in widespread support of the Championship, praising its worthiness as a competition in its own right but also as breeding ground for Premiership and England players and coaches of the future.

As deputy chairman of the Executive of the Championship Clubs Committee (CCC), Lloyd wrote a detailed, measured and informed response to the RFU’s decision which was published by the CCC as an open letter to Sweeney on Sunday.

Asked if he had spoken to Sweeney since, Lloyd told The Yorkshire Post: “Yes, we have had discussions,.

“There is no animosity at all. He’s making his points and we are making ours. I think that’s the way it should be at the minute.

“We’re still in dialogue and time will tell on the outcome of that. I sit on the Executive and we’re very much in discussions with the RFU. Those are confidential but I think the fact that we are still talking is a plus. That is certainly happening.”

Lloyd, who takes over from Bedford Blues’ long-serving Geoff Irvine as Championship chairman in June, has been significantly encouraged by the groundswell of support clubs have received during the difficulties of the last week.

“Obviously there is a lot of anger out there,” he said,

“We’re very pleased with the support not just given by supporters of the Championship but rugby community as a whole.

“That is very heartening because – apart from the difficulties clubs will find in coping with a reduction in funding – we are also effectively facing another major nail in the coffin of access to the Premiership. We have vowed to fight at all costs and do our utmost because I certainly sit on the committee and Executive to protect the Championship for the future not just this year.

“I’m thinking 10 years, 20 years-plus down the line. I think it’s a bit of a threshold point that we are getting to that we must try hard to maintain the integrity of the Championship, its professionalism – both in its wider sense and financial sense – but also protect our players.

“Most clubs have got players already contracted (for 2020-21) and in the process of contracting that they must honour and we would certainly want to.”

With the long-term backing of Lloyd and fellow benefactor Tony De Mulder, Knights have become one of the most well-respected clubs in the second tier, coming close to promotion themselves in the 2015-16 Championship Final against Bristol.

Although the following year they said promotion was out of their reach financially, they have remained an ambitious full-time operation. That will remain the case for 2020-21 at least.

“From Doncaster’s point of view, we are taking a prudent view with this next year’s budgets,” admitted Lloyd.

“But at the same time as far as the full-time nature of the squad goes, it will be business as usual for 2020-21. Then we will take a long hard look at it and work within what is doable. Whatever we can do we will do.”

With regards whether he feels the RFU will have a change of heart, he added: “It’s too early to say. Certainly the rugby union have been somewhat surprised and have probably become thoughtful about it due to the weight of social media and news articles that have supported the Championship’s predicament.

“And not just the Championship but the full aspect of promotion and demotion within the league system.

“When that was formed in 1987, it opened up aspiration to all. Things have changed over that period of time and we have always thought with the locking off of the Premiership there is no God-given right to be there.

“We want access to the Premiership to be fair; if you put people on starvation rations then they are not going to actually be able to compete on a level playing field when they get up there.

“We want to talk about that. But first we must try preserve as much of the (Championship) status quo as we can.”