London Welsh get thumbs up for promotion

The decision last Friday to promote London Welsh to the Aviva Premiership was great news for anyone who holds the integrity of sport at heart.

Having declined their original application through not meeting the Minimum Standards Criteria (MSC) for playing Premiership rugby, the RFU had no option but to admit them to the top tier, on the basis of the decision by the independent panel led by James Dingemans QC.

Kassam Stadium
Pic (c) footballaway.co.uk

The panel met to decide on London Welsh's argument that the rules governing the Primacy of Tenure section of the MSC had infringed UK and EU competition law. London Welsh were successful in arguing their case, so are now free to play their fixtures at their new home, the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.

The ground is home to Oxford United, and owned by the club's former chairman, Firoz Kassam, who oversaw the completion of the stadium's construction over a decade ago.

Given the ground's main status prior to the introduction of the London Welsh scenario, it would be difficult to see how Primacy of Tenure could justifiably have been given to the rugby club.

Ground-sharing between different sports clubs at the highest level in England has been a feature of the sporting landscape since the advent of professionalism in rugby union during the 1990s.

London Irish have used the Madejski Stadium in Reading since 2000; Saracens have been Watford FCs tenants at Vicarage Road since 1997 (although will be moving to their own ground at Barnet Copthall before the end of season 2012/13); and London Wasps playing home fixtures at Adams Park in Wycombe since 2002, and prior to that, Loftus Road from 1996-2002, as part of their ownership by Loftus Road Holdings plc.

Sale Sharks have shared Stockport County's Edgeley Park since 2003, and will now play at the Salford City Stadium, alongside the Salford Reds Super League side. That move comes at a time when they remain as the only northern side in the Premiership, while there are five clubs within the London area.

The Newcastle Falcons will of course, face at least a year in the Championship, under the guidance of Dean Richards, who has a great track record in that division, taking Harlequins back to the Premiership in 2006 at the first attempt after their relegation the previous year.

The side who take up residency at the Kassam meanwhile, will not only have to prepare for life on the playing field among the rugby elite, but also need to build up their fan base in a city that up until now, has only been served by professional football. Rugby fans in the town may already have their allegiances with nearby London Irish in nearby Reading, or any of the clubs within reasonable travelling distance, including Gloucester, further along the A40 to Wales.

They need to recruit a new list of club sponsors who are willing to support the new venture - what happens to those businesses who have supported them over the years in Richmond, their spiritual home?

Despite much hype surrounding the Championship Play-off Final played at the Kassam, only 3456 turned up; a fair proportion of which would have been Cornish Pirates fans.

So, despite congratulations on a deserved promotion, the real battle starts by trying to win the hearts and minds of the good people of Oxford, and also their supporters from the bad times.

When is a suspension not a suspension?

Answer -

When it is an RFU suspension.

The RFU have just announced their verdict on a citing for Newcastle Falcons' Taiasina Tu'ifua. The Samoan flanker pleaded guilty to a dangerous tackle during the last league game of the season at London Wasps.

His punishment - a four week ban, running from 1 June to 28 June, allowing him to play again from 29 June.

As an international, Tu'ifua misses out on three Samoan test matches, against Fiji on 10 June, Japan on 17 June, and Scotland on 23 June.

But he remains free to play for his club from the start of next season. Surely there hangs a case to argue for RFU suspensions to be delivered in matches rather than weeks.

London Welsh fight on for Premiership place

The ongoing saga as to whether London Welsh can claim a place at rugby's top table next season seems as if it will continue long after tonight's final whistle was blown.

The second-leg of their Championship Play-off match against Cornish Pirates at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford may be irrelevant, if the RFU have their way.

The 29-20 win, for an overall aggregate victory, saw the Old Deer Park side earn the right to play in the Premiership - or so you might think. 

Pic (c) walesonline.co.uk

But the RFU decided on 23 May that London Welsh would not be eligible for promotion, after hearing the findings of an independent audit, requested by the London Welsh club.

The audit was requested after the RFU had deemed that the London Welsh club did not meet the Minimum Standards Criteria for playing in the Aviva Premiership as set by the Professional Game Board.

Their Old Deer Park ground in Richmond is unfit to hold Premiership rugby. The club attempted to work around this by arranging a ground-sharing deal with Oxford United, to play at the Kassam Stadium.

Despite this deal, the independent audit turned down this opportunity, claiming that primacy of tenure was one of several issues.

Another issue was that the club's back-up venue of Brentford FC's Griffin Park, was over 30 miles from the first option.

That in itself reeks of irony, in that Griffin Park lies only 3 miles away from Old Deer Park, when the club themselves are prepared to relocate 50 miles away in Oxford.

The final decision now lies in the hands of solicitors, and the bargaining carried out in the corridors of power. But really, what would a move 50 miles away from its traditional home mean to the club? 

The play-off match tonight certainly attracted what appeared to be a sell-out crowd to the Kassam, as the issue has galvanised a lot of support, but it has made for an interesting talking point.

Consider this - how far would you want your club to move just so they could play a couple of seasons of top flight sport? And would London Welsh then return to Richmond once their spell at the top is over?

RFU decide on Tuilagi tackle

Pic (c) Getty Images

An RFU disciplinary panel yesterday dismissed the citing of Leicester Tigers' Manu Tuilagi for an incident in the first minute of last Saturday's Aviva Premiership final, which Harlequins won by 30-23.

The tackle, on Danny Care, saw the Harlequins scrum half 'tipped' by Tuilagi, brought off his feet in the tackle, and made to land on his upper body. The tackle can be seen on the Aviva Premiership website.

Under the IRB Law 10 - Foul Play, 

"Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst that player’s feet are still off the ground such that the player’s head and/or upper body come into contact with the ground is dangerous play."

should result in a penalty kick. The referee, Wayne Barnes, played an advantage at this point, stating that although "the tackle was above the horizontal, it wasn't dangerous".

That comment was heard by anyone who had taken advantage of the Ref Link - a service where spectators at major rugby matches can hear the referee's comments during play. 

Harlequins played through the advantage, gaining ground past the point where the tackle had taken place. 

The incident was quickly forgotten in the stadium as the match was played at a frantic pace, and Quins displayed a game-plan that brought them their first ever Premiership title.

The RFU regulations allow for a player to be brought before a disciplinary committee after a game, even if, as was the case in this incident, the match referee had seen it and acted upon it.

The Citing Procedures state clearly that 

"Before bringing a citing complaint the Premiership Citing Officer must be satisfied that in his opinion the act of foul play merited the award of a Red Card"

Previous high profile incidents had brought this particular part of the game to the fore, not least the Wales captain Sam Warburton having been sent off during the RWC 2011 semi-final against France.

Although the game was allowed to go on, it came as no surprise to hear that Tuilagi had been cited for the tackle afterwards. The hearing, heard by Christopher Quinlan QC, Dan White and Nick Dark "was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the referee was wrong in not sending off the 21-year-old" according to the RFU press release issued after the hearing.

Conveniently, the centre is free to travel as planned to South Africa with the England squad, where they are on tour during June.