One of English rugby’s hottest title race for years reaches the most tepid of endings today. After weeks of back and forth with their rivals, Ealing began the weekend knowing that victory over Richmond would crown them champions of the Championship, regardless of Doncaster’s result on Friday night. Come Monday morning, however, there will be a sense of limbo irrespective of outcomes on the pitch.
The Rugby Football Union ruled last month that Ealing and Doncaster – the only two clubs to apply to be eligible for promotion – had failed the minimum standards criteria. That criteria is agreed by the Professional Game Board, where the Championship clubs are represented, along with the RFU and Premiership clubs. The main sticking point is stadium capacity which, according to the MSC, must be 10,001 – neither Ealing nor Doncaster come particularly close but as the RFU acknowledged recently, the minimum for Premier League football grounds is 5,000 and both aspiring clubs could meet that.
