Worst-case scenarios waiting to happen in domestic rugby
Nov 20 2008 by Brian Dick, Birmingham Post
six clubs in the professional game; the second biggest city and largest conurbation in the country has none. Odds 33-1
Scenario Four - Wasps stung
After suffering with injuries and international call-ups all season, the reigning champions finish bottom of the Premiership and are relegated.
Once down in the Championship they find the £1 million salary cap too restrictive and have to shed all of their leading players at which point attendances in Wycombe fall through the floor.
The nadir is when they lose at home to promoted Birmingham & Solihull. Within months of coaching the British Lions to a remarkable series win in South Africa Ian McGeechan loses his job and Lawrence Dallaglio is forced out of retirement as a flu bug sweeps through the club. Odds 500-1
Scenario Five - Blood on the carpet
Yet another attempt at full-time rugby goes wrong for Rotherham/Nottingham/Coventry (delete as appropriate) who can’t lure crowds to see them beat Bedwas in the Anglo Welsh Ashtray.
The club fold and are relegated to the bottom of the pyramid. The RFU release a statement claiming it’s not their fault, every other club has been able to make it work. Odds 1000-1
Scenario Six - Part-time position
Moseley do not risk going full-time but take advantage of the four-year grace period afforded by the RFU. One year in, unable to compete with 11 other fully-professional clubs, they are relegated to the community game. Odds 1500-1
Some scenarios are less than likely to happen but each addresses a serious consideration Moseley, Coventry and their National One colleagues must make in the next few months. Recruitment and player retention will begin within weeks yet no one is quite sure of what budgets they’ll be working with. What a way to organise a sport.
Nevertheless, let’s end on a positive thought - what if ...
Scenario Seven - Former glories regained
After clinging on to the coat tails of the top eight for the entire campaign and winning only six of their 22 matches, Moseley beat Coventry on the final day of the regular season to enter the promotion play-offs.
A Wasps team, decimated by summer tour call-ups and injuries, is beaten home and away, and Moseley reach the semi-finals and the final. Twickenham - or at least a corner of it - is Red and Black as Andy Binns ends his career by scoring the winning try against Exeter to take Moseley back into the big time. Odds 1,000,000-1
