Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 6:44 pm  

wire-quin wrote:

Whats Trailfinders plans if they get promoted?

Did anyone watch the top of the table clash between Ealing Rugby & Bristol Rugby in the RU on10th Feb?

Well, I did as it was played at Trailfinders and broadcast live on the Sky Sports Action channel. Flicking back over at the end of halftime I caught just the last minute of the interview with Dick Graig who is the Ealing RU president.

He was quizzed on ‘what would happen if Ealing were to be promoted at the end of next season’ and his answer was that Ealing has applied for Premiership status and had started the lengthy processes necessary, already having had their audit completed so as to be Premiership ready.

This leads me to believe that if they are table toppers at the end of next season they’ll be ready to apply for promotion. The coach in the post-match interview also wanted promotion but was a little less sure about the prospect as Ealing Rugby seem to work on a shoestring budget too - which sounds very similar to us, the London Broncos.

So there you have it and of course, it may never happen but considering Ealing’s meteoric gallop up the RU leagues to the Championship anything is possible. FWIW, they lost that game 27-28 in the lashing rain with a crowd of 1589.

Watch this space.

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 7:59 pm  

Being a Quins RU fan, I keep a close check on the other London Union clubs (we have players D/R with some of them). Ealing will have a great chance of going up soon. This season was always a tough ask. There is no salary cap in the Championship and moneybags Bristol pay their squad more than the rest of the championship combined!!!. Next season London Irish (who are going down by the looks of it) will find it tough. They have already lost a couple of players. Ealing are slowly building a very good squad and have signed a couple of players from the Prem already for next season. I can see them running close next year if they keep up the way they are going

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:35 pm  

Call Me God wrote:

I know it is very early days and we shouldn't be thinking past Sheffield, but what if we do go up to SL?
If promoted via the MPG then we would have 4 months to either increase capacity at Trailfinders (planning consents etc) or make pans to take games "on the road".
Leeds crowd in the 8's last year was 1,900 or there abouts, but if surely we would not have the capacity (3,000?) to accommodate them in a regular season game, or the likes of Wigan and Saints.
Griffin Park would be available for 2018, or maybe a return to Barnet, but ideally if we could put a temporary stand opposite the grand stand we could accommodate 6,000 which would suffice. How many did the old temporary stand at HKR hold?

I went to Market Drayton fc a couple of years ago and while I was talking to the manager he said you don't need planning permission for a temporary stand as long as you take it down every year which seems what bath rugby do. As for trailfinders they would probably groundshare elsewhere as the criteria to join the cartel is ridiculous with the amount of hoops they'd have to jump through

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:40 pm  

The stand at Bath is on a long standing agreement, Bath don’t just chuck a stand up and then pull it down at the end of the season

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:20 pm  

Sheffield have had to apply for planning consent for their temporary stand at OLP.

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:33 pm  

Guess it's down to the council then not that trailfinders would be allowed to the top division with temporary stands anyway

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:39 pm  

Why not? Bath are!

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:43 pm  

Apparently the toilet situation, with the players using the same toilets as fans was cleared as acceptable by the rfu! Quite odd. The extra toilet block built for the “away team “ was not essential.

Re: What if....? : Mon Feb 26, 2018 11:06 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

Why not? Bath are!

Bath were already in the top flight when the rules came out so it doesn't apply. There was also a rule of having first choice on pitch which most didn't have when sharing with a football team. it was only when London Welsh were willing to take the rfu to court did the authorities relent. It is said that if bath get relegated they would not meet the criteria was told there was/Is plans to share with Swindon if this ever happens.

Re: What if....? : Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:45 pm  

Not really sure where the sharing with a football team comes in, the reason Bath have to take the temporary stand down is due to use of the land and the cricket pitch. The land they play on has restrictions as to fair and equal use, unlike Trailfinders. So pretty sure any temporary stand at Ealing would need approval even if it was to come down after use, I have no links only word of mouth from Ealing residents with links to the club, it has been discussed with the local authority and is an option.
For the superior sport I doubt even a temporary stand would get us to super league standards, so either an exemption or our nomadic existence kicks in again. Realistically do we need a 10k stadium? No! A 5 k maybe but would the RFL accept that?
FWIW could never see Bath RU sharing with Swindon Town