One more game and then we can all enjoy summer!

The former Exeter Chiefs lock looks at the fascinating world of rugby union

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AFTER 180 league games and two semi-finals, it is all down to Saturday's Twickenham final to climax Premiership Rugby's 38th season.

For over 100 years, county cups and the county championship were Rugby Unions only organised tournaments. Indeed, for decades, our Twickenham leaders remained steadfast in their intent that Rugby Union remained merit league free and the bastion of the Corinthian spirit.

Epitomising the traditional values of the 'English sporting gentlemen,' nearly all rugby was based on a 'friendly' basis with merit tables only arriving in the 70's and an informal league in the mid 80's with the league system arriving at the end of the decade.

Growing pressure on clubs to pay their players (thereby contravening the amateur ethos) reached a peak in 1995, when the game finally came clean opening the door to pay players announcing the dawn of the professional era for real.

Change is seldom easy and invariably difficult to manage, especially when money becomes the essential ingredient. Fast forward a quarter of a century and our Twickenham based leaders have apparently turned 180 degrees in their intent to foster and grow the professional game as their priority. The future of everything below the Premiership apparently now on a back burner.

There is little as clear as 20-20 hindsight. Yes, I accept it is easy to be wise after the event, but I think it fair to say that our leader's stewardship of the sport since the professional era has been poor at best and often chaotic.