PRL secrecy is an insult to all club rugby fans

IS Premiership Rugby fit for purpose? Is the governing body of the multi-million pound club game in England understaffed, overworked or just plain incompetent? I ask because on their website, in the salary cap section, PRL trumpets the success of the league in providing a level playing field by pointing to ‘five different Premiership rugby champions in the last six years’.

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Given that there have been only three champions in the most recent six-year span, with Saracens winning four titles since 2014, and Exeter and Northampton claiming one each, it needs an urgent update.

You could argue the same applies to PRL’s claims in the ‘About Us’ section regarding ‘inclusivity’, and delivering for its partners and stakeholders because many club rugby fans would seriously beg to differ.

Their reservations would extend to the PRL statement that their representatives on the Professional Game Group/Board work towards ‘the best long-term interests of the game in England’.

PRL claims it works side-by-side with its 13 stakeholder clubs (the 12 in the Premiership, plus Newcastle), and is responsible for, and responsible to, them.

That surely makes them responsible also to the fans who support those clubs, as well as to the fans who support Rugby Union throughout England – who expect the highest standards from the elite league in this country.

Instead, many fans could be forgiven for thinking that Premiership rugby treats them with disdain.

In recent weeks, The Rugby Paper’s postbox has been jammed with letters from fans taking issue with the lack of detail about the Saracens salary cap ruling, and the dangers that this lack of transparency could lead to.