All Golds v Newcastle Thunder KPL1 2017

Clubs in the South are encouraged to send their expressions of
interest to enter the new Eastern and Western Premier Divisions
to competitions@rfl.uk.com by Wednesday, June 7.
There will then be a meeting on Sunday, June 18 at Hemel Stags’
Pennine Way Stadium (HP2 5UD) where more information will
be available.
Full details of the proposed restructure can be found below:
The plans, as David Raybould
says, may not be the finished
article from day one but there is
room for them to grow and for
clubs to grow with them, finding
their own level at which they are
comfortable. It may be messy at
first and may take a few years
to settle down into the strong
competition it is hoped it will
become, but perseverance will
be the key and the support,
understanding and will to make
it work from the RFL will be
essential.
Of the clubs in the West of
England, my personal thoughts
are that Bristol Sonics would be
a good fit as they move into a
new home. Swindon St George
look ideally set up to take full
advantage of the arrangement,
while it would help cement the
partnership between Oxford
Cavaliers and Oxford RL for the
Cavs to compete at that level.
Editor’s comment: Firstly, I
must declare a vested interest
in the plans as I am currently
Chairman of Gloucestershire
Warriors and the Warriors will
be looking to play somewhere
in this set-up.
Looking at the proposal
through a Warriors lens, it
seems to make sense.
These plans have actually been
knocking around in one form
or another for a while now but
I think the time is right to put
them into practice. They give
scope for clubs who want to
go forward and play a longer
season the chance to do that
while equally clubs who just
want a shorter, more social
season can be accommodated
as well.
With the demise of the
Conference League South
(CLS), this format is one that
can stretch over time to fill the
void and give the likes of the
Valley Cougars and London
Chargers the opportunity
to play at a decent standard
and strengthen their club
infrastructure.
It could also provide
opportunities for semi-pro sides
such as the All Golds, Hemel
Stags, Coventry and Oxford to
run development sides at the
appropriate standard.
Whilst the Warriors are
probably not in the position to
move into the West Premier
league in 2018, the club is
supportive of the structure. The
Warriors are ambitious enough
to want to move forward and
work towards achieving a place
in the West Premier where they
can provide the (currently)
missing step in the pathway
from novice to professional.
As I have said, the Warriors
are not in a position to move
there immediately and from
what they have said in the
past I believe that Cheltenham
Phoenix would not be looking
at entering, though I may of
course, be wrong.
A strong West Premier league
would be the opportunity for
the All Golds to run a reserve
side until such time as the
RFL gets a national reserve
competition up and running to
replace its dual reg and loan
system.
There have been plenty of ups
and downs since the Summer
Conference kicked off 20 years
ago now thanks to the hard
work of the All Golds very own
president and visionary Lionel
Hurst.
Perhaps now there is a
competition that will help to
support and encourage clubs
and individuals playing the
great game of rugby league in
the south of the country.
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