Doncaster and Ealing have Premiership promotion hopes dashed over stadiums

Doncaster Knights and Ealing Trailfinders have been denied a potential promotion to the Premiership after failing to meet minimum standards criteria. The Championship clubs have fallen short as their respective home grounds are unable to hold at least 10,001 supporters.

Covid recovery measures agreed by the Rugby Football Union council last June allowed for the Premiership to be expanded from 13 clubs to 14 at the end of the 2021-22 season, enabling the winner of the second tier to move up.

Doncaster’s Castle Park stadium currently has a capacity of around 5,183, with 1,926 seats, while Ealing’s Trailfinders Sports Ground is able to hold approximately 5,000 spectators, with 2,115 seats. According to the RFU, both clubs have suggested they could seek to expand their facilities, however no formal planning permissions are in place, while neither proposed ground-share arrangements in their applications.

“As a result, the independent audit has found that neither club has successfully met the minimum standards criteria based on capacity [as well as other factors],” read an RFU statement. “The PGB [professional game board] therefore made a recommendation to the RFU board that neither club could be promoted to the Premiership for the 2022-23 season. The RFU board has ratified this decision.”

Doncaster currently top the Championship, with third-placed Ealing seven points behind, albeit with two games in hand. Both clubs are entitled to appeal against the decision through an independent arbitration process. The decision leaves 11 teams in the second tier and therefore only the winner of National One will be promoted to the Championship for next season.

The RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: “The RFU and PRL (Premiership Rugby