No Premiership promotion next year as Ealing and Doncaster fail ground test

LONDON : English rugby's Premiership will remain a 13-team closed shop next season after Ealing and Doncaster, the two teams seeking promotion from the Championship, were told their grounds were too small to meet the necessary criteria.

Promotion/relegation was frozen in the Premiership this season under "COVID recovery measures" with the possibility of an expansion to 14 clubs for next season, but still no relegation until the 2023/24 season.

However, clubs hoping to go up had to have a ground capacity of 10,001 and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said in a statement on Tuesday that neither club was close to reaching that level and did not have plans in place to do so.

Ealing, based three miles from the new ground London Irish share with Premier League soccer club Brentford in west London, do not have a current licence but can accommodate around 5,000 fans, with Doncaster at a similar capacity.

The RFU said both clubs had suggested they could seek to expand their facilities but that no formal planning permissions were in place, nor were there any proposed ground-share arrangements in their applications. 

"The RFU and Premier League Rugby would like to support and encourage all Championship clubs to continue to develop their proposals for the expansion and development of their grounds including the submission of formal planning applications," RFU CEO Bill Sweeney said.

Doncaster beat Ealing last Saturday and top the standings, though they have played two more games than second-placed Cornish Pirates, who did not apply for promotion, and Ealing (third). Doncaster said they would make a statement in response to the ruling later on Tuesday.

The decision leaves 11 teams in the league and therefore only the winner of National One