Rugby: Ealing withdraw Premiership promotion appeal

Ealing Trailfinders on Friday withdrew their appeal against a decision by England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) Board which said the club's facilities did not meet the standard required for promotion to the top-flight Premiership.

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 no relegation until the 2023-24 season.

However, clubs hoping to go up had to have a ground capacity of 10,001 and the RFU had said last month that Ealing and fellow promotion chasers Doncaster were not close to reaching that level and did not have plans in place to do so.

"Ealing has withdrawn its appeal of the decision of the RFU Board that following an independent audit, the club's facilities do not currently meet the Professional Game Board Minimum Standards Criteria required for promotion to the Premiership," the club said in a statement.

"The RFU has reiterated it will continue to collaborate with Championship clubs on the development of a sustainable Championship as well as a commitment of the Professional Game Board to review standards relating to minimum capacity ahead of the audit process next season."

Ealing, based three miles from the new ground London Irish share with Premier League soccer club Brentford in west London, can accommodate around 5,000 fans, with Doncaster at a similar capacity.

Both clubs appealed the decision before Ealing won the Championship after a 60-10 victory over Richmond this month.