- Coventry currently sit top of the Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- The West Midlands club have applied for the right to go up to the Premiership
Coventry have ignited English rugby’s domestic season by announcing that they have applied for the right to be promoted to the Premiership.
The West Midlands club will have their application audited next month, to see if it complies with amended Minimum Standards Criteria, for entry to the top division.
However, Coventry’s executive chair, Jon Sharp, has revealed an expectation that the red-tape requirements will be further eased, saying: ‘Along with our fellow Championship clubs, we are anticipating that some of the promotion criteria currently in place are relaxed.’
A raft of costly demands have previously discouraged would-be promotion candidates from applying to be audited.
Last season, only Doncaster went through – and passed – the process, but Ealing Trailfinders went on to win the Championship.
However, Coventry are currently top of the league – two points ahead of Ealing, who they face at home on December 21.
Coventry have announced their formal bid for the right to be promoted to the Premiership
No team has been promoted from the Championship since Saracens won the second tier in 2021
The highly ambitious West Midlands club will have their application audited next month, to see if it complies with amended Minimum Standards Criteria, for entry to the top division
Their Butts Park Arena can hold 5,200 spectators, which ticks the initial capacity box, providing their local authorities provide planning approval for an expansion which would eventually create a 10,001 capacity by the start of their fourth season in the Premiership.
The RFU are known to recognize and admire the vast potential of Coventry, who have achieved sell-out crowds for Premiership Cup matches against marquee visitors.
All the indications are that they should have a chance of passing the MSC audit, but then the team would have to deliver, by winning the Championship and then winning a two-leg play-off against the Premiership’s bottom club.
At present, recent former champions Exeter are at the foot of the top division, with Newcastle two points ahead of them in ninth place.
All of a sudden, those clubs are facing genuine jeopardy, after the cosy years of a ring-fenced elite.
Coventry have lofty ambitions. ‘We will do whatever we can to meet the standards that allow us to bring Premiership Rugby to our city,’ said Sharp.
