Elior Champ Rugby deal may be good for clubs, but what’s the point?
It is great to see Champ Rugby get its first sponsor in six years this week, in catering company Elior UK; it signals a shift in appetite for the second tier of English rugby.
It will be a good marketing tool for clubs, whose matches are broadcast on streaming platform Clubber TV, and it solidifies the rationale behind the creation of a specific board for Champ Rugby that operates somewhat outside the remit of the governing Rugby Football Union.
On the face of it, then, it is a positive move. But the reality is this: what on earth is the point?
Take away the brilliance of the second tier being able to find a sponsor and you’ve got to ask what Elior gets out of this.
Because the league doesn’t have promotion to Prem Rugby, not for a number of seasons anyway. And the best clubs in the league – when promotion returns – will likely be lost to the Prem.
Champ future
“The agreement marks the first title sponsorship for the league in over six years and reflects a shift towards purpose-led collaboration, where commercial success and social impact go hand in hand,” a statement announcing the deal said.
First title sponsorship for the league in over six years? Great. Purpose-led collaboration? Even better. Where commercial success and social impact go hand in hand? The dream.
But the reality? Well, that is less certain.
The statement continued: “Champ Rugby is English rugby’s biggest supporter, connecting grassroots communities with the professional game and providing a ‘Proving Ground’ for future stars.”
Maybe this is where the partnership is at its strongest, putting a brand name to the pathway of talent that may eventually go on to grace Allianz Stadium for England.
Value
Call me naive but I am just not sure where the league value is here. That said, I cannot wait to be proved wrong because the Champ needs exposure akin to the second-tier ProD2 in France.
That league – boasting the likes of Jonathan Joseph, Courtney Lawes and Mako Vunipola – does not have a title sponsor but regularly sees full stadiums while being part of an bundled television deal with the Top 14.
For that to work the matchday “weekend” has shifted from Saturday and Sunday to Thursday and Friday, with the Thursday match in a showpiece broadcast slot on domestic television.
That is the next phase for the Champ, realising and coming to terms with the fact that no proper television deal will be worth having if it clashes with Prem Rugby and/or the Investec Champions Cup.
The Elior deal is a stepping stone for the Champ – and I am not sure I entirely see the endgame for the brand – but next the second tier must revolutionise its broadcast offering and find a way of making Prem Rugby take notice and care about the leagues below it.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance. Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11