The Breakdown | Champ’s relegation playoff proved jeopardy resonates more than a closed shop

The Guardian is reporting The Breakdown | Champ’s relegation playoff proved jeopardy resonates more than a closed shop. Buttock-clenching battle between Richmond and London Scottish provides perfect antidote to Prem franchise modelIt wasn’t, in all honesty, the greatest game ever played. But never mind that. For Richmond and London Scottish on Saturday all that counted was winning – or, more to the point, not losing. There are big-match nerves and then, on another level, there are playoffs against bitter rivals where the mere notion of defeat is unthinkable.Welcome to the kind of buttock-clenching drama that, in theory, is going out of fashion. All the talk lately has been about franchises and closed leagues, rather than jeopardy and uncertainty. Well, here was the alternative scenario in the shape of the first relegation playoff in the English second tier. So much for those who perceive the supposedly unsexy club game below elite level to be lacking in passion, emotion or relevance. Continue reading...

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