The reason for Twickenham's consternation at the weekend report that it intended to dump the 12 Premiership clubs and replace them with 10 franchises became apparent yesterday when it was revealed that secret meetings between clubs and country aimed at establishing a peace agreement after 11 years of civil war have been taking place since last August.
Francis Baron, the Rugby Football Union's chief executive, described the report as "mischief-making" and "99% fantasy" and was lavish in his praise of the clubs with references to his "friends in Premier Rugby" - a year after both sides ended up in the high court asking a third party to rule on their differences.
"We have held eight meetings with Premier Rugby since we appeared in the high court with them last August," said Baron. "For the first time in a long while, they have been open and frank and there is an acceptance on both sides that we need to move on to new ground.
"We are not fighting about things like elite player training days any more because the debate has advanced from 'We will give you five days if you give us £5m'. We are trying to find solutions which will help move the English game into a pre-eminent position at club and international level. At the suggestion of Tom Walkinshaw [Premier Rugby's chairman] both sides agreed that the detail of the meetings would remain confidential because of the frank nature of the proceedings. We have had good dialogue with our friends in Premier Rugby."
The RFU wants the clubs to thrash out a new long-term agreement for the management of elite players. The current one, which was hailed as a breakthrough when it was signed in 2001 only to turn out to have more holes than a sieve, ends in the summer of 2009 and the governing body would ideally like to have its replacement signed by September.
The RFU is aware that, in the past, signs of smoke from meeting rooms heralded another fire rather than agreement and it is arming itself with a back-up plan. Next month it will present a set of data and ideas to its council before taking the document, which is titled The Way Forward, to various interested parties, such as clubs, players, sponsors, spectators and television backers, to help turn it into policy.
So if the RFU and Premier Rugby fail to negotiate a new long-form agreement, the governing body will look to implement ideas endorsed by the wider game. "If we hit the jackpot in the next three months and reach an agreement with Premier Rugby, we would look to put the new arrangements in place as soon as possible," said Baron. "If we fail to reach an agreement, life will go on and that is what The Way Forward is about. We would have the means to put in place regulations and an administrative structure for the game beyond 2009.
"I was angry to read an erroneous franchise report because the whole point of what we are doing is to consult before any policy decisions are taken. If a wacky idea is thrown up, such as franchises, it will wither in the heat of debate within a couple of days."
Baron said that the solutions reached will affect only the game in England and will not impact on cross-border tournaments such as the Six Nations championship and the Heineken Cup. The International Rugby Board chairman Syd Millar said this week that he would like to see an international tournament set up in between World Cups to replace incoming and outgoing tours, but The Way Forward will focus only on what the RFU can change independently.
"I am optimistic that we can achieve something meaningful in England," said the RFU's elite director, Rob Andrew. "Everyone realises that we have the most complex structure in the world game. When I drew up a blueprint for the future of professional rugby seven years ago, I started with a blank sheet of paper and it proved impossible. Everyone is a bit wiser now, recognising that the professional game in England has to be improved."
The RFU has moved to repair its relationship with its best supported club, Leicester, which deteriorated to such an extent last October, after the Tigers attacked the union in its report to shareholders, that the governing body threatened to take legal action. "We have met with Leicester's leading officials and it was very positive," said the RFU's management board chairman, Martyn Thomas.
The club published a letter to shareholders in last Saturday's match programme which said it "looked forward to working with the RFU to achieve a future structure that benefits English rugby at both club and international level." The next three months will fully test that resolve.
