This was a weekend to celebrate English Rugby without doubt. In all honesty either of the two possible Red Roses squads could have completed the Grand Slam but the entire group deserve huge congratulations. They know it is a stepping stone to a World Cup which by right should be theirs in October. If there is enough power to neutralise England, then both the Black Ferns and France have the pace and skill to trouble the seven times Grand Slammers. But I doubt either will transpire, John Mitchell is a very smart coach and will adjust where needed. England Women’s Rugby owns it’s own franchise, to coin a phrase.

Why were so few in the ground, they say only 37,000. Well, sport needs drama and competitive action not foregone conclusions so people switch off – despite the end scoreline. It is easy to applaud, and I do, the commitment to England professional women’s rugby, but it has been disproportionate to what is needed. Wales and others are so far behind now in their structure and support that the suggestions by a former National Captain to restructure the Six Nations does make sense.

Celebrate also that Bath finish top, miles ahead of the rest and with a guaranteed home semifinal after a gap of 21 years. Johann Van Graan, Lee Blackett and Andy Robinson are a formidable trio who have brought back traditional values to a club which had lost it’s identity. No more, and they have built their own more or less, excepting the odd marquee maverick, who is worth every penny. With young prodigies like Ciaran O’Donoghue and Louis Hennessy coming through the future is rather Blue, Black and White. I am proud to be part of their history. The rugby they are playing right now is every bit as impressive as in the halcyon days.

They have to win a final or two first but the only team who could challenge – and they would – is Northampton Saints who are too far off the pace due to the absences of their numerous England players which took a toll early season. They simply destroyed Bristol at the weekend and although it was too easy with seemingly no back-row to be seen and tackling at times optional, Alex Mitchell for me is now the best scrum half in Europe and has to start for the B&I Lions. Great contest coming on Saturday in Dublin which is more like the lofty position held by the Saints in reality but Mitchell’s Lions rival Gibson-Park does hold a few extra cards such as the Irish International forwards pack.

Bath’s 2nd Team demolition of Newcastle who played with heart but little else, and the humiliation of Exeter by Gloucester tells another story of imbalance. Games which are decided after 30 minutes may lose some interest, even to the fanatical Shed (doubt it actually, they can’t get enough!) and we return to the issue of how funds and resources are allocated in sport.

I am a huge fan of the increasing skill levels on offer – Sale Sharks have hit new levels and George Ford playing with gay abandon ironically marks him out as a Lion in my view. Remember when he was fed the line by Eddie Jones that having to much possession was like holding a ticking time-bomb. Reed and Roebuck on the wide outside have real class.

What we are seeing here is the effect of contrived sporting standards, and the difference between the haves and the have nots, perhaps unbridgeable because of active funding decisions. This applies to the second tier of rugby in England which has been starved of resource, not just funding but in the field of marketing and advertising, the gaps grow ever wider. As an eminent Championship club owner opined: ‘If you give a starving dog a bowl of water it invariably dies.’

There are ways to fix these imbalances but it takes some real thoughtfulness, leadership and tough decisions properly explained, rather than the easy ones which have led us here. There are kites being flown for a franchise system and we will see if the game can genuinely engage in serious analysis to find the right balance or whether it’s broken attempts at negotiation or even what passes for governance will continue. Meantime onfield I applaud all our elite players for pushing the boundaries.

I have more views to share on the way forward and they will appear here in the next week or two, but never losing sight of the fact that there is a huge amount of great rugby to come in the weeks ahead!

Lastly, down in Cheddar Valley RFC,1600 players and 5000 people attended the 43rd Minis and Juniors Festival. The mass efforts of volunteers across 5 counties have shown what is necessary to keep our game thriving under the pressure it has felt from the Union’s misplaced priorities and led to mass calls for reform. As Vice President, even from afar I applaud – Come on you Cheese!!

Hallers