Covid-19/Rugby: English Rugby Football Union cancels all competitions except the Premiership

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, "Rugby Football Union is announcing the end of the 2019-20 rugby season for all league, cup and county rugby in England. The only exception to this is the Gallagher Premiership, who we are in active discussions with to review possible best next steps," said Bill Sweeney, CEO of RFU, the English Rugby Football Union, on 20/03/2020.

"We are working through the implications of ending the season early and have instigated a thorough process to ensure fair and balanced outcomes for the game. We will communicate these outcomes by the middle of April 2020," continued Bill Sweeney, while Gallagher Premiership Rugby has been suspended for "five weeks" since 16/03/2020.

"Our business model is similar to most rugby clubs - we earn revenue from events on and off the field and we invest that back into the game. We benefit from strong Twickenham Stadium (82,000 capacity) revenues but we are also exposed if there is widespread cancellation of games and events. In this extraordinary situation we are working through a range of potential financial scenarios dependent…