There is now no doubt in my mind that the English Premiership will scrap relegation and close themselves off in a move that will infuriate fans across the country.
Since the Premiership formed in 1987 as the Courage League National Division One, 28 teams have featured for at least one season.
The variety of teams has massively reduced with the dawn of professionalism. Clubs like Saracens, Newcastle and Northampton were able to attract wealthy benefactors, but the professional era also had its casualties, as clubs like West Hartlepool, Richmond and London Scottish were forced into administration when their backers pulled out.
Teams like Bath (pictured), Leicester and Harlequins didn't need benefactors as the clubs were wealthy thanks to a long-term base established over many decades
This became all the more severe in 2001 when then so-called Premier Rugby Limited was formed. Now the League was a money-making operation but what was somewhat concerning was that now the RFU didn't control it, and therefore it was based on self-interest.
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The "Restructuring" of 2005
The 2005 restructuring League set in motion the events that we are seeing today. In 2005, the League commercially restructured and those who were in the League at the time received ‘B’ shares, in simple terms allowing them a greater reward for any future participation (I won’t try and explain it to you because I don’t even get it).
Oh but they didn't stop there. Because they wouldn't have wanted their colourful mates from Twickers not getting a slice of the pie! Harlequins duly received shares despite not even being in the League, what a joke.
Jeremy Staunton lines up this relative simple kick, that drifts wide, thus sending Quins down. This was a turning point in the big clubs' attitudes to relegation.
The system was essentially set up to reward clubs that had made the leap to professionalism and survived the financial hit (wonder how all the clubs who went under felt about that but there you go). The idea behind it was clubs that exploited the new professionalism would need to 'earn' their way in.
This is in spite of the fact that two Premiership clubs at the time had spent three out of a possible 36 seasons at the top and never feature in the amateur era, but they gloss over that, like most decisions in its history.
So a cause that could be argued to have noble intentions was in reality grossly self-interested and was proven to be this by the way these shares were never sold. Had they been sold a few years down the line, when professionalism was well and truly embedded, it would be just-about understandable.
The dramatic changes to the system meant Yorkshire (then known as Leeds) simply never recovered from their 2011 relegation. Sealed after blowing a 24-3 lead at Franklin's Gardens
So the process was complete. The 13 richest clubs now owned the Premiership. And the end of relegation was in sight...
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The Destruction of London Welsh
Poor old London Welsh. A story that infuriates and saddens me in equal measure. From the moment Welsh looked set for their first promotion back in 2012 the League systematically set out to destroy them as a club. This is no conspiracy, it's a fact.
They did it for two reasons: The first was practical. Had Welsh settled in the Premiership, both on and off the field, it would have been a disaster for the League. Say they were sitting in sixth or seventh now, with a couple of big names on the roster and decent attendances; this would be chaotic for the League, with two of their shareholders stuck in the Championship.
The second reason was the propaganda they use now. They repeatedly wheel out the same phrases about how the leap is just too difficult to make and that clubs need to be ready.
This culminated in Mark "Money" McAfferty's extraordinary claim that should Ealing be promoted it would be "concerning."As I mentioned in that article, can you imagine the Premier League saying it was "concerning" a club got promoted?
Crucial defeats at Jersey and Bedford have made promotion an uphill struggle for Ealing, much to the relief of the Fat Cats who rule the Premiership.
Of course he used the Welsh example to back up his point, but no rugby fan is stupid enough not to see the way that Welsh were killed by this Old Boys-run institution.
During their first promotion the League ruthlessly went after them in two costly legal battles, the second of which saw a points deduction which got them relegated (when a fine would have sufficed) and during the second they gave them less than a third of the funding that the top clubs got.
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A League of Gentlemen
This makes it all the more laughable that when the League was fighting for fairer funding in Europe, they put forward the case that the League was some kind of ruthlessly meritocratic competition and European competition ought to be too.
That literally couldn't be further from the truth. Of the 13 teams that signed up for PRL in 2005, 12 are in the top 13 spots in the English League System now. The 13 teams that currently own shares make up the top 13.
In 2014/15 Welsh didn't stand a chance of winning a game, let alone surviving a season
Everyone knows the RFU has long lived under the shadow of a grossly old-fashioned, Gentleman's Club culture, but even the breakaway League didn't stop that from remaining in the top clubs.
And why would they want a flexible system? After all they are in such a vulnerable financial position that I would go as far as to say that around a third of the League being Wasps, Sarries, Harlequins and Bath would fold within three years of any relegation. Add Worcester and Sale to that list as potential maybes.
It's all the more clear then that this hasn't just been a series of cliquey, self-interested move aimed at supporting the big clubs in the short-term, there has been a systematic move to ring-fence the League.
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The Spirit of The Championship's Clubs
And yet despite this, London Irish's promotion is far from settled. They hold a nine point lead in the League, but have lost away at Jersey and still have closest rivals Ealing to play in the second-half of the season.
The story of Exeter Chiefs, who destroyed Yorkshire's hopes of staying in the cabal (probably at the expense of Rugby Union in Yorkshire, but that's a separate issue), causes so many to point out that it can be done.
Chiefs, who had regularly been in the top 4 or 5 in the Championship set the goal of promotion back in 2002, with all eyes on a Premiership title 15 years later.
In a stunning story fit for cinema, they got up, survived, established themselves, reached Europe, reached the play-offs, reached the final and then won the title over the course of eight brilliant seasons. They are now the most financially stable club in the League and are sitting pretty at the top.
Exeter stunned Bristol in 2009 to reach the Premiership, and they've never even considered looking back
But Exeter's story will surely never be repeated. They squeezed in before the door was basically slammed shut, and will be sitting at the top when it is literally slammed shut.
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Narrow Self-Interest or Respect for the Fans?
And so, the wounded animal that is the Championship is well and truly fighting it's final battle, akin to the defence of a Capital during a land conflict.
The Premiership has a choice, do they follow the interests of their shareholding clubs or that of what the fans want.
If my club Harlequins could actually survive a relegation I would prefer them to be relegated than to see this abomination. Given their financial chaos at the moment I think they would die a nasty, brutish and short death.
Indeed, it is Harlequins' relegation in 2005 that sent the chills through the other top clubs and began the process that has led the future of relegation to this showdown.
If you want to see evidence for what the people want, just read the most liked comments on the BBC's report on this.
Or just ask any real rugby fan.
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