THE Rugby Football Union have told Championship clubs Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights that they will not be able to compete in the Gallagher Premiership due to not having a big enough stadium capacity.

This year, both clubs nominated their home grounds to be eligible for promotion and to be independently audited under the Minimum Standards Criteria.

One of the minimum standards criteria is that the stadium must hold a minimum of 10,001 fans; this is to ensure the ground falls under the remit of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), regulated by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the Green Guide, as well as to be of a standard suitable for the top league of one of the nation’s major sports.

Ealing Trailfinders' ground holds approximately 5,000 with 2,115 seats whilst Doncaster currently has a capacity of around 5,183 with 1,926 seats.

Therefore, the RFU confirmed that neither club has successfully met the Minimum Standards Criteria based on capacity (as well as other factors).

The PGB therefore made a recommendation to RFU Board that neither club could be promoted to the Premiership for the 22/23 season, which the RFU has since backed.

It has caused plenty of debate on social media, with many pointing to the fact that there are a number of clubs, of which Worcester Warriors are one, that's average crowd is well below 10,000.