The sport of rugby union will have enjoyed quieter summer’s than the one just past.

From the Lions in South Africa complete with gouged eyes, broken bodies, and rambling coaches, to drug bans, receivership, Bloodgate, and eleventh hour deals with the taxman, we have had it all.

There is a saying in the world of Media and PR that all publicity is good publicity. Some might doubt that right now at Bath and Harlequins and others, but what is for certain is that as the new season comes upon us nobody has forgotten rugby union.

September will bring a new member into the rugby family. A new kid on the block with fresh ideas and new style. A breath of fresh air for the modernists and a big threat to the hard-bitten ingrained values of the traditionalists. Step forward, The Championship.

Under a new logo, modern branding and a new playing structure the twelve participating teams will do battle in a regular season running up to February 20 th. Coventry will kick-off the new league when they play host to Rotherham Titans on September 4 th. It will all end in the mud and melee of that frantic final Saturday twenty-four weeks later. Then it gets really interesting.

The top eight teams will be split into two pools of four. Pool A gets the teams finishing 1 st, 4 th, 5 th and 8 th. Pool B will be made up of those coming in 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 7 th. Over the next 6 weeks these teams play each other on a home and away basis.

The bottom four teams in the regular season make up a third group – Pool C. Their objective is survival and after playing each other on the same basis as the other Pools, the bottom side will be relegated.

Back in the top Pools the teams finishing first and second in each group will meet on Semi-Final Saturday – May 1 st 2010. The winner of Pool A faces the runner-up of Pool B, whilst the winner of Pool B plays the runner-up of Pool A. Winning your group guarantees home advantage in the semi-final.

Mercifully there is no play-off for third place which simply means that from those games two finalists will emerge to meet probably at Twickenham on May 8 th. The prize on offer; nothing more than a place in the Guinness Premiership for the following season.

The RFU are being cagey about the location for the final presumably for logistical and commercial reasons. The ambiguous wording in one press release I saw read like a passage from the Old Testament, but the upshot is that we will find out about the final nearer the time.

It seems that in gauging the reaction of the club’s to the new system those who have the most to lose by not being promoted (or by dropping through the relegation trapdoor in double quick time) have the most to fear by change. Consequently they are quick to criticise the new system pointing to dead rubbers and disinterested crowds by January.

I don`t buy that theory one iota as there will be a lot of jockeying for position to secure the more favourable draws in either top Pool. On top of that no coach worth his salt is going to let a winning team relax and take it easy for a couple of weeks. Getting that motivation and momentum back takes time – time that they will not have.

The Championship is a fresh challenge for all and should be embraced as such. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be lessons learned and reputations forged. The time for sniping about the new structure is over. It is time for all the clubs to unite and sell the quality of second-tier English rugby to an audience somewhat sceptical of the game after the events of this summer.

The Runners & Riders – High Tackle’s predictions

Bedford
Always well organised and difficult to beat on their own patch at Goldington Road. Should make the top eight play-offs without any trouble.

Birmingham/Solihull – Cash-strapped and lacking strength in depth for this level. Will talk a good fight but will be relegated.

Bristol
Their planned path back to the Premiership is riddled with hazards. Experience of the big time should eventually get them to the final but winning it will be another matter entirely.

Cornish Pirates
Okay, cards on the table time – I`m clearly biased here. A work in progress and seriously hungry again for success. Will make the play-offs. Could reach the semis with cool heads and a bit of luck.

Coventry
I feared for them earlier in the summer but Phil Maynard has once again assembled a big pack. Still lack craft in the backs so will end their odyssey in the Top 8 play-offs.

Doncaster Knights
The ambitious Yorkshiremen can hold their own against anyone on their day. My outside bet for the final.

Exeter Chiefs – Will they be bridesmaids again? Everything at Sandy Park is geared towards Premiership rugby but they faltered badly last season when Leeds looked vulnerable. Much depends on the new coaching team. Should make the semi-finals though.

London Welsh – Have survived a torrid summer financially and start with a five point penalty as a result. They face a tough opener away to Bristol and I see no reason for their past inconsistencies to end this season. Top 8 and no more.

Moseley
The team that is a player-sharing enigma from Billesley Common. Punched above their weight last season but deservedly won the National Trophy. However it’s a Pool C dogfight this time around for me.

Nottingham
Wonderfully consistent, superbly drilled, and brutally physical. Glen Delaney has done a marvellous job at Nottingham but has the squad evolved enough this summer? Cash constraints and disputes with their landlords must surely have an effect too. But if they get into the groove they will be there in the semis.

Plymouth Albion
The Championship has come a year too soon for Albion. The old war horse may still be in charge but the squad looks lightweight and short of depth. Will play to their strengths and will stay up in Pool C.

Rotherham Titans
Another side who will struggle for the same reasons as Plymouth. However can always cause an upset at Clifton Lane and like Albion will stay up courtesy of Pool C.

*The views expressed by High Tackle are his own and not of the Cornish Pirates.