Rob Baxter: Exeter boss saddened at end of merit-based Prem promotion

Baxter led Exeter to promotion to the top flight in 2010 – the club are the last side to be promoted from the second tier and establish themselves in the top flight.

But Baxter says he also feels clubs must have the right infrastructure if they are to join the top flight.

Exeter spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on Sandy Park in the run-up to their two-legged play-off final win over Bristol in order to ensure the club would be allowed to gain promotion.

Only one non-Premiership shareholder club – London Welsh – has gained promotion since Exeter, moving their home games to Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium in order to be able to host a minimum of 10,000 spectators.

Ealing and Jersey Reds have won the last four Championship titles, but neither side had a ground capable of hosting enough fans and were not promoted.

“I can’t argue against the meritocracy-based part of it, but at the same time I think it’s important people understand the rules of getting basic things like a 10,000 stadium,” he said.

“These aren’t new rules, it’s not like anybody in the Championship has just had these dropped on them now, they’ve been there for years and years.

“If we want to take Ealing as a perfect example, they’ve known for a long time that to get promoted they would need to get a promotion-worthy team and a facility that can have 10,000 people.

“That’s not been dropped on them in the last two years, it doesn’t get dropped on them six months before promotion does it? That’s my caveat to it all.”