Simon Gillham Appointed Chair of English Rugby’s New Tier 2 Board

Simon Gillham, previously president of Brive and the French Top 14, has been named chair of English rugby’s newly established Tier 2 Board. This entity is tasked with developing the professional second division of the sport within England. His background includes work on media rights agreements for French club rugby. Gillham will continue in his role as vice-president for Brive. He holds the distinction of being the first non-French President for both the Top 14 and Pro D2, which is France’s second-tier rugby league. For the past 15 years, he has been involved in negotiating television contracts between French rugby and the broadcaster Canal+, and he also served on the board of the French media corporation Vivendi. Gillham assumes his new position within English rugby’s second tier during a transitional phase, as the 12-team Championship prepares for an expansion to 14 teams. This expansion comes as former Premiership clubs Worcester, Wasps, and London Irish express intentions to rejoin after facing financial difficulties. These three clubs, along with the then-current Championship titleholders Jersey Reds, experienced financial collapse between 2022 and 2023. Gillham stated, “We must now build on the existing positives and work with the RFU, Premiership Rugby, the RPA and all the English rugby clubs to raise the standards further.” He added, “This will involve talent and infrastructure development, strict financial discipline, a vibrant promotion/relegation system and raised visibility through media and sponsorship agreements. I can’t wait to get going.” At present, the Championship-winning team qualifies for promotion only if its home ground satisfies Premiership standards, which include a capacity to accommodate 10,000 spectators. Since Saracens, who had been relegated due to salary cap violations, secured the Championship title in 2021, no team has advanced to the top division. Nick Johnston, who serves as Coventry’s chief executive and is also a member of the Tier 2 Board, described Gillham’s appointment as crucial. Johnston commented, “Over the course of his 20-year involvement in French rugby he has seen Pro D2 develop substantially and has first-hand experience of the keys to that success will be of huge benefit to us.” He further added, “We look forward to him joining us as we gear up to a launch of the league for the 2025-26 season.”