Responding to reports that £500,000 will be offered to all 14 National League One sides to reject promotion, Cooke, the executive director of First Division Rugby, said: “No formal deal has been offered. We have an unshakeable belief in a pathway to Premiership rugby for ambitious clubs.” The £7m would be a shared outlay between the elite sides, who would require a two-thirds majority from the 14 clubs as well as RFU consent.
It is believed up to 10 clubs would accept the deal, with Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance & Newlyn likely to resist the move.