Bath co-owner Bruce Craig has revealed Premiership Rugby is interested in bringing two Welsh clubs into the Gallagher Premiership as part of plans to expand the competition. The league is set to grow from 10 clubs to 12 for the 2028-29 season, fuelling speculation that two Welsh sides could be among the additions.
Natural fit for expansion
Speaking to The Guardian, Craig said he believed Welsh clubs would be a natural fit for the expanded competition.
“I think we absolutely need 12 teams,” he said. “And there are certainly advantages to the Welsh if they can sort their situations out. They would have to be private clubs, so for example Cardiff would have to be spun off [from Welsh Rugby Union ownership]. But the advantages are huge for Welsh rugby and I think it would be good for the Prem. You’ve got the rivalry, the tribalism, the proximity, the travel. Tick, tick, tick, tick.”
WRU restructuring plans
The Welsh Rugby Union is committed to reducing the number of professional teams in Wales from four to three, with the Ospreys and Scarlets set to apply for the licence to represent the west. A Welsh rugby summit is scheduled for December, with a final decision on the three licences expected by March.
But the prospect of Premiership Rugby opening the door to two Welsh clubs could yet complicate the WRU’s plans and force a rethink of the future shape of the domestic game. The United Rugby Championship has struggled to win over significant sections of the Welsh rugby public, while an Anglo-Welsh league has long been regarded by many as the ideal destination for the country’s leading clubs.
Obstacles ahead
There is, however, a significant obstacle. The WRU is a shareholder in the URC, meaning any move towards the Gallagher Premiership would carry commercial and political implications beyond the restructuring of Welsh rugby itself.
Any move into the Premiership would also present significant practical hurdles. Cardiff Rugby would have to be sold, while stadium infrastructure poses a further obstacle, with Parc y Scarlets currently the only Welsh ground understood to meet PRL’s minimum entry criteria.
