Jeremy Guscott has urged PRL to allow two Welsh clubs to enter the Gallagher Premiership. Writing in his Rugby Paper column, the former Bath, England and British & Irish Lions centre said he believes the competition needs to expand and that PRL and the Rugby Football Union should look towards Wales.
Guscott on expansion
"Having a 10 team league is not enough," Guscott wrote in The Rugby Paper. "Nine home games is just not sufficient for supporters, or broadcasters, and that's why it would be great to have two Welsh clubs join the Prem - and it's a shame it cannot be three."
He added: "You don't want fixture congestion, but to get more profile for the Prem we need more action around the elite club game, especially with stadiums getting bigger. If it works, why not expand it?"
More competitive teams
Guscott said the Premiership needs more teams that are competitive, whether they are Welsh or a new version of Wasps or Worcester. He recalled that two or three seasons ago there were eight clubs all in with a chance of making the play-offs with a top four finish, and he hoped to see something more like that this campaign.
Former England outside-half Stuart Barnes, in his column in the Times, also said the Gallagher Premiership could "one day save Welsh rugby from its gathering madness."
Welsh rugby context
The Welsh Rugby Union are currently in the process of reducing the number of professional clubs from four to three. While a change of competition has not been part of that situation, the United Rugby Championship is universally unpopular with the Welsh public. There has long been an appetite from Welsh rugby fans for more regular fixtures against English clubs.
For an Anglo-Welsh league to become a reality, the WRU would need to be invited in by both PRL and the RFU and find a way of exiting the URC. The Premiership has plans to expand from 10 to at least 12 clubs over the next few years.
