Prem eyes English expansion despite Welsh interest — SkimNews
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- Prem Rugby and the RFU confirmed in a joint statement that they are committed to expanding the English top flight, with a provisional target of 12 teams by 2029-30 from the current 10 after Wasps, Worcester and London Irish folded in 2022-23, and resources currently focused on supporting English clubs throughout the pyramid.
- Welsh Rugby Union told the Professional Rugby Board that it plans to explore a future in the English club game, but its statement committed only to fielding four teams in the United Rugby Championship until the end of 2027-28, after which it will determine the future operating model for the men's game in Wales.
- Rugby Football Union would have to approve Welsh teams entering the Prem because it would become a cross-border competition; senior sources in English club rugby confirmed the WRU's interest while insisting negotiations are not taking place.
- Men's Professional Rugby Board set detailed entry criteria — standard of play, finances, investment potential, infrastructure and how a club's geographical base spreads the Prem's appeal — after traditional promotion and relegation was scrapped from the start of 2026-27, with clubs now applying to join and initially having to complete a campaign in the Champ.
- Gavin Marshall, the WRU's chief financial officer, said the union could spend only £20m on professional rugby compared with the £26m it contributes now, after an £18m loss in the latest financial year versus £7.2m the year before, with the union saying it is already predicting a similar loss next year.
- Lyndon Faulkner, the WRU chair, said he is a fan of any potential Anglo-Welsh competition while also promising to review the plan to cut from four professional sides to three by 2028 — Ospreys and Scarlets are contesting the west Wales licence, Cardiff and Dragons are safe under current proposals, a summit is called for December, and the decision on which club to be culled is due in summer 2027.
- Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning are being pitched by the WRU for inclusion in Premiership Women's Rugby, while the Prem's 'P-share', understood to be worth £20m as the up-front cost of entry, secures a percentage of central income and voting rights and requires funding a Premiership Women's Rugby programme.
Why it matters: Wales's £18m loss and plan to cut a professional side by 2028 sit against a £20m P-share cost that also requires funding a women's programme. The WRU can spend only £20m on professional rugby versus the £26m it contributes now, so its stated Anglo-Welsh interest has financial logic — but the RFU would still have to approve any Welsh entry.
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