The Welsh Rugby Union has submitted an official request to enter the English Premiership, according to Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney, opening the possibility of an Anglo-Welsh league.
Sweeney told BBC Radio Four that the approach had been made in writing at the RFU’s request. “We have received a formal approach,” he said, adding that the union had sought clarification on several points before the submission arrived.
Premiership expansion plans
The English top flight, currently made up of 10 clubs, aims to grow to 12 sides for the 2029-30 campaign, with a longer-term goal of further expansion.
That ambition has gained urgency since Worcester, Wasps and London Irish folded during the 2022-23 season, reducing the league to its present size.
From the start of the 2026-27 season, automatic promotion and relegation will be replaced by an application process. Clubs will be assessed on criteria including playing standard, financial health, investment potential, infrastructure and the geographical reach they could bring to the league.
Sweeney stressed that the RFU’s priority remains the growth of the English game, and that no formal negotiations with Welsh officials have yet taken place.
Questions over Welsh exit from URC
The WRU’s four professional sides — Ospreys, Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons — currently compete in the 16-team United Rugby Championship alongside clubs from Scotland, Ireland, Italy and South Africa.
However, the WRU is in the process of reducing its professional teams from four to three by 2028. Licences have been awarded to Cardiff and Dragons, while Ospreys and Scarlets will contest the remaining west Wales licence, with a decision expected by summer 2027.
New WRU chair Lyndon Faulkner has indicated he will review all options, including retaining four sides, and has expressed support for an Anglo-Welsh competition.
Sweeney said the RFU needs clarity on how the WRU would legally leave the URC, given its commitment to field four teams in that competition until the end of the 2027-28 season.
“There are some fundamental questions there,” Sweeney said. “We don’t yet have a clear understanding of how they would legally exit the URC.”
The WRU declined to comment further when approached, referring instead to a statement issued last week in which it reaffirmed its commitment to providing four teams to the URC until the end of the 2027-28 season and said it keeps under review competition opportunities that may benefit Welsh rugby.
The WRU also confirmed it is seeking to enter two women’s teams, Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning, into Premiership Women’s Rugby.
