The England great is urging PRL to admit two Welsh clubs into the Gallagher Prem
Stuart Barnes says an Anglo-Welsh league is needed(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
England great Stuart Barnes has urged PRL to invite two Welsh clubs into the Gallagher Prem to create an Anglo-Welsh league.
PRL are looking to expand the Prem from 10 to 12 teams by 2030 before further expansion under a franchise model which will see relegation scrapped. Writing in his column in The Times Barnes suggests two Welsh sides should be granted entry with the other two remaining in the United Rugby Championship.
“I have addressed the subject of the four Welsh teams joining the Prem on more than the one occasion,” wrote Barnes in The Times.
“And, yes, the appeal for all four was more a cry from the heart than a realistic possibility. But what about two teams? It’s the perfect solution for all sorts of protagonists.
“First, the WRU (which has an Emergency General Meeting on Monday) could sorely do with some English assistance.
“So come on Prem, help Welsh rugby fans, rugby administrators and yourselves.
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“Here is how it works. England’s elite league adopts two Welsh teams.
“This leaves the bruised and battered WRU with only two professional teams on their books. Instead of splitting the finances three ways, the union will have an extra share to be split between the two who remain URC regions.
“The Prem — driven at times by its fundamental faith in the market and investors — would back itself to utilise the new dawning of club rugby for two professional Welsh clubs.
“If the Red Bull entry, the James Dyson investment and the heavily rumoured American takeover at Exeter Chiefs is the real deal, Cardiff, in particular, would be a tremendous target for a future investment and takeover.
“At the moment the deal for Y11, the company that owns Ospreys, to buy Cardiff remains unfinished business. The opportunity still exists.”
Barnes also believes the addition of two Welsh clubs would enhance the Gallagher Prem and create a better atmosphere at games.
“The Prem would benefit from the amalgamation courtesy of growing crowds, great atmosphere and a sequence of rivalries on either side of the Severn,” he wrote in The Times.
“It could become the first serious rival there has been to France’s Top 14.
“The removal of promotion for Championship clubs remains a flaw in the system but with Scarlets and Cardiff theoretically adding local Celtic edge the competition will fill stadiums and — in doing so — convince broadcasters to battle for rights.
“The two remaining Welsh URC sides would be ‘pathways’ for bright young players.
“In an ideal world, at the season’s end the lower placed URC and Prem Welsh teams would have a play-off, with the winner playing in a Prem, which will inexorably leave the other league behind because of the ridiculous flaws of the URC.
“A geographically sane club tournament, a fingers-crossed gesture for the investors in the Prem and an opportunity for Wales to maintain two clubs on an enhanced financial input can work.”
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