Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney has confirmed that the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has formally asked to join an Anglo-Welsh league. The Premiership hopes to expand from 10 to 12 teams for the 2029-30 season, with a "long-term ambition" to grow further. Wales currently has four professional sides, the Ospreys, Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons, which play in the 16-team United Rugby Championship (URC). The WRU also plans to cut one of those four teams.
"We have received a formal approach," Sweeney told BBC Radio Four. "We asked for that and we wanted it in writing. We wanted to understand a few points and that has been submitted to us." Three clubs, Worcester, Wasps and London Irish, folded during the 2022-23 season when the Premiership was reduced to 10 teams. Promotion and relegation were scrapped from the start of the 2026-27 season, with clubs now applying to join and being judged on play, finances, investment potential, infrastructure and geographical reach.
Sweeney has reaffirmed his commitment to expanding the English game, though no formal talks have yet taken place with Welsh counterparts. The WRU is meanwhile reducing its professional teams from four to three by 2028, with licences to be awarded to Cardiff and Dragons, while Ospreys and Scarlets compete for the west Wales licence. New WRU chair Lyndon Faulkner has said he will review everything, including keeping four professional sides.
Sweeney raised "fundamental questions" about how the WRU would legally exit the URC, of which it remains a member. The WRU has committed to providing four teams to the URC until the end of the 2027-28 season. By the end of this season, it will decide the future operating model for the men's game in Wales.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing