Shut-out Premiership clubs want to end relegation and promotion

Debate over ring-fencing league back on agenda Possible investment of £250m reignites issue

The vexed issue of promotion and relegation is back on the agenda for Premiership clubs as discussions take place over the feasibility of expanding the league from 12 to 13.

There are 13 shareholders in Premiership Rugby, the current top tier of a dozen plus last year’s relegated side, London Irish, who have made a sound start to regaining their status in the top flight and lead the Championship by four points.

The topic has been debated ever since the dawn of professionalism and the advent of leagues over 20 years ago. However, it has acquired fresh focus as clubs consider their futures in the wake of approaches for investment from outside concerns such as CVC Capital Partners.

A scheduled shareholders meeting of Premier Rugby Ltd is due to take place next Tuesday, when the clubs will consider a £250million offer for a stake in the league.

The Daily Telegraph understands, though, that there has been no stipulation from CVC about ring-fencing the league as a prerequisite for investment. Investment talks are a separate issue.

The fact this season’s competition has proved to be closer at the bottom end than ever before has brought the matter of promotion and relegation into sharper relief. Only four points separate the bottom seven clubs after nine rounds, with famous names such as Leicester, Bath and Northampton in the lower reaches. There are still 13 rounds to play but, even so, several club backers have raised the matter of what is best for the league in terms of its future make-up.

The prospect of a 13-man league has been spoken about with a view to playing the extra rounds of fixtures in the slot that is taken up at the moment by the Premiership Cup, a competition that tends to involve a mix of first and second-team players. However, issues of player welfare, and the number of games international players would be involved in, would become pertinent, although the sop would be that with no promotion and relegation, it would be easier to rotate squads accordingly.

Whatever transpires, and a Premiership Rugby spokesman confirmed that such subject matter was “a regular topic of debate”, it would have to be approved by the Rugby Football Union as it affects the Championship, which is its asset.

There have been no proposals yet put to the RFU, which would make it difficult for any alterations to be put in place for this season, all the more so given that the competitions are in full swing.