Pro12 plans for north America are taking shape

PLANS to expand the Guinness Pro12 into north America appear to be taking shape amid reports of franchises being set up in the USA and Canada.

There has been talk for some time about Pro12 bosses looking to tap into the potentially lucrative American market as part of a major restructuring of the crossborder competition.

Now some flesh has been added to the bone, with Houston and Toronto being identified as possible locations for the sides which would come on board to compete in a new two-conference tournament.

According to a report in The Scotsman, plans have been drawn up to include one US franchise and another in Canada in a brand new league called the Guinness Atlantic Rugby Championship, which would be launched in the 2018-19 season.

Houston and New York are possible franchise locations.

Talk of a side in Canada is a new development, with Toronto’s BMO Stadium reportedly lined up as the home of the team, while Vancouver is also a possibility.

Adding two north American sides would see the league increase to 14 clubs, with the idea being to have two sections of seven followed by play-offs.

That would see a reduction in the number of regular season matches from 22 to 19, which would enable pretty much all games to be played outside of the international window.

Pro12 bosses recognise one of the biggest issues with the league is the number of times star players are missing from games because of Test calls.

The proposed restructuring would address that particular problem.