How Edinburgh and Glasgow could thrive in revamped league set up

September 30, 2024

Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors would join the ten English clubs, the four in Ireland and the four in Wales to make up a 20-strong British and Irish League.

You can see why the under pressure Premiership clubs want change and why the URC see no reason to alter what has become a successful league set-up.

A financial sustainability study of all the Premiership clubs unveiled in London on Thursday showed that seven out of the ten are ‘balance sheet insolvent.’ UK corporate recovery and insolvency firm Leonard Curtis revealed that the ten of them collectively lost around £30.5m in the year 2022-2023. Overall the clubs have net debts of £311m. The worst off is Bristol with net debts of £60m, the lowest being Exeter with £15m. The SRU as a governing body reported an annual loss of £10.5m.

Two of the Premiership teams (Wasps and Worcester Warriors) plus one in the championship (Jersey Reds) have gone bust over the last few years.

Technically there is relegation from the Premiership -Newcastle Falcons are already being tipped to finish bottom of the pile- but because no Championship club meets Premiership stadium criteria no side can be promoted so that jeopardy at the bottom has been taken away.

On top of that English rugby’s golden boy Owen Farrell has left Saracens to sign for Racing 92 in France with Welsh star Louis Rees- Zammitt taking a break from rugby union with Gloucester to try his luck in the NFL.

Interest in the English Premiership product -even with Scotland’s Finn Russell at Bath- has diminished with the broadcasters. The Premiership are reportedly paying production costs to allow ITV to screen their 30 minute highlights package, Gallagher Premiership Unleashed, on a graveyard slot fifteen minutes before midnight on ITV1. A longer version is being broadcast on ITV 4.

To try and attract a new younger audience to the highlights package (most who watch are over 50) they have brought in a new set of social media influencers as presenters including YouTuber Lizzie Musa who goes by the name “Ruckstar Lizzie.’’

The big money from television rights come from satellite channels but SKY didn’t even bother bidding which meant that TNT could name their price to broadcast live matches this season.

It is sad to see English club rugby in such a state but as former England international James Haskell who wrote the foreword to the financial report after playing for Wasps who went out of business said a lot of the problems are self-inflicted.

”From what I have seen, experienced and learned, my belief is that the old-school values, amateur ethos and poor business acumen have led to the creation of a top-tier sport in England where several Premiership clubs could be in financial difficulties,” said the man who played 77-times for his country.

It is partly English arrogance in thinking they knew best and didn’t need cross border league competition that has come back to bite them.

The Premiership always thought they could exist in isolation. After all their amateur league set-up that started in 1987 had been very successful. When rugby went professional in 1996-97 clubs started paying players and the English league went from strength to strength.

They had some of the most established and best known clubs on the planet such as Bath, Harlequins, Bristol, Leicester, Northampton, Exeter and Wasps. There were also Saracens who benefited from major investment and London Irish who hoovered up fans and cash from the Irish in the south of England.

For a spell the English rugby union league was the best in the world before France got their act together and became the go to place to play.

Now the Premiership is looking for new revenue streams -especially with a television deal up for renewal in 2026. They want to broaden the appeal and they feel a British and Irish league would do that.

To be fair to the English Premiership they still have healthy match attendances -bigger than Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors- and expect they would increase even more with a British and Irish League.

By the same token for every Russell in a British and Irish league there is a Siya Kolisi of the Sharks in the URC to watch at The Hive or Scotstoun.

Yes the travel costs of a British and Irish League compared to the URC would be less and the carbon footprint reduced but having the South African and Italian teams taking on Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors has added a new dimension to northern hemisphere rugby.

Let the English Premiership clubs stew in their own juice. The URC that includes the two Scottish sides is doing well. The state of English rugby isn’t their problem. Things should stay the same.

The United Rugby Championship may have kicked a British and Irish league plan into touch but the Premiership clubs won’t give up. They will continue to lobby the governing bodies of Scottish, Irish and Welsh rugby to try and get them to change their mind.

I had a coffee with former Scotland and British and Irish Lions captain Finlay Calder this week who good naturedly suggested I was cutting off my nose to spite my face with my opposition to a British and Irish league. As a former player he said he would relish the atmosphere that would be created week after week in a British and Irish league.

By the same token for every Russell in a British and Irish league there is a Siya Kolisi of the Sharks in the URC to watch at The Hive or Scotstoun.

Let the English Premiership clubs stew in their own juice. The URC that includes the two Scottish sides is doing well. The state of English rugby isn’t their problem. Things should stay the same.