Baxter backs Welsh regions joining Gallagher Premiership as 'simple' fix to ten-team problem

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter has doubled down on his call for Welsh regions to join the Gallagher Premiership, welcoming the Welsh Rugby Union’s reported interest in moving its professional clubs out of the United Rugby Championship and into an expanded English top flight.

The WRU’s intentions were disclosed to the Professional Rugby Board last week, with the governing body confirming it plans to explore a switch across the Severn Bridge. For Baxter, the news validates a position he has long held: that ten teams are not enough to sustain a competitive and commercially viable Premiership.

“There’s no point in me backtracking on what I’ve said in the past,” Baxter said. “We need more teams in the PREM, and it seems like a very simple idea. If it happens, great; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

The Premiership lost three clubs in quick succession three years ago when Wasps, Worcester and London Irish all folded, shrinking the division to its current size. League bosses have set a target of expanding to 12 teams by the 2029-30 season, with a stated long-term ambition to grow further — though their stated priority remains promoting clubs through the existing Championship pyramid rather than absorbing Welsh sides.

Baxter acknowledged the structural hurdles involved, pointing to broadcast contracts and long-standing commercial agreements as the primary obstacles. But he argued that the appetite for more fixtures would ultimately override those complications, and suggested Premiership clubs would even be willing to play league games during international windows if it meant a fuller calendar.

“I know it’s very complex as to why it can’t happen around TV deals and long-standing other contracts,” he said. “But I think everybody in the sport knows that we would need more regular games through the season.”

The Exeter boss pointed to the Premiership Rugby Cup — which already runs through the Six Nations — as evidence that clubs can manage a busier schedule around international breaks. He argued that with 12 or 14 teams in the division, playing through the Six Nations and the autumn internationals would be no different from how the league used to operate.

“Once you know it’s happening and you build a season around that, you get on with it,” Baxter said. “As far as I’m concerned, whatever happens to create more games and a better competition, it would be a positive thing, whether that’s the Welsh teams or another avenue. I would obviously welcome it.”