Baxter leads Premiership chorus calling for Welsh clubs to join an Anglo-Welsh league

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has thrown his weight behind the creation of an Anglo-Welsh league, arguing that merging Welsh regions into an expanded Gallagher Premiership would benefit clubs on both sides of the Severn Bridge.

“I think an Anglo-Welsh league would be brilliant, I’ve been a big advocate of it for years,” Baxter said at the launch of the new Gallagher Premiership season at Allianz Stadium. “I think we all know clubs are struggling with the amount of games. Welsh clubs seem to be talking about not really wanting to be in the URC, because it’s a financial burden. It ticks a lot of boxes. PREM clubs want more games.”

The idea has circulated since Cardiff and Swansea played rebel friendly fixtures against English sides in front of sizeable crowds in the late 1990s, and the Anglo-Welsh Cup kept a version of the rivalry alive before it was shelved. Now, with Welsh regions publicly questioning the financial viability of competing in the United Rugby Championship, the concept is gaining fresh momentum among English club bosses.

Gloucester head coach George Skivington, whose club has regularly recruited Welsh talent — most recently national team captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake — said he would welcome the change. “I wouldn’t have given two minutes to the logistics of it. But we’re all the same island. It’s very easy from Gloucester in terms of travel. I’ve always enjoyed playing against the Welsh teams. So from my point of view, I wouldn’t be against it at all.”

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam framed the expansion in practical terms, noting that the Premiership’s growth from ten to twelve clubs is widely seen as necessary. “We all know the competition needs to go from 10 to 12 teams,” he said. “If that’s the Welsh teams, that’s great. Certainly, it’s the natural fit if it’s the Welsh teams because we’re all on the same island. There’s a lot of history between these sides. But hey, that’s out of my control. We just control what we can. At the moment, they’re not in but if they were, we’d welcome it.”

The alignment of opinion among several Premiership directors of rugby suggests the conversation is moving beyond wishful thinking, even if any structural change would require agreement from governing bodies on both sides of the border.