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English rugby plots revolutionary changes to expand new ‘franchise-style’ Premiership

Vieux Talonneur said:
The devil will be in the details.

But they want to expand to 12 or 14 or maybe beyond. Whatever the structure that's pretty optimistic given the state of the finances of some of the current 10. Doesn't matter how you package it if fans aren't coming into stadia or buying the right TV packages / merch.
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CVC being involved doesn't fill me with any confidence.
 
On the idea of franchises, who would you put into the league assuming 12 franchises with good geographical spread and fan base.
 
Not sure. I think the quality will take a hit if this goes ahead due to the lack of interest from companies willing to put money in. 🤔
 
Last edited:
higgik said:
On the idea of franchises, who would you put into the league assuming 12 franchises with good geographical spread and fan base.
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Leicester to Preston. Bath to York.

Based on the US model of franchises moving and the storm the Oakland A's move has caused.
 
Saintjay said:
Leicester to Preston. Bath to York.

Based on the US model of franchises moving and the storm the Oakland A's move has caused.
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Logically if they going for Population base somewhere in West or South Yorkshire is more likely than York.

Also somewhere on the South coast and in East Anglia have been mentioned as where they would like teams in an ideal World.
 
Based on the US model you would have teams in
London x 2
Newcastle
Middlesbrough
Leeds
Sheffield
Liverpool
Manchester
Birmingham
Leicester
Bournemouth
Bristol

Gives you an easy derby weekend to sort lol
 
LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan) said:
Based on the US model you would have teams in
London x 2
Newcastle
Middlesbrough
Leeds
Sheffield
Liverpool
Manchester
Birmingham
Leicester
Bournemouth
Bristol

Gives you an easy derby weekend to sort lol
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If you count DARLINGTON MP as Middlesbrough, Doncaster Knights as Sheffield, Coventry as Birmingham, then not far off what it could be!!!!
 
I am right in thinking with the franchise model all current clubs remain and the RFU/prem rugby keep the 10k stadium rule in place.
 
Rugbyfan564 said:
Logically if they going for Population base somewhere in West or South Yorkshire is more likely than York.

Also somewhere on the South coast and in East Anglia have been mentioned as where they would like teams in an ideal World.
Click to expand...
Leeds or Doncaster for Yorkshire franchise
 
They'd need to have half an eye on the competing interests of league. You won't get a crowd on the same day as a Rhinos match
 
higgik said:
On the idea of franchises, who would you put into the league assuming 12 franchises with good geographical spread and fan base.
Click to expand...
Problem with that is there isn't a good geographical spread of the fan base. West country, London, East Midlands have so far been the only areas to sustain pro teams with the exception of Sale. Rugby league doesn't seem to try and found teams in Gloucestershire for the same reason.

Now could we combine the two sports and make a Rugby Football league?
 
Rugbyfan564 said:
Logically if they going for Population base somewhere in West or South Yorkshire is more likely than York.

Also somewhere on the South coast and in East Anglia have been mentioned as where they would like teams in an ideal World.
Click to expand...
East Anglia, that gives you Cambridge, Peterborough, Norwich and Ipswich as your biggest populations I'm guessing.

The last two have smallish populations but football teams averaging over 24k. So your competing with them for starters.

Still Saints vs Peterborough would be fun.
 
Problem is much more systemic, the game just isnt that popular, and isnt gaining popularity at the rate of other sports. It is enjoyed by mostly older men, and isnt played in most state schools.

Problem with the franchise model is, you could have a billionaire buy a franchise for manchester, birmingham, rotherham... and you arent going to magic up a fanbase, you need to actualy grow the game, get people interested. France have done a lot of smart things for their domestic games, but by far one of the smartest things is having one game a week being on free to air TV built into their massive TV deals.

Rugby is a fantastic game, if it was easier to follow and shown to more people it would pop, you see its popularity spike every six nations and WC because more people can watch it, if people could actually watch the prem without having to buy into endless subscriptions that may be worth it if you are a die hard fan, but of putting if you are trying to get into the sport outside of international windows.

If you get excitment, and show it is a growing market, not stuck to a capped number as is in very localised areas and you could see major investment like france has down their pyramid, once you start having people see it as a money maker it doesnt matter if its a pyramid or franchise the gam is more stable.

Currently? its a niche week to week sport, followed by predominately one demographic, in only certain pockets of the country with most current prem teams showing there is no money to be made and no evidence that it is changing or can be changed by growing interest from the public. So it doesnt matter what you do, its all plasters over something that needs stitches.
 
Which is why I'm not sure this new system would work without a drop in quality due to the lack of backers.
 
Good luck getting PRL to agree to any of this, they'll go absolutely feral
 

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