Sam Warburton proposes drastic plan to rescue Welsh and English rugby ‘before things get worse’

Former British & Irish Lions and Wales captain Sam Warburton has outlined his idea for a new league which involves the Celtic and English teams.

The 35-year-old is worried about the future of Welsh rugby and believes his plan would safeguard the sport in the country.

English rugby is also on a knife edge following the loss of three teams – Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish.

Anglo-Welsh league

An Anglo-Welsh league has been suggested, involving the 10 remaining Premiership sides and the four regions, but Warburton would go a step further.

He wants to see Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England join forces to create a new two-tier competition.

“I would have two divisions of 10 teams each. That would be 10 sides from the Gallagher Premiership, with four Welsh, four Irish and two Scots,” he wrote in his Times column.

“So, whenever this new league starts, you would have the top five teams in the Premiership and the top five Celtic sides in the URC from the previous season to form the top conference, and the rest would be in the second tier.

“You would have home and away fixtures, which would be 18 games each. That is in line with what is played now.

“I don’t think the teams in Wales, Ireland and Scotland below the top level are good enough to challenge for places in this league, but I do think that the English Championship needs to be considered and so the bottom English club in this new league each season would play the top one in the Championship for a spot.

“I think there would be an enormous appetite for this new league, and I don’t think it would devalue Europe. Would it be better than what we have now? I think so.”

That would of course leave the remaining United Rugby Championship teams in the lurch, but Warburton also has an idea for Italy and South Africa.

“Some will ask what will happen to the South African and Italian sides in the URC, but it makes perfect sense for the Italian clubs to go into the French system and I find it amazing that, with all their players, South Africa cannot have a humdinger of a domestic league,” he wrote.

Lack of supporter interest

Although Warburton is not dismissive of the URC as a product, the former Lions skipper does not believe that it has engaged the Welsh public effectively enough.

“The URC has done a good job in the circumstances, making itself commercially viable, but it is not ideal,” he added.

“I think the problem with the Welsh regions is not that supporters haven’t bought into the regions, it is that they haven’t bought into the competition in which the regions play.

“You need games of high stakes, which the URC simply doesn’t provide. There is no buy-in. I’m a former Cardiff player, now a fan and board member, and I’m afraid that Cardiff’s URC results do not mean enough to me. Europe? Yes, but not the URC.

“It is time to get on the front foot and make some serious decisions before things get even worse.

“Because I fear that the WRU is just waiting for one of the four regions to go into administration so it can fund three regions properly — the reason why it is not investing too much into the regions right now.”

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