Stuart Barnes explains radical 10-team Anglo-Welsh League idea that would exclude three Premiership clubs

Stuart Barnes has floated a radical Anglo-Welsh Premiership idea to revive the financial stricken regions in Wales that would involve demoting three current English top-flight teams to the Championship.

With Cardiff the latest club to feel the pinch, resulting in last Wednesday’s emergency takeover by the WRU, ex-England international Barnes has called on rugby officials to revisit the ‘secret’ Anglo-Welsh plan that fizzled out at the start of the professional era in the mid-1990s.

Writing in his latest Sunday Times column, the long-retired Bath No10 recalled being at a meeting in Worcester with the late Jack Rowell and representatives from English and Welsh clubs. He claimed that the RFU and WRU would have taken severe actions with the clubs if they had known about the talks, but the idea of a joint league was quickly shelved.

Barnes wants a 10-team league consisting of seven English clubs and three from Wales

However, Barnes now believes the time is ripe for English and Welsh clubs to join forces, creating a top-flight involving seven Premiership clubs and three from Wales and a Championship that would include the excluded three English Premiership clubs and Newport.

“Wales and England, at least in terms of rugby, is a jigsaw puzzle that fits,” he insisted. “How does it come together? First of all, with a spirit of generosity. The English game isn’t awash with money, but any Anglo-Welsh league would require immediate financial assistance for Wales.

“And not just for the sake of Welsh rugby. The stronger the Welsh contingent of teams, the better the competition. The better the competition, the greater the interest on the terraces.

“Whatever funds come into the competition, be it broadcast, sponsorship or commercial deals, there should be a greater share given to the more cash-strapped Welsh teams. At least until they are able to compete in financial as well as playing terms. The one is inextricably bound to the other.

“How many teams? Ten for starters, with seven English and three Welsh sides: Cardiff, Scarlets and Ospreys. This would cause short-term consternation with three English teams dropping down to the Championship.

“But a championship that would be renamed the English Championship with a guaranteed play-off against the lowest-placed of the English Anglo-Welsh teams would give the broadcasters and the RFU something positive to think about.

“Newport would also be admitted to the English league system to give Wales an opportunity down the line to have four teams in the major league. I favour promotion/relegation because there has to be hope for unseen futures. The world is a bit of a nightmare at the moment. Let’s allow dreams to remain part of sport.

🗣️ “We are working closely with the Cardiff Board and the administrators to safeguard the future of professional rugby in Cardiff.”

🔵 Welsh rugby plunges to new depths as Cardiff set to go into administration – reports.https://t.co/MEcYND9pAv

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) April 8, 2025

“Briefly, however, let’s revisit the past: New Year’s Day fixtures at Cardiff Arms Park between Cardiff and Bath with 15,000 crowds. That was when the game was amateur. Yet it understood how to market itself and maximise the Anglo-Welsh rivalry. The rugby did all the talking.

“Wales is a great rugby country, but it is running out of steam. England can help restore it… The near collapse of Cardiff is a chance for England and Wales to act for the strugglers, to the benefit of everyone who is part of the Anglo-Welsh rugby world. This column isn’t supposed to be a detailed plan. It is very much a hope.”

Read More: England star to be assessed after concerning knock in Northampton Saints’ Champions Cup victory