The PWR has experienced a surge in interest in the aftermath of the Rugby World Cup last year and has used the momentum to accept offers of interest from multiple parties to add a 10th team to the competition. This is in addition to expected renewed investment from Leicester into their women's team after it was left to wither at the bottom of the table this year.
There are several rumoured possible additions, but there are some particular parties that have sparked conversation. Bath are the obvious addition to the competition having come close to joining it previously and recently receiving a large investment from James Dyson. However, there are 3 other potential new teams which have stolen the headlines.
The Unions of Wales, Ireland and Scotland have all indicated an interest in exploring adding a team to the competition despite participating in the Celtic Challenge at the moment. Adding a team from each of these nations would enter women's rugby into a new ear with the creation of a British and Irish League; this is something that has been clamoured for in the men's game and would certainly help the women's game.
There are already dozens of Welsh players, many Scottish players, and several Irish players in the PWR so adding teams from these countries would be fairly seamless. It would also give more players from these nations exposure to the highest possible level of domestic rugby on a weekly basis, thus making the national sides stronger. Whilst this would be reason for caution in the men's game, this is actually a big positive for England in the women's game. The Red Roses obviously want to continue their international domination of the global game but those in charge at the RFU will be aware that having the other teams in Europe becoming truly competitive is necessary for the Six Nations to reach its full commercial potential.
This all sounds positive, so what are the potential draw-backs? Well, adding Unions to the competition rather than clubs could change the overall aim of the league. Clubs obviously want to develop local talent, and need to, but they are also happy to sign international players to help them win games; hence the presence of Irish, Scottish and Welsh players in the league. Unions could choose to use their teams purely as player development tools rather than treating them as a stand-alone club which would leave the league unbalanced. It could also impact central funding with the RFU potentially hesitant to fund other Unions and thus leaving teams in the league with a built-in financial disparity.
This could all be dealt with by having strict regulation and a salary cap. It may be tricky to put together but this is clearly the best path forward for rugby in this part of the world. Also look out for investment from Newcastle which could give the league 14, geographically spread out teams in a very competitive league. This is obviously all hypothetical but it's a good sign for the women's game that these topics are even somewhat based in reality.
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