Pro12 in talks over North American teams joining expanded league

The Guinness Pro12, the only professional cross-border league in Europe, is considering expanding into North America as the organisers look at ways of closing the financial gap with the Premiership and Top 14.

Pro12 officials will next month fly out to meet representatives from the United States and Canada unions to discuss expanding the league to 14 teams before the end of the decade, having been boosted by Guinness’s decision to extend its sponsorship deal to 2020.

The face-to-face meeting will follow a number of telephone conversations and the Pro12’s move came after the Premiership initiative last season in which London Irish played Saracens in New Jersey. It was meant to be the first of three matches up to 2018, but the Exiles’ relegation in May has led to the plan being put on hold.

The Pro12 considered arranging a match for one of its Irish provinces in New York or Boston, cities with large Irish populations, but the idea developed into something more permanent with the US and Canada interested in setting up teams on their east coasts to take part in the league.

“It is something we are looking at as part of our plans to grow the league,” the Pro12 chairman, Gerald Davies, said on Tuesday at the tournament launch in Dublin. “There are sizeable Italian communities there, as well as Irish and Scottish, and as long as increased travel costs are met by an increase in sponsorship, we have established it would be viable logistically.”

The Pro12 held talks last year with London Welsh and London Scottish about the two England-based clubs joining the league and giving it a footprint in London, but nothing came from them with neither bringing much in terms of crowd support.

“The fact we are a cross-border tournament makes us different and it is something we should cherish,” said Davies, the former Wales and Lions wing. “We should promote it all we can and we should also trumpet that the ball was in play in the Pro12 last season for longer than any other tournament in the world. The rugby played is high quality, as last season’s final between Connacht and Leinster showed, and we always look at ways of getting bigger and better.”

That final attracted a record attendance after the decision to play it at an international venue, Murrayfield. This season’s showpiece will be staged at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and the hope is that the Welsh Rugby Union will submit a tender to host it at the Principality Stadium in 2018.

“Playing the final at Murrayfield was a big step for us,” the Pro12 chief executive, Martin Anayi, said. “We are increasing our fanbase and a theme for the coming season is that fans need to be readjusted in terms of importance. It is not just about sponsors, broadcasters and the media. We are putting the fans first, which is why we have listened to those in Wales who said they did not want matches to be played on a Sunday.

“They have been moved to Saturday evening and that shows how important Wales are to the league. We are also becoming more digital conscious to engage with young supporters. Rugby needs a clear narrative and other feedback from fans shows that they want international players playing for their clubs. Club rugby is on a massive growth spurt and we want to be leaders in that.”

The new season will end on 6 May with what has been called Super Saturday. All six matches will kick off at the same time and will be local affairs: two Welsh and Irish derbies with Glasgow facing Edinburgh and Zebre taking on Treviso. The play-offs then follow, with the final in Dublin on 27 May.

Connacht, who won the title last season despite having the lowest playing budget of the 12 sides, start the defence of their title against the team whose crown they claimed, Glasgow. “We must not put to the back of our minds what we achieved last season,” the Connacht head coach, Pat Lam, said.

“At a recent team meeting, I made sure the league trophy was at the front of the room to remind the players not just what they achieved but how they did it. It is not about how much you spend but whether everyone in the squad believes in what we are doing.”

As the Pro12 considers expanding, its two Italian sides are intent on moving up the table after years of battling to avoid the wooden spoon. “There is a need for some joined-up thinking in our game and the arrival of Conor O’Shea [as Italy coach] has provided that,” the Treviso head coach, Kieran Crowley, the former New Zealand full-back who arrived from Canada in May, said. “It will take a couple of years, but the potential is here and we have the example of Connacht to follow.”