Welcome to the Gallagher Prem: English rugby's top flight rebrands and targets US
Premiership Rugby has rebranded England's top division as the Gallagher Prem as part of a wide-ranging reboot that includes plans to take a fixture to the United States in the coming years and kicking off next season on a Thursday night.
Unperturbed by the existential threat posed by the R360 breakaway league, PRL on Saturday relaunches the Premiership on the day that Bath face Leicester in the final at Twickenham.
The change comes after widespread consultation with players including the England and Northampton full-back George Furbank and the Bath prop Beno Obano, with PRL executives stating it reflects 'how fans talk' and seeks to 'unashamedly celebrate intensity, physicality, grit and extreme athleticism'.
The rebrand – the first time the league has changed name since 1997 – is also designed to underline PRL's intentions to start a new chapter after recent years have been plagued by financial turmoil with Worcester, Wasps and London Irish all going bust.
Executives point to how the number of sellouts has risen from 18 to 30 this season while a new broadcast deal with TNT has been signed and, as exclusively revealed by the Guardian, Red Bull has agreed a deal to buy Newcastle Falcons. Plans for a franchise league also continue apace amid consultation with Deloitte and Raine Group over further investment.
Emboldened as a result, a return to the US is likely. In 2016, Saracens and London Irish locked horns in New York and a year later Newcastle and Saracens squared off in Philadelphia. Neither fixture moved the dial – only 6,000 attended the latter – but, with the US hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2031, there is a collective attempt among powerbrokers to capitalise.
England are playing a Test against the USA in Washington in July while the All Blacks will meet Ireland in Chicago at Solider Field in the autumn in a rematch of their historic meeting in 2016. It is understood that the British & Irish Lions turned down the chance to play their warm-up match against Argentina next week in Las Vegas but a well-placed source has told the Guardian that playing a fixture in the US on the way to New Zealand in 2029 is likely. PRL's title sponsor, Gallagher, is based in Chicago and celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2027.
Harlequins (Twickenham), Saracens (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) and Bristol (Principality Stadium) have all staged matches away from their regular homes this season to great success. Asked about taking fixtures abroad, and if a return to the States was a prospect, the Premiership Rugby chief executive, Simon Massie-Taylor, said: 'Yeah, but you need to do it strategically. The obvious point is the US and we've had US games before and they've been flash in the pans, at the wrong time of the season, in the wrong area, in the wrong stadiums with the wrong teams. But there is an opportunity in the buildup to the 2031 World Cup, we've also got a US partner who are coming up to their 100th anniversary.
'It needs to lead to something. It's about maxing out what we've got domestically first, which is why sell-outs are so important. That needs to continue for these big games to exist, and then you start moving beyond your shores.'
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Of the rebrand, Premiership Rugby's chief growth officer, Rob Calder, said: 'This is not formal, corporate or traditional. It's got grit, just like our competition. It's a physical contest that showcases power, pace and incredible skill under pressure, so we are unashamedly going to talk about physicality, intensity, extreme athleticism and the grit of top-flight rugby.
'This is about big hits, it's intense, it's full contact and it's unflinching. We know this works as we've spoken to the players, and the things they've said in the process are 'promote the players. Show the game, the aggression, the gladiatorial nature of the game, and give the brand the intensity to match'.'
PRL chiefs have also confirmed that next season is set to start on a Thursday, two days before the women's World Cup final, in an effort to avoid a clash with the Twickenham showpiece. It is likely to be a one-off in the short-term but, with next year's Six Nations also starting on a Thursday at the request of broadcasters, midweek matches could become a more regular feature further down the line. Officials have also revealed that they intend to trial away sections at more matches next season after doing so at Saracens and Leicester in April.
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