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#Post#: 155665--------------------------------------------------
Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:05 am
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Semi-finals to be staged at neutral venues from 2029 as part of
strategy to reach new audiences and grow revenue
Gavin Mairs
Home advantage in the Prem Rugby play-offs will be scrapped as
part of plans to stage the semi-finals at a neutral venue from
2029.
Stadiums such as Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium are under
consideration for the last-four matches as part of a “big game”
strategy to grow attendances.
Under current regulations, the play-off destination is decided
by final league positions, with the top two sides benefiting
from home advantage in the semi-finals.
Both this season’s play-offs games, in which newly-crowned Prem
champions Northampton Saints defeated Leicester Tigers at
Franklin’s Gardens and Bath lost to Exeter Chiefs at the Rec,
were sell-outs.
A sold out crowd watch on during the Gallagher Prem semi final
match between Bath Rugby and Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs’ semi-final win over Bath was watched by a
sell-out crowd at the Rec Credit: Bob Bradford /Getty Images
Prem Rugby, which has launched a new growth strategy that
includes plans to expand the league to 12 clubs by the 2029-30
season, believes that a switch to neutral venues – creating a
destination event, with both games played at the same stadium on
a Friday and Saturday – will be a key move in taking club rugby
to new audiences and growing revenues.
The French Top 14 already stages its semi-finals at a neutral
venue, with Montpellier beating Stade Français and Toulouse
defeating Racing 92 at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille over the
weekend. Both games were 67,000 sell-outs.
“We are aiming to do neutral play-offs from 2029, subject to
getting the right venue and everything else,” Simon
Massie-Taylor, Prem Rugby’s chief executive, said. “The
semi-finals that we have just had were massive. They were
awesome in terms of the rugby spectacle, and they’re sell-out
games with their home crowds. I think they would sell out larger
venues and neutrals would go as well. They do it in France.
“Some of it is stadium availability and some of it is local
market. Do you go to the Hill Dickinson, it is a great stadium
there – could you double up there? I will be interested to see
how the England v Fiji game [on July 11] goes there.
“You have to mix up destinations, trying to open up new markets
and with tried and tested fan bases. This is about the long
term. In the long term, it will be more valuable if you are
playing in bigger stadia. They become main events and you have
longer time to selling games.
“We are firmly on the path to a more prosperous and brighter
future. No longer are we talking about survival, we are talking
about growth and investment.”
Prem Rugby is aiming to stage 10 “big game” events each season
starting in 2030, building on fixtures that have already become
regulars in the calendar like Harlequins’ “Big Game” at Allianz
Stadium, Saracens’ “The Showdown” at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
and Bristol Bears’ “Big Day Out” at the Principality Stadium.
“Match-day income is a fundamental part of all clubs’ business
models and over the last few years has been continuing to grow,
now at a level of 82 per cent occupancy for the Gallagher Prem,”
Massie-Taylor added. “Achieving sell-outs across all formats is
our goal. We also recognise that there is a finite stock of
weekends in the rugby calendar and we need to make the most of
them.”
Prem Rugby also plans to relaunch the Prem Cup in 2027-28 as a
“NextGen” league, focused on developing and marketing the game’s
rising stars.
“We will put significant investment behind a new brand, fan
engagement on match days and sporting innovation,” Massie-Taylor
said. “This important competition will not only be the test bed
for young players but also ways our game can improve and become
even more entertaining.”
#Post#: 155666--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:07 am
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So, now all you need do is aim for fourth.
#Post#: 155667--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:09 am
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--- Quote from: deadlyfrom5yardsout link ---
>
> So, now all you need do is aim for fourth.
>
--- End Quote ---
The BBC report
HTML https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c992m1d9gz8o
on
this say the clubs views on it...
--- Quote ---
> Club insiders have given the proposal a mixed reception when
approached by the BBC, with some excited about the number of
fans that could attend the play-off weekend in a big venue in a
destination city.
>
> However, it is estimated clubs currently make between
£600,000-£750,000 when hosting a play-off at their home ground,
so the money generated from switching to a neutral venue would
need to be significant to make it financially viable.
>
> There are also concerns the lack of home advantage might
disincentivise clubs towards the back end of the season,
especially if there is no tangible benefit for finishing first
in the regular campaign compared with fourth.
>
> One option would be to incentivise teams to finish in the top
two by awarding either prize money and/or a greater share of the
play-off gates.
>
> As well as the commercial factors, another advantage of
holding the play-offs in a host city would be the chance to take
big league games to an underserved area of the country.
>
> "You have to mix up trying to open up new markets and with
tried and tested fan bases," added Massie-Taylor.
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 155669--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:13 am
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Whats wrong with using Twickenham? Lord knows the RFU need the
money. Also, how realistic is it that say, Exeter fans will go
in numbers to Liverpool?
#Post#: 155670--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: Yareet
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:28 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: deadlyfrom5yardsout link ---
>
> Whats wrong with using Twickenham? Lord knows the RFU need the
money. Also, how realistic is it that say, Exeter fans will go
in numbers to Liverpool?
>
--- End Quote ---
Sandy Park to Hill Dickinson - 4:30, 251 miles
Kingston Park to Twickenham - 5:16, 302 miles
Nowhere is perfect for everyone
#Post#: 155671--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: J Scott
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:31 am
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--- Quote from: deadlyfrom5yardsout link ---
>
> So, now all you need do is aim for fourth.
>
--- End Quote ---
This is why there should still be a league winners trophy and it
means something to be top. You can’t have one still have the top
4 play off for the Prem title.
#Post#: 155672--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: June 22, 2026, 4:59 am
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--- Quote from: J Scott link ---
>
> This is why there should still be a league winners trophy and
it means something to be top. You can’t have one still have the
top 4 play off for the Prem title.
>
--- End Quote ---
If you trying to bring in new fans, having more than one trophy
is just going to confuse people, which one is more important the
league trophy or the prem trophy.
#Post#: 155673--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: Yareet
Date: June 22, 2026, 5:18 am
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Start the semi-final with a score equal to the number of league
points you had. This year would have given Saints a 9-point head
start and Bath a 4-point lead.
Also means we could easily have semi-finals that hit 100 points
each 😁. Also potentially stops teams resting players in
the last few weeks of the league.
Yes, I know this will never happen.
#Post#: 155674--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: BedfordshireBoy
Date: June 22, 2026, 6:31 am
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--- Quote from: J Scott link ---
>
> This is why there should still be a league winners trophy and
it means something to be top. You can’t have one still have the
top 4 play off for the Prem title.
>
--- End Quote ---
Never really understood why this isn`t the norm, I am sure that
Rugby League used to do this many years ago (still do?).
#Post#: 155675--------------------------------------------------
Re: Prem Rugby to scrap home advantage in play-offs
DIR By: FrostAndFire
Date: June 22, 2026, 6:33 am
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--- Quote from: J Scott link ---
>
> This is why there should still be a league winners trophy and
it means something to be top. You can’t have one still have the
top 4 play off for the Prem title.
>
--- End Quote ---
Gotta say that feels like giving Player of the Match to someone
on the losing team. If you end up getting knocked out in the
semis, a "league winners trophy" is going to taste a bit like
ashes.
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