Gatland calls for Anglo-Welsh club competition

Warren Gatland has given his backing to an Anglo-Welsh competition and says it is a concept that should always be "on the table".

Rugby union history is crammed with traditional cross-border club rivalries, especially during the sport's pre-professional era.

The attraction to supporters - and potentially cash-strapped Welsh regional teams - remains, and was recently underlined when Cardiff had a 12,000 full house at the Arms Park against Investec Champions Cup opponents Harlequins, while more than 10,000 attended for Bath's visit in December.

An official Anglo-Welsh competition previously existed in the form of a knockout tournament that ran from 2005 until 2018.

Leicester won it three times, while there were also successes for the likes of Northampton, Gloucester and Exeter.

The first four finals were held at Twickenham, attracting crowds of between 43,000 and 65,000, with two of those tournaments being won by Ospreys and Cardiff.

The competition comprised Premiership clubs and four Welsh regions.

"I've always said from a Welsh perspective we should always have an Anglo-Welsh competition on the table," Wales head coach Gatland said. "For me that is not about the present, that is about history.

"It's the history of those clubs like Newport, Cardiff or whatever, playing teams that are pretty close to the border in terms of Gloucester, Bath, and you've got Exeter now, so that goes back a long time to those traditional rivalries.

"That is something England and Wales, as unions, should potentially have going forward (an Anglo-Welsh league)."

While a potential Anglo-Welsh competition would most likely have a negative impact on the United Rugby Championship, Gatland does not believe that Welsh clubs should concern themselves with that.

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