Revealed: Rugby rebel league fears are soothed - as Premiership reports growth in interest after serious post-Covid financial issues in English game
Revealed: Rugby rebel league fears are soothed - as Premiership reports growth in interest after serious post-Covid financial issues in English game
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The prospect of a new rebel league or an Anglo-Welsh competition blowing up English club rugby's traditional structures looks unlikely – for now at least – after the Gallagher Premiership reported promising signs of growth following a troubled few years.
![[YouGov data shows a total of 14.3million people in the UK retain an interest in the Premiership]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/13/94558667-0-image-a-6_1737983896782.jpg)
At the start of the week in which Steve Borthwick's national side begin their Six Nations campaign, there is good news to report on the state of the domestic game. With England winning just five of 12 games in 2024 and a bonus scandal hitting the RFU, reasons for cheer have been in short supply recently. It followed serious financial issues in the Premiership in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which eventually led to three teams disappearing into the ether. Now, though, there are signs the tide is turning.
![[The good news comes at the start of the week Steve Borthwick's England side begin their Six Nations campaign]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/13/94558603-0-image-a-3_1737983733328.jpg)
New, independent YouGov data shows a total of 14.3million people in the United Kingdom retain an interest in the Premiership, an increase of 13 per cent since 2023. Crucially, a significant rise in interest has been seen in the 18-34 age bracket, with the league attracting almost one million new supporters in the youngest age demographic.
![[The prospect of the Premiership merging with the United Rugby Championship have been, for now, mooted]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/13/94558623-0-image-a-4_1737983790871.jpg)
It represents a 31 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of young people interested in the Premiership, an increase of 43 per cent since 2021. The prospect of a new rebel league blowing up English club rugby's structures looks unlikely. YouGov data shows a total of 14.3million people in the UK retain an interest in the Premiership.
![[Premiership chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor told Mail Sport that 'the sort of growth statistics we have will help our stabilisation plan massively']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/13/94558649-0-image-a-5_1737983817394.jpg)
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