English rugby ready for ‘reset’ moment as new Premiership season gets underway with only 10 teams after ‘tragic’ demise of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish last term

• The new Premiership rugby season starts on Friday with Bristol vs Leicester
• 2022-23 campaign saw the demise of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish
• Chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor hopes there will be greater stability now 

The boss of Premiership Rugby says this season will be a ‘reset’ moment for the league following the ‘tragic’ demise of three top-tier clubs last term.

Wasps and Worcester Warriors dropped out of the division after going bust before Christmas, while London Irish suffered the same fate in June.

It means the Premiership will contain only 10 teams this campaign for the first time since 1995-96. 

But chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor is confident there will be more stability this season and that the league can prosper in its new format.

Speaking before Friday night’s opener between Bristol and Leicester, Massie-Taylor said: ‘It’s definitely a reset. We’ve been itching to get started and a lot of work has gone into making this a successful campaign.

Saracens celebrates after beating Sale to win the 2022-23 Premiership final at Twickenham

Premiership rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor hopes for greater stability after the demise of three clubs during the 2022-23 season

‘Last year, there were some tragic and hugely difficult distractions that we had to deal with, and so the work has been on making sure that we’ve got firmer foundations going forward. 

‘We’ve put in stricter financial controls and monitoring. With greater transparency and visibility, we have a much clearer sight of clubs’ finances.

‘Everyone is in a delicate state. If we had another pandemic or another major economic shift, then everyone gets affected.

‘But the clubs are in a much more stable position. I don’t anticipate anything like the problems that we faced last year.

‘That will be a strong signal to future investors. We can’t just rely on the current investors, which last season proved. We need to make ourselves as attractive as possible, so we need to be stable and we need to be growing.’

Key to growing the Premiership will be their new Amazon Prime documentary, Mud, Sweat and Tears, which was released on Thursday to critical acclaim.

Made by Sunderland ‘Til I Die producers Fulwell 73, the two-part series focuses on last season’s play-offs. Now Massie-Taylor hopes a second series will be commissioned to follow the full 2023-24 campaign.

London Irish were suspended from the Premiership after being stuck by financial troubles

Last season also saw the demise of Worcester Warriors, who entered administration last year 

‘We’d like to do another series and soon, so we hope that this is popular,’ he said. ‘We’re keen to make this as big as possible. We want to tell the story of the league.

‘The initial reaction has been fantastic. We are really proud of what’s been produced. It’s great that it builds some profile and hopefully brings in new audiences.

‘It will appeal to core fans because they are interested in player stories. But if you can tap into a lot of the human elements, it starts to attract different people.

‘You’ve got stars in a sport where, unlike football, it’s relatively modest in terms of income. So it is relatable and has good humour. You’ve got some real characters.

‘Where we’ve underperformed in the past is the exposure of our players. New fans follow people and personalities and that gets them into a sport. This documentary does that.’

This season has a revamped schedule with the aim of boosting attendances, as no matches are held during the spring Six Nations for the first time.

Finn Russell is a new Premiership star after the Scottish fly-half signed for Bath from Racing 92

Another new feature is next month’s ‘Derby Weekend’, comprising matches between local rivals. There will also be a two-leg promotion/relegation play-off at the end of the season between the Championship winners and the Premiership’s bottom team.

A big draw will be Finn Russell, who will be making his Premiership debut. The Scotland fly-half, 31, has joined Bath from Racing 92 in a deal which makes him the league’s highest-paid player. 

While Bath will be hoping to improve on their eighth-place finish last season, Saracens are the bookies’ favourites to defend their title.

‘One of the USPs of the Premiership is how competitive it is,’ added Massie-Taylor. ‘Last season, there were nine teams that could have made the top four within the last three rounds. This league is so unpredictable and tight — and I think it’s going to get even tighter.’

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