THE Premiership will shut down next season during the two international windows, meaning more clubs are likely to take the Premiership Cup seriously. Gloucester won the cup earlier this month having identified at the start of the campaign that making the knock-out stage would provide at least one competitive fixture when the league went into hibernation for the Six Nations.
The shape of next season is still being discussed but it will be different from the current campaign which started with the World Cup.
The Premiership Cup’s group matches were played in the opening five weeks of the campaign, but next season there will be an 11-week league break for the autumn international campaign and then the Six Nations.
Plans being considered include having a rest week at the start of each break period and playing three Premiership Cup matches in November. The group stage would conclude in February with the semi-finals and final to follow.
“What we need to see is fixture lists out nice and early so we can get everything arranged,” said Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby. “This is what we have signed up to with 10 clubs, the best players involved in the Premiership as often as possible and the Premiership Cup operating in the fallow periods.
“Next season will start with the Premiership with the cup played in the autumn and Six Nations blocks. It will have a better flow than the current one and I think more teams may take the cup seriously next season because fixtures at this point of the year are very important.
“We have always taken the cup seriously because of the competitive rugby you can get into young players. This season was different because we wanted to establish a side and we built our senior team through it. We had to because I had never put out a team with so many changes from the previous year.”
Bristol’s opening Premiership Cup fixture this season was at Exeter, the defending champions. Director of rugby Pat Lam put out a young side which shipped 11 tries in a 75-0 defeat.
“We will rethink our strategy,” said Lam. “This season was different be- cause of the World Cup, but there will be a better balance next year with matches played in the two international blocks and it will help you manage the squad.”
Championship clubs were included in this sea son’s cup, but it has yet to be decided wheth
