Premier 15s sides to face tougher punishments for too many foreign players, says chief executive

The chief executive of the Premier 15s says she will be introducing tougher penalties for sides who break rules on fielding foreign players next season.

Clubs currently face soft penalties, such as a reduction in funding, for persistently selecting more than two foreign players in a matchday squad.

But Belinda Moore says top-flight clubs could be docked points for similar offences in 2023-24.

“Next year we will start to enforce penalties,” Moore told BBC Sport.

Moore says the stance is to ensure there is a continued pathway for the players eligible to represent England to step up to the international level.

England won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations earlier this year and narrowly lost the 2022 World Cup final against New Zealand.

“We will have a [minimum] number on England qualified players (EQP),” said Moore.

“It will actually be down from this year because we are trying to make it manageable for clubs.

“The reason for setting up this league in the first place was to grow the pathway for England talent to come through.

“You can see from the recent success for the Red Roses that is starting to pay dividends.

“It’s really important to grow the number of England qualified players but we also don’t want to lose those global sporting superstars that people also want to come and watch too.”

Moore also said the name of the league would be changing before the new season begins.

Saracens and Harlequins, who both boast several Red Roses players, are the only clubs to have won the league since its inauguration in 2017.

Either Gloucester or Exeter Chiefs will be the third side to win the title in this year’s final 2023, but the previous dominance by London clubs has led to calls for a draft system for England players.

Moore says she has no immediate plans to introduce such measures.

“We do need to make sure there is a spread of Roses across the country,” she added.

“But if you look at next season, there is at least one Rose in every team, and several in some teams, so it’s almost happening on its own rather than us forcing it.

“Because we are not playing players full-time salaries, from a club perspective it’s harder to say to someone they have got to live somewhere else because we need you for a draft.

“When some more money comes into the game it may make it easier to move players but, for now, we are where we are and we would not rule out reviewing it in all forms.”