The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby

Of all the major rugby playing nations, the professional game has changed more England than anywhere else since the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak.

England lost three Premier clubs due to a lack of RFU subsidies during the pandemic. Last year it was revealed that club owners were not only planning radical changes, but talking about a post-Covid revolution in the domestic game. The key words were turning the league into a franchise system, similar to the Indian Premier Cricket League or the NFL in America. This would help centralize commercial operations and distribute revenue evenly between clubs. Financial players in the game would be protected from a sharp drop in revenue with the abolition of relegation, and promotion would be guided by strict criteria such as the presence of a unique regional footprint, proven financial stability and strong links with the women’s game. It is set to expand to between 12 and 14 clubs by the start of the 2029-2030 season, with the intriguing possibility that two Welsh regions could become part of the format.

The radical restructuring of the professional game in England has already been reflected in the change of culture on the field. The vast majority of teams in Prem prioritize attack over defence, and this explains the explosion in scoring over the past few seasons, while refereeing has transformed in the same breath. One of the more unusual comparisons this season illustrates how the Prem has polarized with Super Rugby at one end of the game, with the URC and Top 14 on the other side.

The first table shows the clear differences in the basic philosophy of the game between the rival competitions.

The Top 14, with its historical preference for big tight forwards and a strong lineup, tends to match the URC and the presence of its four South African franchises. Prem and Super Rugby are the two leagues with the most time on the ball, the most handballs made and the most tries and points scored.

Another table showing refereeing tendencies in some key areas of the game reinforces the same differences.

Average penalties awarded in Prem i Super Rugby Pacific falls below 20 per game, while the set-piece is considered more of a restart than a penalty-winning machine. There is also an early season hint that the use of lineout drives under the new maul laws may catch on more quickly in the URC and France than in England.

The tendencies underpinning these statistics have convinced England head coach Steve Borthwick to arrange a meeting with the Prem’s directors of rugby in the off-season, with the RFU’s refereeing team also involved in discussions about how the game should be refereed. The England supremo has called for a refereeing game closer to the demands of international rugby, with particular emphasis on kicking and the application of the brake law, greater competitiveness at the breakdown and tighter offside policing.

As the two tables show, it will be difficult for Borthwick to get the game he really wants from a league struggling for its financial life. Prem is the most liberal and progressive domestic competition in the world, while URC has probably become the most conservative, and the clash of philosophies was nowhere more pronounced than in the two most concluding matches of the round – between Stormers and Sharks in Cape Town and the two best clubs in Prem, Bath and Northampton, at Franklin’s Gardens.

The first match ended 39-22 to the Stormers, with six of the nine tries coming from close range and the seventh from a five-metre scrum pushover. The Gardens, meanwhile, witnessed an incredible 71-48 outscoring, with just three of 18 attempts starting from the line.

The philosophies of judging and playing in the scrum were diametrically opposed. In Cape Town, eight out of 12 scrums resulted in a penalty being awarded, while only three out of a dozen sets in the East Midlands ended in a similar penalty. The referee in Northampton was none other than Matthew Carley, who also officiated the first Test of the Greatest Rivalry series in Jo’burg. Carley managed to reduce the number of penalties to half the number he awarded at Ellis Park.

The events in Cape Town greatly enhanced the difficulty of managing the modern scrum. The Stormers fielded three props who enjoyed Springbok acclaim, including 144kg Wilco Louw starting all four Tests against All black people. The Sharks were able to counter the selection of Thomas du Toit and Ox Nche, with the evergreen Vincent Koch.

Despite starting two acknowledged Springbok front-row stalwarts in ‘Ox’ and ‘Tank’, the Sharks were already trailing 3-1 on penalties when the indomitable pair endured the utter indignity of giving up a push in the 47th.^th minutes. Despite producing a convincing record of ‘dominance’ in the 19^th minute, Tank found himself on the wrong end of the referee’s whistle on two passes from the visitors due to alleged collapses.

https://t.co/adiUA1nVfi

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) October 12, 2026

https://t.co/ZUwisajJZu

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) October 12, 2026

That second scrum would be considered a textbook display of tight scrumming technique. Du Toit is comfortable, and when his opponent Ntuthuko Mchunu tries to apply pressure from a bad biomechanical position, he gently takes him to the turf with Stormer’s elbow hitting the deck first. The mixture of terror and anger on Tank’s face was clear to all.

Worse was to come. At 47^th minute Du Toit made himself look like a rookie with the step-and-drive maneuver that all South African teams have now perfected.

https://t.co/KecvSyPp3A

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) October 12, 2026

Mchunu may not be bent at the time of the fight, but it’s a first step that leaves a loosehead and a lock behind him, supported by Louw’s inside corner on the opposite side of the front row that makes Du Toit look clueless and Mchunu look worldly. Ask yourself the key question: How can two of the best props in the current World Cup cycle be dismantled so easily? Or is it an illusion created by the technique of collective scrummaging from the other side of the source? To paraphrase Austin Healey, “sometimes they fall, sometimes they go around, the referee hits. Penalty – or attempted penalty.”

The scrums in the game at Franklin’s Gardens were notable for their relative lack of movement – up, down or side to side. They tended to stay where they were placed, and became a more than useful platform for reviving 8-9 moves from the back of the set.

https://t.co/Tk6P9dcCsf

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) October 12, 2026

https://t.co/ddcmYCdjM5

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) October 12, 2026

In the first snap, Henry Pollock rips the ball off the base and Saints second baseman Alex Coles makes a run down two stages later. In the second, Alex Mitchell takes advantage of a re-read by his opposite number to score a spectacular chip-and-chase attempt.

The primary investors and stakeholders in the English club game are embarking on life – a new, revolutionary life. They follow their own rules to make rugby a better game and a better business proposition – and have become incredible allies to Super Rugby Pacific in the process.

The game is developing on both sides of the equator, and its path to progress is very different in tenor and form from that envisioned specifically in the URC. Borthwick might not like it too much, but the new Prem is here to stay.