Premiership Rugby restructures fixture list after removal of Wasps and Worcester
- Published
London Irish v Gloucester will be among the first games affected by the changes
Premiership Rugby has rescheduled the league's fixture list for the second half of the season after Wasps' and Worcester's expulsion.
The two clubs were removed from the league after going into administration, meaning there will now be 24 rounds of fixtures rather than the planned 26.
Five games will be staged each weekend with one team having a bye.
A rest weekend has been put in from 3-5 February and the Premiership Cup semi-finals and final have been moved.
The cup semi-finals will now be held over the weekend of 10-12 February, with the final during the weekend of 17-19 March.
The first league fixtures affected are those of the weekend of 30 December to 1 January.
London Irish will now face Gloucester at Kingsholm - the Exiles were due to travel to Worcester while the Cherry and Whites had a bye week - and Bristol now have a free weekend, having previously been scheduled to host Wasps.
The season will end as previously planned with the final on Saturday, 27 May.
"Restructuring the fixture list has allowed us to create a better narrative in the second half of the season, ensuring five Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches are played on each weekend," Premiership Rugby's chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said.
"The new list also reduces the number of bye weeks for teams and the stop-start challenge for some clubs created by the unfortunate issues at Wasps and Worcester Warriors.
"I am aware that this has created some real challenges for some of our clubs but I'd like to thank them for agreeing to these changes.
"The Premiership Rugby Cup will be moved into the weekends, reducing the number of midweek games and the pressure this creates for players, coaches and staff."