Love rugby play-off semi-final set to move to neutral venue

Love Rugby play-offs will be played at a neutral venue from the 2029-2030 season.

The current format, which sees the top two teams in the regular season table get home advantage in the semi-finals, has been in place since 2005.

But league bosses say they have dreams of playing both consecutive play-offs in the same city as the European finals weekend.

Liverpool and Brighton are believed to be the two cities under consideration at this early stage.

This season’s play-offs were a great success, with Northampton’s Franklins Gardens and the Wreck in Bath hosting two epic contests in front of sell-out crowds.

However, with both grounds having a capacity of around 15,000, Prem Rugby chief executive Simon Massey-Taylor believes there is scope to grow the product at both commercial and sporting levels.

France’s Top 14 semi-finals have been held this season at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, which has a capacity of more than 67,000.

“The semi-final we just had was fantastic rugby spectacle, and they sold out their home crowd,” Massey-Taylor said.

“But I think they’ll sell out the big venues and the neutrals will go too. It’s about the long term. In the long term, if you’re playing in bigger stadia, it’s worth more.”