Eddie Hearn Meets Prem Rugby Bosses as Clubs Pass Money Checks

Eddie Hearn, the boxing promoter who runs Matchroom Sport, met the bosses of Prem Rugby in Monaco last week. The BBC reports that Hearn is expected to increase his influence in English club rugby union.

Hearn's company already has a foothold in the sport. Matchroom has signed Scotland fly-half Finn Russell and England's Henry Pollock, who joined its talent agency earlier this year. Matchroom is best known for boxing, but its management arm now looks after players in a second code.

The meeting comes as the Prem publishes its financial health checks. The league's second annual monitoring report found that all 10 Prem clubs have passed the financial standards needed for the 2026/27 season. Those standards are the rules that check a club can pay its way.

The money picture is improving but not yet healthy. Prem revenues are up, and club losses are forecast to fall by £26.7m. Still, no Prem club is in profit, and Saracens and Sale reported the heaviest losses. Newcastle Red Bulls, Exeter Chiefs and Bath Rugby have each secured major outside investment over the past year.

The league also has plans to grow. The Prem wants to expand from 10 teams to 12 by the 2030/31 season. Any new club would first have to spend at least one season in the Championship, the second tier known as the Champ, and buy a P-Share. That is a stake in the league, thought to be worth around £20m.

The Welsh Rugby Union has also approached the Prem about the idea of Welsh sides joining the league to form an Anglo-Welsh competition. No decision has been announced, and it is not yet clear how such a league would work.

Hearn's involvement was flagged earlier. In September, ESPN reported that he planned to meet Prem Rugby to discuss a commercial overhaul of the league. Prem Rugby's chief executive, Simon Massie-Taylor, is the man at the top of the league's business side, and any change to how the league is run or funded would most likely pass through his office.

For fans, the headline is steadier finances and a clearer route for new clubs. The bigger question is whether outside money, and possibly a Welsh link, will change who runs English rugby and how the clubs pay for it.