Why Designated Away Ends In Premiership Rugby Could Breathe New Life Into The Struggling Club Game

In a bid to improve the atmosphere at games, away ends have been trialled at Premiership Rugby matches for the first time – with mixed reaction.

This weekend saw Saracens host Gloucester at the StoneX Stadium, with a designated section for travelling Cherry & Whites ers to sit together.

While some have lauded the move as a way to bring the Premiership into the modern era and improve often quiet atmospheres, others are apoplectic in their opposition.

To the blazer-wearing traditionalist, the idea of segregating fans at rugby matches goes against the core ‘rugby values’ that make the sport what it is.

A key difference between rugby and many other sports (predominantly football) is that fans of both teams can sit together, laugh, joke and drink in peace without fear of any violence or disorder.

Opponents have voiced concerns that large groups of rowdy away fans will spoil the game, and that there is ‘no place’ in rugby union for vulgar chanting and hooliganism.

🏟️ The first designated away section in @premrugby history was trialled yesterday with Gloucester fans at Saracens.

What do you make of the idea? pic.twitter.com/0QFacC48WH

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 20, 2025

Some seemed to believe that thousands of Gloucester ‘ultras’ would appear in Stone Island gear and balaclavas, ready to destroy the ‘gentlemen’s game’ by recreating scenes out of Green Street.

But to the more level-headed observer, something needs to be done to revitalise the Premiership.

Poor attendances and collapsing clubs aside, interest in non-international rugby has been waning for a long time.

Pubs are packed for the Six Nations every year, but the casual viewer has minimal interest in the Premiership.

Even at local grassroots clubs, less than half of your average senior players follow a top-flight club with more than a ing interest.

While adding away sections won’t solve this problem on its own, improving the atmosphere and spectacle of club games is a good way to help them grow – and could boost attendances.

Away Ends At Premiership Rugby Games Met With Opposition

It didn’t take long for tensions to arise during the weekend’s trial, though.

Within 15 minutes, security at the StoneX had threatened to kick out a group of young Gloucester ers for chanting “You’re just a s*** Owen Farrell!” towards Saracens fly-half Fergus Burke.

And plenty of people voiced their displeasure at the mere suggestion of away ends, even before the trial had begun.

One Twitter (now X) posted: “Away ends in rugby. Probably one of the worst and most desperate ideas I’ve heard. Utterly pointless.”

Another said: “An absolutely sad, sad day for rugby. Mixing with opposition ers is what makes our sport the envy of most sports in particular football.

“I will be certainly be thinking twice before attending any games in the future.

And a third added: “The joy of rugby is that, unlike in football, the ers are civilised enough to mingle freely. This is a crap idea.”

English Premiership Must Do Something To Stay Relevant

But what many of such comments fail to recognise is that the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” only works when the thing you’re talking about isn’t broken.

Rugby’s deep-rooted superiority complex and sneering attitude towards anything remotely resembling football – or ‘Wendy-ball’ as some of the more witty and hilarious fans call it – is doing nothing but help the game sleepwalk into oblivion.

The Premiership has been getting steadily worse for years. Three top flight clubs (Worcester, Wasps and London Irish), have gone bust in recent seasons, with 2022-23 RFU Championship winners Jersey Reds also folding.

With fewer teams in the league, every home game attendance matters even more for the remaining teams.

Bottom club Newcastle Falcons are reportedly on the brink of financial ruin, and need urgent investment to avoid going the same way as their former rivals.

Meanwhile, rugby’s old-fashioned and out-of-touch authorities continue to bury their heads and tell us that everything is fine.

The mere suggestion of doing anything that might make rugby ‘more like football’ is met with disdain and contempt.

But it’s clear that unless the game is brought kicking and screaming into the 21st century, numbers and interest will continue to dwindle.

Even at grassroots level, it is worrying when you notice the number of clubs now fielding one or two senior men’s teams when they used to run three, four or five.

Away Ends At Premiership Rugby Matches Won’t Be Mandatory

A key aspect of the trial that has been overlooked by most is that these away ends are not compulsory.

Fans wishing to retain the friendly atmosphere of old can still sit in mixed sections and enjoy the game alongside opposition ers.

There is no suggestion that this trial will lead to full segregation and a ‘football-like’ animosity.

It simply provides away fans with an area to sit together – if they choose to – and encourages more singing, more noise and a better atmosphere for everyone.

What Can Rugby Union Learn From Rugby League?

While even the most progressive of rugby union fan may not want away ends to emulate those in football, sitting visiting ers in their own section is common practice in the other code of rugby.

Despite it’s well documented struggles, rugby league in the UK still boasts a far better atmosphere at most games than union.

Fan segregation does not happen at every match, but big local derbies in Super League often sit away fans separately, which both reduces the chance of disorder and boosts the atmosphere dramatically.

Last weekend, Hull FC and rivals Hull KR faced off at the MKM Stadium, with more than 21,000 fans attending.

The noise and atmosphere in the stadium was unlike anything heard at a Gallagher Premiership ground (trust me, I was there), and a large factor in that was the vocal wall of red created by Hull KR fans sat in their designated away end.

There is a balance to be struck, of course. Nobody wants to see fan violence or extreme personal abuse creep into rugby union.

But this trial of away ends is nothing of the sort, and might finally breathe some life back into the flat, turgid atmospheres witnessed at the majority of Premiership Rugby matches.

And at worst, home ers won’t have to listen to the endless chorus of “GLAAAAAAWWSS-TERR!” from visiting Shed Heads sat next to them.