ROB Baxter has reiterated his desire to see the Gallagher PREM expand, insisting English rugby needs more teams and more regular games throughout the season.

The Exeter Chiefs director of rugby would welcome Welsh regions joining an expanded Anglo-Welsh competition, after the Welsh Rugby Union revealed plans to explore a move away from the United Rugby Championship.

The WRU has told the Professional Rugby Board it wants to investigate the possibility of Welsh sides crossing the Severn Bridge to play in an English league.

And Baxter believes any move that increases the size of the Premiership and creates a more substantial competition should be welcomed.

The league currently has just 10 clubs, having lost Wasps, Worcester and London Irish in quick succession three years ago.

Plans are already in place to increase that number to 12 for the 2029-30 season, with a longer-term ambition to expand further.

But Baxter believes there should be no shortage of appetite for an even bigger competition, regardless of where the additional teams come from.

“There's no point in me backtracking on what I've said in the past. We need more teams in the PREM, and it seems like a very simple idea,” he said. “If it happens, great; if it doesn't, it doesn't.

“Everybody in the sport knows that we would need more regular games through the season.”

Baxter also suggested clubs would be prepared to play league fixtures during the Six Nations and autumn international windows if expansion demanded it.

Premiership sides already play through the Six Nations in the PREM Rugby Cup, and he believes a bigger league could accommodate a similar approach.

“Whatever happens to create more games and a better competition, it would be a positive thing, whether that's the Welsh teams or another avenue,” he added. “I would obviously welcome it.”