THE Principality Premiership is set to have east and west conferences next season – and no play-offs to decide the title, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Welsh Rugby Union have engaged with the 16 top flight clubs after a 2016/17 campaign that has caused angst and frustration, and are poised to ditch their controversial January split.

The governing body presented representatives with several alternatives and the Argus understands that the majority opted for an initial split based on geography with RGC 1404, based in Colwyn Bay, going with the seven western clubs.

The quintet from the Dragons area – Newport, Ebbw Vale, Cross Keys, Bedwas and Bargoed – will join Cardiff, Pontypridd and Merthyr.

Under the plans they will play each other home AND away before the two conferences merge after 14 fixtures with points carried over.

The clubs would then play each other home OR away in a reverse of this season’s fixtures with 29 games played in total before the champions are crowned without play-offs.

Schedules for the entire campaign would be able to be issued this summer as everyone would go into the season knowing their opposition.

This season the WRU introduced a January split after increasing the number of teams in the revamped and ring-fenced Premiership from 12 to 16.

The clubs were divided after 15 fixtures with accrued points then scrubbed before teams tussled for the Tier One and Tier Two play-offs, won by Merthyr and Newport respectively.

However, clubs complained about the number of blank weekends they have endured throughout a fractured campaign as well as an unbalanced fixture list that can only be issued up to January and featured just 22 games.

The draft is yet to be signed off but the Foster's Challenge Cup, won by Bedwas and played midweek during British and Irish Cup periods, is set to continue under the proposal after proving popular in terms of player development.

The Premiership is ring-fenced for another two seasons with Championship champions Pontypool unable to win promotion until 2020 at the earliest.

Last week Principality Building Society, who started sponsoring the top flight in 2005, committed to one last season of putting their name to the Premiership.