Top flight ready to rumble again with Six Nations glow

Many England players may not be on show this weekend but the ground is still fertile after an eight-week break

- Gerard Meagher

Premiership Rugby executives have been picking the brains of their counterparts at World Wrestling Entertainment of late. The bad news is that rugby union's version of the Royal Rumble is not in the pipeline, the good is that there is no better organisation when it comes to selling its stars and the Premiership has evidently been doing its homework over how to follow suit.

The findings were instructive. Better to encourage profiles to develop organically than force growth and it was interesting to hear the Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive, Bill Sweeney, suggest recently that Netflix might have mis-stepped by opening this year's Six Nations documentary with an episode all about Marcus Smith, Twickenham's golden boy, buying a car. Rugby is not football was the gist of Sweeney's argument in his latest podcast appearance.

A fine line to tread then but as the Premiership returns after an eight-week break with the glow of an uplifting Six Nations for England still warm, the ground is fertile. As one Premiership executive put it, "the torch is being passed" from the international arena back to the club game. It is the second of the season's Derby Weekends, kicking off tonight with Northampton hosting Leicester and Newcastle hosting Sale, and it intentionally comes during an international football window, allowing the broadcaster TNT Sports to throw its full weight behind it.