Guinness Atlantic Rugby Championship coming in 2018?

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Plans to expand the Guinness Pro12 into North America appear to be taking shape amid reports of franchises being set up in the USA and Canada.

There has been talk for some time about Pro12 bosses looking to tap into the potentially lucrative American market as part of a major restructuring of the cross-border competition.

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According to a report in The Scotsman, plans have been drawn up to include one US franchise and another in Canada in a brand new league called the Guinness Atlantic Rugby Championship, which would be launched in the 2018-19 season.

Houston - the Texas city which staged the recent Super Bowl - is being mooted as one potential base for a franchise, with New York another option.

Talk of a side in Canada is a new development, with Toronto’s BMO Stadium reportedly lined up as the home of the team, while Vancouver is also a possibility.

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You would have two conferences of seven, with teams playing sides in their own section home and away and then teams in the other section once a season.

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That would give you 18 regular season games, four less than the current model.

You would then have a play-off structure, maybe involving the top three sides in each division, culminating in a grand final.

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