Premiership Rugby will trial away ends for fans when Saracens host Gloucester and Leicester Tigers welcome Harlequins in April in order to create a better atmosphere and increase attendances in the top division, the BBC reported.
Saracens and Leicester will have areas designated for opposing fans to sit together, with a few hundred supporters expected to be part of the trial initially, the BBC reported on Monday.
In English soccer, fans from opposing clubs are often kept apart for safety reasons.
While there has usually been no fan trouble at rugby games, the move comes as Premiership Rugby looks to boost the atmosphere in the top flight.
Saracens are due to play Gloucester at the StoneX Stadium on April 19, while Leicester are set to face off against Harlequins on the 28th of that month.
“Away fans can and will sit among the main crowd, this is just giving people a choice,” a Premiership Rugby source told the BBC. “This is not meant to be adversarial. It’ll be done in the right spirit.
“It’ll be enough fans to make a noise,” added the source.
“The players say they feed off it, and it gets more out of the home fans as it creates a back and forth.”
Reuters has contacted Premiership Rugby for comment.
