COVID-19 and threat of legal action are being said to be the two main reasons behind Premiership Rugby's decision to freeze relegation on the 2020/21 campaign, according to The Rugby Paper.

Five top-flight clubs have supposedly sought legal advice in the event relegation does go ahead and all five believe they will be successful against PRL/RFU if they do drop down to the Championship due to the points system that is in operation regarding positive covid cases this season.

Currently, teams that have cases and are forced to forfeit fixtures receive two points from the fixture, while the winners get four.

Gloucester have not had to cancel any fixtures yet but are bottom of the league behind teams like Worcester and Northampton, purely on the basis that they haven't received any 'Covid' points and the ones above them have.

With the virus continuing to cause havoc with fixtures, the likelihood is that many more games will be cancelled and more points will be dealt out, making the league somewhat of a lottery.

With that in mind, the league are said to concede that scrapping relegation this season is the best course of action.

Promotion from The Championship will not be affected by this decision and whoever is promoted will then create a 13-team league for the 2021/22 campaign.

You'd have thought, despite their defeat to Ealing Trailfinders at the weekend, that Saracens will come back up to the top division and that then brings the 'ringfencing' argument into full view.

Many think this would be the ideal time to encase the Premiership in proverbial bubble wrap and Worcester Warriors director of rugby Alan Solomons agreed there are many positives to it.

"There are a lot of benefits of ringfencing the Premiership, not just comercial ones either," he added.

"Of course there are arguments the other way and I understand that but obviously the impact Covid has had, I think, has sharpened everyone's minds on this particular question.

"It has certainly put the focus on it and it's something to consider."