WORCESTER Rugby Club have joined forces with their second division rivals to maintain their right to automatic promotion into the top-flight.

They are also asking the Rugby Football Union why franchises must be a key element of Rob Andrew's blueprint for the future of the game.

The clubs stance follows a meeting of English Second Division Rugby (ESDR) when they were able to discuss the Andrew plan in detail for the first time.

Worcester's chief executive Geoff Cooke said the broad plans were welcomed but they are still concerned about some of the detail. And they want to make sure that the Leicester Agreement ruling of automatic promotion for the winners of Premiership Two is not ignored.

The initial proposals of Rob Andrew's plan involves regional franchises and no promotion or relegation -- a concern for Worcester even though they have a good chance of gaining one of the three Midlands franchises.

"Nobody is really clear exactly what franchises are going to mean and how they're going to be the panacea for all the ills in the game," said Cooke.

"All we've said in the past is that if that's going to happen we want to be part of it.

"But we want them to prove they're not breaking existing agreements such as the Leicester Agreement which is in place for next year and categorically states there has to be automatic promotion for the winners of the second division."