NEWCASTLE Falcons boss Dean Richards believes the Gallagher Premiership should be ring-fenced as his side battles it out with Worcester Warriors for survival.

While Warriors director of rugby Alan Solomons has refused to be drawn into the on-going debate Richards says he has changed his mind and would now like to see an end to promotion and relegation.

Newcastle find themselves in the drop zone, three points adrift of closest rivals Warriors going into the final six games of the season.

Richards felt bringing up the drawbridge would not only benefit club rugby in this country but also improve England’s prospects in major championships after seeing a “tired” national side fall short in the Six Nations.

“I have always been a staunch believer in promotion and relegation up until the last two or three years,” said Richards in an interview with The Telegraph.

“Such is the investment in the teams from owners and development of academies and stadia it is now getting to stage of looking who can offer that (outside the Premiership) and there are very few clubs out there.

“You are getting to a stage where you would be looking to bring fencing in.

“If you are England and are looking at the Six Nations results and the boys are a bit tired wouldn’t you be thinking it would help us (the national team) in our preparation for the Six Nations or for a World Cup.

“Now is the ideal opportunity to get everyone together for the good of the game in England it would be the best thing.”

England finished second behind Wales who claimed the Grand Slam for the third time in the past 11 years under head coach Warren Gatland.

“On paper, I think England have got a better team, with their best players on the pitch than Wales,” said Richards who won 48 caps for England.

“But such is the ability to prepare the players accordingly then Wales performed better and came away with a Grand Slam.

“That is not saying they didn’t deserve it – they thoroughly did.

“But I don’t think (England head coach) Eddie Jones perhaps had the same opportunity to prepare his team as Warren did.”

Newcastle were nine points behind Warriors ahead of their meeting at Kingston Park earlier this month.

But a 17-6 victory that day kept Richards’ side’s hopes alive and they cut the deficit further courtesy of a shock 20-19 win at Wasps.

Saturday sees Falcons take on fifth-placed Sale Sharks at St James’ Park and Warriors visit third-from-bottom Bristol Bears.

“We don’t think there is any pressure on us at all because we are not expected to stay up,” Richards said.

“We will go out without any pressure after everyone wrote us off three games ago and so if we stay up then happy days.

“I am not being blasé about if we go down or not because it is important that there is a Premiership side in the region.

“But, it is also important there is a club here in 20 years and so you have to marry that with budgets and I am sure that if we went down then we would come straight back up but that is not the intention.”