Premiership Rugby is fast-tracking innovations – including remote-camera technology – and planning the logistics for playing behind closed doors, with clubs fearing they may not play in front of crowds until next year.

It is understood that clubs are determined to complete this season’s Premiership campaign in full, even if it means finishing in November."We want to play every game, we want to finish the season. It is highly probable that it will start behind closed doors and we are working torwards that as our main restart scenario,” said a senior Premiership source.

“Everyone wants to finish the season. The clubs would rather finish it in October and November than write it off. We would then have around a four-week break and find a way of playing a little longer into next year.”

Nine rounds of this season’s league remain, as well as semi-finals and the final, with no formal indication of when action will be allowed to resume.

However, contingency plans to return, possibly as early as late June, are understood to be at an advanced stage, based on the Government relaxing social-distancing measures early next month. There is an agreement that players will require a minimum of four-weeks of contact training before games can resume.

Testing players for Covid-19 will also be key, although clubs want to proceed only if there is no drain on NHS resources. If it is feasible, players would be tested before coming back into training camp and then be quarantined in hotels ahead of a round of matches.

It is likely that each round of six matches will be played at one stadium across a weekend. Three rounds will be played midweek to complete the league the end of August, with full squad rotation to protect player welfare.