 Leicester are the reigning Premiership champions
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The English Premiership is not about to scrap relegation, according to the boss of the organisation that oversees the 12 top-flight clubs.
Newspaper reports said the move was being examined by Premier Rugby (PRL).
PRL chief executive Mark McCafferty confirmed expanding the Premiership from 12 to 14 teams was a possibility "two or three years down the line".
But he insisted their plans didn't include any form of "stopping of relegation or ring fencing".
At present the bottom team at the end of the 22-game regular season is relegated and replaced by the team that wins the second-tier Championship.
Premier Rugby is looking to substantially increase the size of its TV deal when it negotiates a new contract in 2013. If successful, this additional revenue could pave the way for two more clubs.
"We will not do it before the new TV contract in two or three years' time," McCafferty told BBC Radio 5 live.
"The bigger challenge is, if you increase the number of games then you risk increasing games which overlap with international weekends, so that season structure is an issue."
The PRL chief added that the Premiership was in a "good position".
"We're seeing quite significant growth in interest and attendances in the Premiership," he continued.
"It's part of that we're looking to address - how do you ensure the club game continues to grow between 2010 to when the Rugby World Cup comes to the country in 2015?"
Leagues did not start in rugby union in England until 1987, when the Courage Leagues were formed.
The sport went professional in 1995 and the top division was rebranded the Premiership for the 1997-98 season, with Guinness replacing Zurich as the title sponsors in 2005.
The top flight had as few as 10 clubs in the mid 1990s, although in the 1998-99 season there were 14, while the number has stayed steady at 12 since 1999.
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