Welsh Rugby Union defends plans to halve number of professional men’s teams
The Welsh Rugby Union has recognised the “hurt and anger” caused by their proposal to reduce the number of professional men’s sides in Wales from four to two, but insisted maintaining the status quo is not the “right thing” to do.
Welsh rugby’s governing body has produced a radical plan to turn around the the game at both club and international level, outlining its ambitions in a 90-page consultation document entitled ‘The Future of Elite Rugby in Wales’.
There will be a six-week consultation period before the WRU makes a final decision on the plans, and WRU chief executive Abi Tierney has urged people to “improve on the proposals” and provide “something fit for purpose for Welsh rugby”.
Talking point
The WRU’s proposal to halve its number of four men’s professional sides – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – to two will be the biggest talking point in a document which outlined four potential models for the game in Wales.
It remains unclear whether the two future sides being proposed will be new entities or existing teams, but the two organisations will each have a men’s and women’s team.
Tierney said: “This is a momentous day for Welsh rugby. No decisions have been made, but we feel based on the analysis this is the strongest (option) yet.
“I know how emotional rugby is in Wales and people will be hurting today, when they think what it could mean potentially for them and their their team.
“I recognise the hurt and anger people are going to be feeling. Change is hard and this is hard for fans.
“But fans’ numbers drop has also not been a great experience for anybody, and we want to create an experience they can be proud of.
“What we were doing and keeping doing for fans was not the right thing. I would encourage everybody to imagine how exciting it could be and take that step into the future.”
Ospreys
The WRU proposal comes amid Ospreys plans to move into a redeveloped stadium at St Helen’s in Swansea for the 2026-27 season and the Scarlets having recently unveiled new investors.
Dragons said this week elite professional rugby must continue in Gwent, while Cardiff are currently owned by the WRU having gone into administration in April.
It is possible the WRU will face legal action from regions that could essentially be put out of business, with WRU chairman Richard Collier-Keywood saying “two or three areas of potential legal challenge” exist.
The WRU has also proposed the creation of a national campus at a site yet to be decided, which would be the home of the men’s and women’s professional teams, as well as Wales’ national sides and the union’s academy.
Players strike
Players were briefed on the WRU’s plan on Tuesday and Dave Reddin, the new director of rugby and elite performance, is confident suggestions of possible player strike action will not materialise.
Reddin said: “The national campus would be a radical departure and doing something different, a defensive moat for Welsh rugby and creating a competitive advantage.
“We’ve got to look outside the box if we want to try and do things differently.
“Be brave enough to to lead sometimes and do things that no one else is doing. Do things things that people think are a bit nutty, too different or too uncomfortable.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Four professional teams was and is the correct numberif done correctly, but the original provincial structure (so successful in Ireland) was scuppered by a very small number of clubs with Moffett bottling and leaving us with a mess of standalone/mergers, who inevitably reneged on the rest of the country, which is a key reason they are failing. WRU, as with the country, has often been too slow moving. But the real disasters in our rugby history have also come from outsiders moving in to take control with duplicitous motives – too many to mention and the mod’s may not be… Read more »
Scrap them all. I have been saying it for 25 years.
This is the start of thst coming to fruition.
and replace them with what exactly?
Firstly, the regions are not 25 years old.
Secondly, I agree that they shouldn’t choose between the clubs . Better to scrap all four and create new regions and start from scratch rather try and convince people to switch to their support to rivals.
I agree with you, Regional Rugby in Wales has been a disaster from the word go.Genuine Fans of Swansea and Neath RFC wanted nothing to do with the Ospreys plus why on earth ask people in the valleys to support Cardiff and Newport setups.
Four Grand Slams and 2 world cup semi-finals in 14 years. Do you think Wales would have achieved that success if it had stuck with the original model? I agree I agree that combining fierce rivals together does not work, which is why I think regional rugby needs to be re-branded as what Paul ap Gareth has suggested.
The real issue facing Welsh rugby isn’t the regions themselves; it’s the 25-cap rule, which severely limits the national team’s talent pool. By preventing many form players from being selected if they play outside Wales, the WRU has tied its own hands. Regional rugby has often been scapegoated, but the record speaks for itself: 6 Six Nations titles in the past 20 years, 4 of them Grand Slams, plus 2 World Cup semi-finals. Clearly, the system can produce success. The real weakness lies in how the game has been branded and structured. The history of Welsh rugby is built on… Read more »
Are there any players impacted by this? Joe Hawkins was one but he’s now at Scarlets. Maybe Rhys carre, but I can’t see it making a big difference to results
True, it’s not loads of players, but even a few being ruled out can make a difference when Wales’ talent pool is already thin. The bigger problem is the way it damages trust (remember the near-strike in 2023). Cutting the regions to 2 just shrugs off the real issue instead of fixing it.
If only two top clubs who will they play? Just each other or…..?