The Welsh Rugby Union invited the media to the President’s Lounge in Principality Stadium on Friday to clarify the future of their national sport. They confirmed they now want to reduce the number Wales’ men’s club from four down to three. The Welsh Rugby Union has not yet clarified when and how this will take place. A plan is in place. The journey to get there is a bit uncertain. If you walk away from a press event with more questions than solutions, it’s a sign that things aren’t going well. It was exactly that.’I don’t accept it’s a mess at all,’ said WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood, when all the evidence around him seemed to be quite contrary to that statement.Both Collier-Keywood and WRU director of rugby Dave Reddin insisted when questioned by Daily Mail Sport that their positions remain tenable despite there being carnage everywhere you look.Collier-Keywood, in particular, will do well to survive in his position for much longer.After initially proposing as part of its ‘optimal solution’ to fix Welsh rugby’s ills that the number of teams should be halved to two, there has been a WRU change of tack based on the strength of consultation feedback against the move. WRU director Dave Reddin has discussed their plans for current regions. The WRU is considering cutting down the number of professional clubs in Wales to three. This is understandable. This is a much better proposal than the two. Underneath the headline act, Welsh rugby’s ‘radical’ plan for the future does contain a number of good elements – namely improved investment in the academies and pathway systems, more money for coaching and greater backing for women’s rugby.Collier-Keywood pointed to a total WRU investment of £28million across the next five years.There were only two problems. It’s not a huge sum, at least compared with other nations. And second, the chair initially said £28,000 by mistake.It summed it all up rather well. To be blunt, the WRU leadership through this period has been well intentioned, but not up to the highest levels of sporting governance.Having studied geographical, sporting and population data, the WRU want to base their three equally funded teams as follows – one in the east, one in the capital Cardiff and one in the west. Collier-Keywood said that this didn’t mean that the Swansea Ospreys, and the Scarlets in Llanelli were now fighting for the same spot. Scarlets’ (in white), based in Llanelli. But their future is in question. It is a complete nonsense, however, to suggest that, for instance, the Scarlets might play from Newport. Cardiff and Dragons are now in a position of relative security, even though WRU still owns the capital side. Both teams have released statements to make their case for survival following the WRU news. The Scarlets did the same, and now they are in a fight with the Ospreys. Ospreys owner Y11 Sports tried to purchase Cardiff in the past and this is a possibility now. Ospreys & Scarlets may merge. This is unlikely, however, due to their passionate and historical rivalry. This is the problem. We don’t even know what Welsh rugby will look like in the future. Many questions remain. There are not enough answers. It was noteworthy that the WRU board members were all in attendance at the briefing room. This is unusual. They promoted a positive narrative to the media. It felt like a power play. Journalists had to stand up and say their names when they asked questions. Even the lesser-spotted chair of the professional rugby board, Malcolm Wall was present.The agenda wasn’t easily bought.Collier-Keywood insisted Wales were committed to having their teams in the United Rugby Championship and again knocked down the notion of them, however many, joining PREM Rugby. It would be a dream come true for Wales fans. But it’s not going to happen. The WRU is committed to four teams in the URC as a shareholder. Collier-Keywood did not seem to know how this correlated with the proposal of losing a side. However, it is understood that the possibility for a Georgian, USA, or other team to join may help in that regard. Dragons, located in Newport, will be able to secure a place alongside Cardiff, the capital club. The URC does not want Wales going to three sides because, as it stands, this would leave their current 16-team division with an odd amount of sides. It is difficult to imagine how the WRU will be able to convince stakeholders to agree to three teams after they were unable to reach agreement to cut to two. The WRU will not be able, at least in the near future, to get stakeholder agreement on three.Collier-Keywood stated that he understood any change would be difficult, and that we had existing contractual agreements with URC as well as our clubs. We intend to reach three teams as quickly as possible. But I cannot give you a specific time frame.We want the clubs to be involved. We will be working hard and this may take time. We will conduct a fair, transparent and open tendering process if we are unable to reach a consensus.The players of all four teams were informed about the situation Friday morning. Spare a few thoughts for the Scarlets team, which is currently in South Africa. Dwayne peel’s team was told that their employer might soon be out the business just before they faced a Sharks squad full of Springboks. It’s not the best thing to have a genuine fear of losing one’s job before facing Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth. Cheers, lads. Welsh rugby must somehow continue to play on. Autumn is fast approaching. It’s a case of kicking the can down the road. As we await a definitive resolution, more Wales-based top stars could leave for England, or for rugby’s rebel League R360. One of the most notable examples is the national captain Jac. Morgan. His contract with Ospreys will expire at the conclusion of the current season. Morgan has been in contact with English giants Saracens as he evaluates his options. The future of Ospreys being at best in doubt, who can blame him for leaving? Wales captain Jac. Morgan, is likely to be among those players who are tempted to leave amid uncertainty about their future. The WRU had every right to admit that the system was not working. This was due in part to their poor leadership history and, even more important, the underwhelming investment made into professional Rugby. Now the Welsh game and its clubs are suffering as a direct result. The people in power struggle to change the tide, even though it’s clear that there are no quick fixes or easy solutions. However, a clear path forward must be found soon. It wasn’t Friday. The latest Welsh rugby press conference was a bit of a riot, even by the standards set by this bonkers sport.
2025-10-25 15:13:06
‘I don’t accept it’s a mess at all’: The afternoon that plunged Welsh rugby into yet more carnage – a confusing press conference, more questions than answers and two men somehow clinging to their jobs
