Wru To Propose Halving Welsh Professional Teams To Two

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) will propose reducing nan number of master sides successful Wales from 4 to two.

Welsh rugby's governing assemblage has produced a extremist scheme which includes its "optimal solution" for transforming nan struggling game.

The WRU is expected to denote its preferred proposals this week which will see 2 organisations each having a men's and women's side.

There will past beryllium a six-week consultation play wherever nan Union will coming its favoured action to stakeholders earlier a last determination connected nan plans, which is expected to beryllium made by nan extremity of October.

Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets are presently nan 4 master men's sides successful Wales, but nan WRU is suggesting nan number of teams is halved.

The news comes contempt nan truth that Ospreys person plans to move into a revamped stadium astatine St Helen's successful Swansea for nan 2026-27 season, while Scarlets person precocious unveiled caller investors.

Dragons said this week that elite master rugby must proceed successful Gwent, while Cardiff are presently owned by nan WRU.

It remains unclear whether nan 2 early sides being projected will beryllium caller entities aliases existing teams.

The WRU has, though, projected that location will beryllium 2 organisations which will each person a men's and women's team.

There could beryllium 50 players successful each men's squad pinch a fund of £7.8m each, while nan women's squads will person 40 players apiece.

The WRU says location will beryllium importantly elevated backing for each men's squad, which would facilitate a radically different floor plan of talent and support.

The Union says nan 2 squads would characteristic predominantly Welsh-qualified players, while location would beryllium a rethink connected non-Welsh qualified players.

The WRU would money nan 2 men's and 2 women's teams, each of which would beryllium operated nether licences, pinch nan governing assemblage giving immoderate owners aliases investors work for each commercialized operations.

Phase 1 would impact nan move of nan 2 sides, men's and women's, operating connected 2 sites.

There will besides beryllium a modulation to contracting of players and unit wrong cardinal nationalist academies.

Phase 2 would impact nan clubs moving to training astatine 1 tract which will beryllium known arsenic a nationalist campus.

This will beryllium location to 400 people, including men's and women's nationalist staff, master and clubs unit and nationalist academies. The men's and women's academies will beryllium centralised.

The proposals see improving nan modular of nan Super Rygbi Cymru competition, which is nan existent level beneath nan men's afloat master game.

There is besides a promise to found a elder women's home competition, pinch an acceptance location is simply a existent deficiency of high-quality nine rugby beneath nan Celtic Challenge, wherever Gwalia Lightning and Brython Thunder compete.

The WRU said successful July nan existent strategy was failing and unsustainable and that it was looking astatine a much extremist strategy.

This came aft Wales' men's broadside had mislaid a record-breaking 18 world matches successful a statement and slipped to 12th successful nan world rankings, while nan 4 regions person struggled successful nan United Rugby Championship (URC) and European competitions.

The WRU and regions had been trying to get a caller woody complete nan statement aft months of negotiation.

A glimmer of dream was offered successful February erstwhile nan caller Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) was agreed successful principle, pinch each parties fresh to motion successful early April.

The process was derailed erstwhile Cardiff went into impermanent management later that period and were taken complete by nan WRU which, successful nan process, absorbed £9m of nine debts.

Scarlets and Ospreys wanted clarity from nan WRU but said "key issues" were not resolved regarding concerns astir favouritism towards Cardiff.

Dragons and Cardiff put pen to paper, while Scarlets and Ospreys did not motion nan PRA successful May.

The WRU responded by saying it did not intend to proceed arsenic backing 4 master teams successful nan men's game, paving nan measurement for nan imaginable of a simplification successful sides.

The number of master sides successful Wales was astir precocious reduced successful 2004, erstwhile nan Celtic Warriors ceased to beryllium aft only 1 twelvemonth of competing.

That came aft Welsh rugby had switched from nan master nine exemplary to a location strategy of 5 sides successful 2003.