1 month ago
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The Welsh Rugby Union is set to propose reducing the number of Wales’ professional clubs from four to two as part of radical plans to restructure the country’s national game.
Chief executive Abi Tierney, chairman Richard Collier-Keywood and director of rugby Dave Reddin are set to officially confirm the news on Wednesday.
However, they will not be finalised as definite because a six-week consultation period will then follow where the WRU will seek the opinions of the Welsh game’s stakeholders.
Dragons, Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets are Wales’ domestic sides as things stand.
But at least two of those organisations will be at risk moving forward with any halving of teams set to officially come into operation for the 2026/27 season.
Cutting from four to two is one of a number of different options being considered by the WRU but the governing body’s preferred direction of travel. It remains unclear at this stage whether the two sides the WRU wants to have moving forward will be teams which already exist or new entities altogether.
The Welsh Rugby Union is set to propose reducing its number of clubs from four to two
Chief executive Abi Tierney (left) and director of rugby Dave Reddin (right) are in charge
Either way, the plans represent the most seismic moment in Welsh rugby history since Wales moved from a club-based system to what were initially five regions in 2003.
The WRU is doing so in reaction to more than two years of struggles in which their men’s national side lost 18 straight Test matches.
Wales’ four current clubs have also struggled to compete for success in the United Rugby Championship and in Europe.
In the coming years, the WRU plans for its two teams to have squads of 50 players apiece and have annual playing budgets of £7.8million.
It is hoped that will improve their chances of domestic trophies.
In time, the WRU also plans to build a new national centre of excellence at which their two domestic sides will be based. Both will also have a women’s counterpart.
However, the introduction of such plans is unlikely to be straightforward.
The drastic move comes as a response to Wales' struggles at a national level on the field
The WRU owns Cardiff after it fell into administration earlier this year, but the other three teams are all independent businesses and are likely to launch legal action if they’re put at risk.
The URC is looking at the option of replacing the loss of Welsh sides by adding two teams from the USA to its cross-border competition.
