Reprieve or dread for Ospreys as plans to cut region are stalled

Merchandise bearing the slogan “Never a dull week in Welsh rugby” would no doubt be a bestseller, if you are seeking a new business venture. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has been public about its desire to reduce the number of franchises in Wales from four to three, much to the uproar of the players and coaches involved at the Ospreys, who have been earmarked as the most likely candidate to be axed after next season.

The reason was that Y11 Sport & Media, the Ospreys’ owners, had entered into a period of exclusivity with the Welsh Rugby Union to buy Cardiff, who are managed by the WRU. Had all gone to plan then Y11 would have purchased Cardiff and the Ospreys would have been effectively disbanded after the 2026-27 season, cutting the number of Welsh sides from four to three.

Amid the uncertainty, the Ospreys’ best players – Jac Morgan, one of only two British & Irish Lions to go on tour from Wales last summer, plus Wales captain Dewi Lake – opted to sign for Gloucester.

Except that as of this week, the Y11 deal has collapsed. The WRU will continue to own Cardiff, and the Ospreys (and Scarlets) have been offered the chance to sign the latest Professional Rugby Agreement – having turned it down last year – which provides funding to each region and runs until 2030, with a break clause in 2028. Should both the Ospreys and Scarlets sign up, as Cardiff and the Dragons did last year, that would guarantee four regions for the next two seasons. To reiterate, the WRU still wants three.

What is the current mood at Ospreys? Relief at this stay of execution? Or dread that the Y11 deal for Cardiff falling through merely kicks the can down the road, and frustration at your two stars having signed elsewhere?

The Y11 development follows the recent announcement that WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood is moving at the end of his three-year term this summer, adding to the sense of disruption.

When speaking to the media this week, the WRU’s chief executive, Abi Tierney, was asked why if there was such a rush to reduce the number of regions in Wales, would the WRU not just shut down the region it currently owns: Cardiff.

“I don’t believe it’s the right thing for Welsh rugby. I talk about my job as chief executive of the national governing body. I have to make decisions based on the whole system,” Tierney responded. “That is often hard, because it doesn’t necessarily mean individual bits of the system all benefit from it in the same way and equally. But that’s my job and I do not believe that shutting Cardiff is the right answer.”

When it was put to her that her explanation felt like she was valuing Cardiff over the other regions, Tierney responded: “No, I’m not.”

And so while the Ospreys have a reprieve, the future for the game in Wales remains increasingly murky. Never a dull week.

Photograph by Dan Istitene/Getty Images