Struggling Welsh rugby must see the writing on the wall and look at successful Irish model

The rock bottom for Welsh rugby continues to plunge ever deeper as two of the Principality’s four professional franchises, the Ospreys and Scarlets, refuse to sign an agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) regarding a way forward.

The Wales national team is currently sitting on a shocking record of 16 consecutive defeats and one of the major solutions put on the table is to cut one of the four teams to make three stronger sides that will have greater depth.

Understandably, nobody wants to be dissolved and the two west Wales clubs mentioned are taking legal advice. The other two Welsh United Rugby Championship teams are not an issue for the WRU — Cardiff went into liquidation earlier this year and have been adopted by the WRU, while the struggling Dragons, who finished last in the current URC, have put pen to paper.

They don’t really have another choice. But the Scarlets, who are through to the URC quarter-finals, and the Ospreys are going concerns and neither wants to run the risk of ceasing to exist.

The four regions are currently operating under a Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) that runs out in 2027. It was due to be superseded by a new five-year deal that the Ospreys and Scarlets have not signed — the deadline was May 8.

The four sides are expected to continue to exist in their current form until at least June 2027 when the old PRA runs out, but the future of the regions will be under scrutiny.

Another burning issue for the Scarlets and Ospreys is how their funding will be affected because the WRU had to absorb £9m (about R216m) of Cardiff’s debts when they went into administration in April.

They are wondering why they should be made to feel the pinch because one of their rivals failed to run their business properly.

It is a mess that grows more complicated by the day and Welsh rugby lovers are wondering how it came to this.

During the 20th Century and the early part of this century, Wales were one of the best teams in the world. Between 1950 and 1980 they were overall the best team in Europe and continued the most players to the British and Irish Lions touring teams.

The catch is that Wales were at their best in the amateur era. There was no money in the game and everybody competed on an equal footing. There was no such thing as buying and selling players, never mind paying them.

As the professional era progressed (from 1996), Welsh rugby has slowly but surely weakened because it is a tiny country with minimal resources, and it seems like few wanted to see the writing on the wall. There are none so blind as those who don’t want to see and brave steps were not taken.

Outsiders are saying the obvious — there is only so much money in Wales and only so many players can be paid professionally.

A great model that Wales should adopt is the Irish one. In the amateur era, over time Wales had a much better national team than Ireland but in the professional era, the tables have been drastically turned.

Ireland has a strong governing body that centrally contracts the leading players and, unlike Wales, controls the provinces. It all runs sweetly. It is a model that the Welsh literally can’t afford to ignore.