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Ospreys not doomed yet, says WRU boss as battle for West Wales rugby licence looms
Facing a grilling from the Senedd’s Culture, Communications and Welsh Language Committee, Richard Collier-Keywood said the assumption that the Ospreys would be sacrificed was “not necessarily correct.” His comments come after a deal was struck for the new owners of Cardiff Rugby, Y11 Sports and Media, to potentially own two clubs, sparking fears that the Swansea-based Ospreys would be the casualty in the WRU‘s move from four professional teams to three.
Mr Collier-Keywood confirmed that while Cardiff has been guaranteed the ‘Capital’ licence, the process for awarding the ‘East’ and ‘West’ licences has not yet been decided. This leaves the Ospreys and their West Wales rivals, the Scarlets, to fight it out for the single remaining licence in the west.
“There is one west licence,” Mr Collier-Keywood told the committee. “Going forward I expect that we will carry out a fair and transparent process to determine who gets that licence. We have not done that yet.”
He added that the process would be governed by competition law and could include conditions on where rugby is played, suggesting the winning team might have to play matches across the entire region, not just at their home ground.
St Helens in Swansea (left) and Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli (right) – the home grounds of the Ospreys and Scarlets, who will battle for the single West Wales professional rugby licence. The WRU chairman suggested the winning team may have to play matches across the entire region, not just at their traditional home groundFinancial justification for cuts
The WRU leadership defended the controversial decision to cut a professional side, arguing that the current model is financially unsustainable.
“The fact remains is we have four teams who do not have enough money to be competitive,” Mr Collier-Keywood stated. “We do not have enough money to fund four teams and fund the necessary rugby infrastructure within Wales to take the participation all the way through to elite pro rugby.”
Board member Alison Thorne added that it was a matter of prioritisation, explaining that funding four teams would mean no money for a national academy, people development, or coach development. “Armed with all the info from finance and rugby perspective your pathways need fixing. That was the overriding message which came from the consultation,” she said.
Trust and transparency questioned
The WRU chair, who is facing a looming EGM that could see him ousted, also faced questions about a breakdown in trust with the regions and a lack of transparency. He revealed that the WRU had been “asked not to turn up” to a recent district meeting in Swansea, a clear sign of the anger in the region over the handling of the situation.
This follows vocal criticism from Swansea leaders, including Swansea West MP Torsten Bell and Council Leader Rob Stewart, who have previously slammed the WRU’s three-club plan as “not fit for purpose.”
Sponsorship concerns
The hearing also touched on the WRU’s commercial challenges. While a new deal has been signed with Principality to continue sponsoring the national stadium, Ms Thorne admitted that there “isn’t a huge demand to be sponsors” following a series of controversies, including issues with women’s contracts and a damning BBC documentary.
The WRU board made the decision to move to three professional teams at the end of October 2024 and are, according to the chairman, just “three months into this process.” However, with the union still committed to providing four teams to the United Rugby Championship (URC) and no compromise yet reached, the future of Welsh regional rugby remains deeply uncertain.
#BBC #CardiffRugby #Llanelli #Ospreys #RichardCollierKeywood #RobStewart #Rugby #Scarlets #Senedd #Swansea #TorstenBellMP #URC #WelshRugbyUnion #WRU #Y11 #Y11SportsAndMedia
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