The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced last autumn its intention to cut the four professional regions in Wales down to three.
The WRU, the governing body of rugby union in Wales, confirmed in October that it would only fund three of the country’s four professional teams (Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys, Scarlets) after June 2027.
Here’s what we know about the plans so far.
Why is the WRU cutting one region?
Amid declining results for the regional teams, and a record losing run for the men’s national side, the WRU says the pool of talent and available finances make three professional teams more likely to be successful. So who goes, and how?
The WRU says it wants one team based in the east, one in Cardiff and one in the west. And the west is the domain of both the Swansea-based Ospreys and Llanelli-based Scarlets.
What’s the latest news?
It is nine months since the WRU took temporary control of the Cardiff region when it went into administration. On Monday, the union said it had entered a period of exclusivity with a preferred buyer for Cardiff. This is understood to be Y11 Sport & Media. But Y11 currently own the Ospreys. So this is akin to the owners of Manchester United deciding to buy Leeds United.
No one has laid out the plan publicly, but good sources believe it involves shutting the Ospreys down – as opposed to creating a merged “super-region” spanning Cardiff and Swansea, although regional mergers have come close to happening in the past.
Notably, Ospreys’ highest-profile Wales players Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake have already signed for Gloucester next season.
British & Irish Lion Jac Morgan has already signed for Gloucester (Photo: Getty)The Ospreys’ players posted a statement on social media on Tuesday saying they “have been left in the dark by the WRU and Y11” and “we struggle to believe the most successful Welsh team to exist with the biggest history is on the brink of non-existence.”
There are bound to be job cuts if one region goes, even though the WRU says it will honour existing contracts.
Ex-Wales players Jonathan Davies CBE and Tom Shanklin are among those who are adamant the four regions must stay as it is the best pathway to nurture the greatest number of young players.
Some would do away with regions and return to the old clubs – Cardiff, Llanelli, Newport, Swansea and so on. Others advocate an entirely fresh set-up. And the WRU has yet to say what its three new teams would be called.
What could happen next?
Firm predictions are almost impossible. The WRU are taking huge heat from the public and pundits. There could be an EGM of the Union called by disgruntled clubs.
Supporters’ groups at both Cardiff and Ospreys are up in arms about the Y11 connection. A consortium’s rival bid for Cardiff has some public support, and The i Paper understands they are awaiting developments.
Scarlets say they have been unable to make contract renewals for next year yet. Their interim director of rugby Nigel Davies refused to elaborate after Sunday’s Champions Cup defeat at Northampton Saints, saying only: “Our governing body should be looking after our game.”
Seen many posts from Ospreys (and other) supporters, saying that they’re done. Now is not the time to abandon these boys. Now is the time to turn up and make ourselves heard, get ourselves seen and show that we will not go quietly. Rally the troops, guys. See you on Friday. pic.twitter.com/EDN58MfBfH
— Ospreys Supporters (@OspreysSC) January 20, 2026The WRU are responsible for distributing earnings from Wales’s matches and the cross-border competitions the professional clubs take part in – the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Europe.
And the governing body is are contractually bound to those competitions. So if any club fancies, say, joining the English Premiership (even if the Prem wanted it, which it says it doesn’t) they would either need WRU approval – unlikely – or to break away. Cardiff and Swansea did this for one season in 1998-99 but rejoined.
The whole saga highlights arguably the greatest tension in Welsh professional rugby – not so much the number of players and teams, but the nexus between public and private ownership.
Are Wales players really going to go on strike?
Wales players threatened to strike over pay and conditions before the 2023 Six Nations match with England, but they couldn’t all agree.
Coincidentally England are Wales’s next opponents in the first round of the 2026 Six Nations at Twickenham on 7 February – and rumours are abound they could consider doing so again.
Wales’s head coach Steve Tandy – a former Ospreys player and coach – said on Tuesday: “I genuinely don’t know what is happening.”
In their statement, Ospreys players pledged to “continue to play for the fans and for the people who have stood by the Ospreys”, but they must be a poor frame of mind ahead of Friday night’s fixture against South Africa’s Lions at Bridgend.
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