The Ospreys' defeat to Munster on Friday night signalled the end of the club season for Wales' four professional sides and three of them will be glad to see the back of it.
This has not been an easy season for professional rugby in Wales amid budget cuts and huge financial difficulties. To their credit, the Ospreys rose above the mediocrity to reach the United Rugby Championship play-offs, a feat which shouldn't be downplayed considering the financial constraints and off field instability which has plagued Welsh rugby.
Warren Gatland once said success is overachieving and the Ospreys have certainly done that. But how do we ensure the Ospreys can continue to build while also pulling the other three up from the floor? Clearly a lot of it is down to money and we don't have enough of that in Wales, but a lack of clarity over their long-term playing budgets is also a big handicap.
In England the Rugby Football Union and PRL recently signed a deal which, according to The Telegraph, will see the Gallagher Premiership clubs receive a guaranteed £33m per season over the first four years. The Telegraph also report the second-half of the deal will see the RFU's profits distributed to the clubs with the guarantee of a minimum return.
This allows the English clubs to plan ahead while it also provides some stability off the back of Covid. There is a similar situation in Ireland where the four provinces also have clarity in funding from the Irish Rugby Football Union.
If you have stability you can plan and hopefully grow, but in Wales the situation is the polar opposite, with all four professional sides living hand to mouth. For example, all four regions only found out their final playing budget for next season a couple of weeks ago.
The salary cap is set at £4.5m next season, although two marquee players are permitted above the cap, but there were attempts to raise it up to £5.5m. The six-year financial framework was supposed to bring stability to the professional game in Wales, even if it was light on cash, but it seems to have done the complete opposite.
A consequence of this lack of clarity is the regions cannot plan ahead, which makes recruitment a risk. How can they commit to a multi-year contract with a player if they don't know what the Welsh Rugby Union will pay them for the 2025/26 season? Of course, all four regions have committed benefactors who have kept the game afloat in Wales for nearly 30 years but they can't do it all by themselves.
WalesOnline understands there is a £25m funding gap over the next few seasons which means there is trouble ahead. The WRU board met last week to sign off last year’s accounts up to June 2023 and to discuss the very serious financial situation the game in Wales finds itself in.
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