Fans 'shocked and gutted' as rugby club goes into administration

Rugby fans have said they are "shocked and gutted" as one of Wales' top teams goes into administration.

Following an emergency meeting on Tuesday, Cardiff Rugby announced it intended to serve a notice of intent (NOI) to appoint an administrator.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has taken control of the regional side, which is one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.

One supporter said it was a big blow to fans who, just a few months ago, were feeling "proud" of the fact it appeared a "huge investment" for the club had been secured.

Lynn Glaister, chairwoman of the CF10 Rugby Trust, says "questions have to be asked" about what went wrong with the club's investment deal

An NOI is a formal document filed in court by a company or its directors, to inform parties the company intends to enter administration, a process aimed at rescuing a struggling business from liquidation.

Lynn Glaister, chairwoman of the CF10 Rugby Trust - an independent voice for supporters - said they were "shocked" and "gutted".

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Ms Glaister said "something has gone wrong" with the investment in the club agreed as part of last year's takeover by investment group Helford Capital Limited.

She added "questions have to be asked about that", reassuring members her organisation would do all it could "to ensure the survival of our great capital city club".

"We now need to look to the future," she said.

"Cardiff Rugby has been around since 1876 and we need to ensure we are around for our 150 year anniversary and for many decades beyond."

David Buttress, former Chairman and part-owner of Newport-based Dragons RFC, said he wasn't surprised by the news and blaming it on "a symptom of successive mismanagement over a decade".

He said Cardiff's professional rugby team "had to survive" due to its historical importance and global reputation for producing the most British Lions of any team in the British Isles.

Mr Buttress believed the only way to save the club was for the WRU to take over, stabilise it, and then return it to private ownership, which is what happened with his club 10 years ago.

He also said it was important to understand what happened under the new ownership and its "inability to stabilise the club" as all the other three clubs in Wales are stable.

Mr Buttress has called for the WRU to prioritise resources for professional rugby instead of spending on less essential projects like hotels and roof walks.

Fans who regularly attend matches at Cardiff Arms Park say the club's supporters deserve to know what's going on

Dr Huw Jones, former chief executive of Sport Wales, said the club's administration news was "very sad".

Speaking to BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast programme, Mr Jones said he was concerned about the club's staff and coaches, adding: "It's a difficult time, we don't know what's going to happen with the administrator.

"Maybe we will see changes in the club... but it is too soon to say that at the moment."

He said it was "very important for the union to come in and help the club, because they have said that they want to see four professional rugby teams in Wales in order to see future developments".

The other three professional regional sides in Wales are the Newport-based Dragons, the Swansea-based Ospreys and the Llanelli-based Scarlets.

Mr Jones said "Cardiff is in the heart of the city" and claimed the club "get more fans than anything else", but said serious consideration needed to be given to the number of professional teams in Wales and their locations.

"There are fans who want to know what the situation is," he added.

"Why were Helford appointed in the first place, and what were the recommendations from the board after the due diligence was done?

"And also what has been happening over the past year regarding their financial contribution?"

The concerns surrounding the due diligence done ahead of the takeover were echoed by Alex Bywater, rugby reporter for the Daily Mail newspaper, who said there were "serious questions" to be answered and he did not see how the club's current leadership team could remain in post with an "imminent" WRU takeover pending.

He added: "It really does sort of muddy the waters a little bit.

"Some people have said this is the opportunity to go down to three regions or whatever but, for me, not having professional rugby in Cardiff, it's unthinkable.

"So I don't think that that will happen."

Looking to the future, Dr Edward Jones senior lecturer in economics at Bangor University, said asking the club's management team to take a pay cut, "to show that they believe there is a future for the club", would be the first course of action.

"If they don't do that, I suppose it will be over for Cardiff Rugby club in their current form," he said.

"Then they will have to look if it is possible to save money in other areas of the club, and how they can restructure the club."

Meanwhile, Cardiff Students' Union said it had moved its Welsh Varsity rugby fixtures on Wednesday to the Principality Stadium next door "due to exceptional circumstances".

The annual men's and women's rugby matches between Cardiff and Swansea universities alternate between the two cities each year.

"All Welsh Varsity Rugby tickets will remain valid and the fixture times remain unchanged," it said.

Harry Edmunds thinks the WRU taking over the Cardiff club could be "the best thing"

Harri Edmunds, a student from Swansea, said he thought it was "brilliant" that the WRU could potentially take over Cardiff.

He believed the WRU's involvement would lead to improvements, adding: "I think it's going to be a better thing than the WRU itself, they're going to make an improvement.

"Going forward is going to be the better thing to do, they've done what they can and what else can they do... we've seen what they've done and we are not happy with it."

Another student, Megan Jenkins, from Cardiff, expressed concern about the lack of investment and enthusiasm for grassroots rugby in Wales, calling it "quite shocking" compared to other parts of the UK.

She added: "If we fail grassroot levels and we fail that sort of local community it's never going to reach the proper professional level that it should and it could."

Ms Jenkins also said rugby does not receive the same level of funding as football, despite its prominence in Welsh culture.

While she acknowledges that rugby is "really big" at her university, she pointed out that it still falls short of its true potential.

Analysis - Cennydd Davies, BBC Sport Wales commentator

The first thing to say is how sad it is to see a global brand like Cardiff in difficulties. But it is a difficult situation, a very complicated situation.

We believe that the union will take the reins, but for how long? The only precedent for this is what happened to the Dragons, but that ownership by the union continued for six years.

The other question is whether there are individuals and private companies who will be ready to finance and ensure that there is money flowing through the coffers here.

But I believe that this is part of a wider picture, not limited to Wales, and it shows the huge problems facing the sport across the world.

They [the union] will try to keep contracts and pay players' wages. It's a headache - it's the last thing they want to see. There are so many difficulties facing the Welsh Rugby Union at the moment.

And, in addition, we still haven't received the long-awaited report regarding the way forward, the way to run the professional sport in Wales, which is supposed to take us to 2029.

That is based on four regional teams, there are big questions now if that will happen.