Welsh rugby crisis: WRU signs six-year deal with its four professional teams

Leading players at Wales' top teams have faced uncertainty in 2022-23

A new six-year deal between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the nation's four professional teams has been signed.

The deal involving the governing body, Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets will run until 2029.

A statement said the Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) "provides financial predictability".

Salary caps will be implemented from the start of the 2023-24 season with "fixed" and "fixed and variable" deals available to players.

The salary cap for 2023-24 will be £5.2m for each of the four teams, reducing to £4.5m the following season.

The game's Professional Rugby Board chairman Malcolm Wall confirmed the financial restrictions as he spoke to BBC Radio Wales in the wake of the announcement.

"The salary cap from 2025 will be £4.5 million per club, that compares to about £5 million in the English Premiership, which is due to go up the following year, so we're a little short of that," said Wall.

"But if we can generate extra commercial revenues we will plough that back into the game, both in terms of salaries and academies, but we have to live with what we know we have in terms of revenue."

Wall added: "I think it will be enough to compete. We'll probably lose one or two players who quite understandably, if they can earn better elsewhere, want to make the most of what is a short career. Competing isn't just about how much you pay the players and what senior players you're able to attract.

"One of the real focuses in this deal is to do more work on taking the thousands of young men of the 18s age group who play rugby of in Wales, and getting improved pathways so that we get more young talent coming into the elite clubs year by year, so that's one of our main focuses.

"It's not just about living within our own means, it's spending more wisely so we improve our pipelines and pathways to get these younger players coming through into the pro game."

The statement confirming the deal read: "The new PRA provides a financial framework which is made up of new funding from the WRU and club shareholders to create a sustainable platform for progress.

"It provides financial predictability for the professional game in Wales and is welcomed by all PRB [Professional Rugby Board] members.

"Homegrown player development will be a key objective for all parties as the new PRA is designed to promote success for both the professional club game and the Welsh international side."

Long-lasting financial uncertainty in Welsh rugby reached crisis point during the 2023 Six Nations with Wales' international players threatening not to play England amid an impasse that had lasted since the summer of 2022.

That threat was averted, but the futures of a host of players, including Wales stars, aspiring talents and regional regulars have remained uncertain, although Dragons announced seven deals to hold onto existing squad members on the eve of the new deal being announced.

However, Wales fly-half Gareth Anscombe and Wales and Lions back row Dan Lydiate are among those whose career paths have yet to be determined and they are not alone.

The agreement includes these measures:

• A central clearing will hold all contracts "to monitor spend, ensure contract compliance and effect a new player-loan system across clubs".

• The WRU performance director and the regions will agree "contracts for players of national interest".

• Academies will be supported by a commitment to "a minimum spend".

• There will be regular audits of "expenditures, contracts, business plans and academy performance".

• Scarlets, Ospreys, Cardiff and Dragons "are committed to centralising aspects of their commercial operations, with work already in process in this area".

Before the deal was agreed and announced, the WRU and leading players agreed to a significant adjustment to rules around eligibility to play for Wales.

Previously, if a player wanted to play for Wales while not based there, he had to have won 60 caps - that is now 25 Test appearances.

PRB chair Malcolm Wall said: "It is no exaggeration to say a great deal of work, time and effort has gone into establishing an agreement all parties can be happy with and which is designed to achieve the very best results for Welsh professional rugby from the resources available to us.

"The directors of each of our professional sides, the executive staff at the WRU, my fellow independent non-executive director Marianne Okland and the Rugby Management Board (RMB) all deserve credit for enabling Welsh rugby to reach this critically important moment.

"We also can't let this moment pass without marking the important role our sadly departed colleague and friend Peter Thomas CBE played in sustaining professional rugby in the Welsh capital during his lifetime and in helping us reach this significant point in our history."

Acting WRU chief executive Nigel Walker said: "Our objective has been to achieve a sustainable future for our four professional sides and for Wales and credit must go to all involved now this has been achieved.

"The co-operation between the WRU, our professional clubs and the WRPA [Welsh Rugby Players Association] has been a vitally important part of this process and we will continue to work together for the future benefit of Welsh rugby.

"We now have a structure which will provide a backdrop of stability from which we can build."