WRU Confirms Plan To Cut Welsh Pro Teams From Four To Three By 2028
WRU Confirms Plan To Cut Welsh Pro Teams From Four To Three By 2028
The Welsh Rugby Union confirms plans to reduce its professional teams from four to three by 2028, pledging £40m investment and equal funding for each side.
The Welsh Rugby Union on Thursday confirmed plans to reduce the number of professional men’s rugby teams from four to three by the 2028 season, following months of consultation, internal debate and mounting public pressure.
The decision, which will see the current sides, Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets remain in place until at least the end of the 2027-2028 campaign, marks one of the most significant structural shifts in Welsh rugby since regionalization two decades ago.
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WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood announced the new direction at a press conference in Cardiff, stating that the governing body intends to issue three long-term licenses covering the capital, west Wales and east Wales.
Each side will receive equal funding starting at £6.4 million, rising to £7.8 million per year under a newly proposed financial model.
“Our decision is that the future structure of elite men’s rugby will be based on three professional men’s clubs, replacing the current four-team model, alongside two women’s elite teams,” Collier-Keywood said. “We have listened to the consultation feedback, and we agree that Welsh rugby needs a long-term fix, not a short-term patch.”
The announcement comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the future of the regional game.
The WRU had previously floated the idea of cutting two teams, a proposal that drew fierce opposition from supporters, players and regional benefactors.
That backlash forced the union to revisit its projections and eventually settle on a three-club model instead.
Dave Reddin, the WRU’s director of rugby and elite performance, said the revised plan was “built from the ground up to drive success” and “designed to raise standards, restore the DNA of Welsh rugby and deliver the step forward in performance that everyone craves.”
Reddin added that the new structure was a compromise between financial reality and cultural heritage.
“On balance, we feel that this three-team structure protects that for most, while managing a necessary reduction in a fair and respectful way,” he said. “This creates a sustainable, joined-up system.”
The WRU also confirmed an additional £40 million investment across the next five years aimed at strengthening elite and developmental pathways. Of that total, £28 million will be directed toward coaching education, new player development centers and expanded men’s and women’s academies.
The process for determining which region will lose its professional status has not yet been finalized.
The WRU hopes a voluntary merger could emerge, but if consensus cannot be reached, the union will run what it described as a “fair and transparent tendering process” for the three available licenses.
Cardiff and Dragons, both WRU-owned, already have signed the new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA25), while privately held Ospreys and Scarlets have refused. That standoff triggered a two-year notice period on the existing structure earlier this year, setting the stage for Thursday’s announcement.
Despite the financial and political turbulence surrounding the game, Collier-Keywood and Reddin rejected suggestions that their positions had become untenable. “I don’t accept it’s a mess at all,”
Collier-Keywood said. “Change takes time, and this is the start of a process that will make Welsh rugby stronger.”
The WRU insists that all existing player contracts will be honored through 2028, but beyond that, the landscape of professional rugby in Wales is set for a dramatic reshaping.
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