Council lawyers write to Welsh Rugby Union as end to stay of legal challenge nears and row breaks out over decision making process

The dispute concerns the union’s plans to reduce the number of profession rugby sides in Wales from four to three.

The WRU has offered two of the three professional rugby licences to Cardiff Rugby and Dragons RFC, who are based in Newport.

This leaves the final licence in the west of Wales unresolved, with the Ospreys and Scarlets facing an uncertain future.

Swansea Council’s legal challenge, launched in February, argues that the prospect of a single professional licence in West Wales has not been adequately justified and that key questions remain unanswered. It was stayed until the end of this week.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Leader of Swansea Council, has meanwhile claimed this week that audio of Abi Tierney, CEO of the WRU, suggested she had expressed a clear preference for a merger between the Ospreys and Scarlets “rather than approaching all options with an open mind”.

Cllr Stewart claimed rugby players and supporters in West Wales had been “betrayed”, adding that “I cannot see how Abi Tierney can continue as CEO of the WRU following the release of the recording."

Swansea’s Leader claimed the council had been given assurances by the WRU during the early stages of its legal case that the decision-making on licensing would be a fair and transparent process, “which is why Swansea agreed to pause the legal case”.

Cllr Stewart claimed that developments such as the leaked audio “show that key decisions have already been made behind closed doors, with only the mechanism for delivering them still under discussion”.

Many of Swansea Council’s concerns have been echoed by Carmarthenshire County Council, which expressed serious concern about the transparency and fairness of the WRU’s ongoing review.

Leader of Carmarthenshire Council, Cllr Linda Evans, demanded that the WRU clarify its position.

“The WRU has repeatedly stated that the future structure of professional rugby in Wales would be considered through a transparent and impartial process. Any suggestion that a preferred outcome has already been identified would be extremely troubling and would risk undermining confidence among supporters, clubs, communities and stakeholders across Wales,” she said.

“This is of significant concern, given the importance of the Scarlets to Llanelli, Carmarthenshire and the wider West Wales region, and the repeated assurances that any decision about the future of professional rugby in Wales would be reached through a fair, open and evidence-based process.

“We are calling on the WRU to provide urgent and clear assurances that no decision has been made on the future allocation of professional licences, that all options remain genuinely open, and that the evidence underpinning the review will be shared in full with affected regions and stakeholders.”

Announcing its plans earlier this week for three professional teams from the 2028/29 season, the WRU said that following on from the autumn Nations Championship matches, it would bring together the leadership of all the professional teams, and other stakeholders, “to co-create the future operating model for the men’s game”.

It said the aim of that collaborative work would be to:

• "create a shared understanding of the financial and strategic realities facing the game
• engage stakeholders in a consensual structured way to shape the licensing terms of the future operating model
• determine the interest of each existing professional club in taking up the new 2028 licence agreements."

The WRU added: “That process will run throughout the first quarter of 2027, at which point all current professional clubs will be given an opportunity to confirm whether they wish to participate in the future operating model.”

Harry Rodd