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Rugby has been rocked by yet another club side going into administration. On Monday, rumours started to circulate on social media that something was deeply wrong in the Welsh Capital and that the URC side Cardiff Rugby were in serious trouble. The news had made its way to South Africa and back again but fans were made to suffer an agonising wait until Tuesday afternoon before the official announcement came. With the Welsh Rugby Union poised to step in and rescue the club, supporters are owed answers to many, many questions. Here’s 5:
How?
It’s not long since Cardiff Rugby believed they were in a new era of financial stability. During the summer of 2023, the Welsh region were in dire straights following the passing of long term backer Peter Thomas who had funded them out of his own pocket. Stories of mergers and less than a dozen players taking part in training started to circulate. However, a few months later, there was relief as a new buyers in the form of Helford Capital came in. They had passed all the fit-and-proper persons test and were approved by 99.99% of Cardiff members.
The new owners were thought to have links to Middle Eastern money and there was talk - perhaps fanciful - of marquee signings and stadium redevelopment. Meanwhile, Cardiff attendances were steadily climbing (they are the best attended of any Welsh region) and results on the pitch had started to improve. The administration feels like it has some from nowhere, and fans are owed a detailed explanation of what exactly has happened.
WRU Money Tree
It seems that Cardiff Rugby will be saved by the WRU, just as the Dragons were some years ago when they went bust. Having no professional rugby in the Welsh capital is unthinkable; the national union will take over the day-to-day running of the club and are reportedly committed to honouring the contracts of not only current employees but those players who have already been signed for next season.
This begs the question: with what money will of this be paid for? Welsh rugby fans can be forgiven for feeling confused over the state of the WRU’s finances. One week, they are told the union is making record losses, that funding for the regions must be slashed and COVID loan repayments must be passed to the clubs. The next week, the union is paying off former CEOs, bragging that they can buy out the contract of whatever men’s head coach they want and claiming their women’s team contracts are among of the highest paying in the world. Let’s not even mention roof walks.
The impression one gets is that the WRU has a magic money tree; one they can shake when they want to but it won’t ever appear on the balance sheets. They now have an obligation to match whatever money they spend on Cardiff in payments to the other three regions, rendering all debates over playing budgets moot.
Professional Agreement
The Cardiff administration has come in the midst of negotiations between the WRU and the four regions to agree funding models, pooling resources and laying out the broader strategy for Welsh rugby. The strategy was supposed to be announced last summer and is already ten months late, but it now seems further off than ever.
This will have a tangible impact on all areas of Welsh rugby. Men’s, women’s, semi-pro, amateur - all of it. The professional agreement was supposed to be the beginning of the end for the dark times that has seen the men’s side lose seventeen test matches in a row. Reportedly, a founding principle of the new deal is that the four professional teams can operate as independent businesses. Clearly, that isn’t the reality.
Impact To The Other Three
Whilst Cardiff fans are the real victims of these events, fans of Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons will now keeping a very close eye on the news. The perception is the WRU will not allow professional rugby in Wales’ most populous area to die, and would be willing to make sacrifices of the rest to ensure that never happens.
Be that accurate or simply paranoia, there is good reason for them to be distrustful. Whilst most agree there is a definite need for a professional team in Cardiff, some say there is no need for two in the west. After all, the Ospreys and Scarlets almost merged back in 2019.
Dragons fans will feel empathy for Cardiff, despite the rivalry, as they were in the exact same position a few years ago. Cardiff fans can take heart that the men from Gwent managed to get themselves out of it, having re-entered private ownership last summer. However, for the short term at least, the uncertainty in regional rugby has intensified. Not a great advert for Judgement Day in just 2 weeks time…
Sam Warburton: What Have You To Say Now?
There is a no small amount of irony to the Cardiff situation, given the recent debates around Wales reducing its number of regions from four to three. S4C even ran a live debate on the matter with former internationals chipping in their opinions. Despite what some may have you believe, it is not a new debate. Plenty in Wales have been fighting against the whole concept of regionalisation ever since it occurred over twenty years ago, even when Ospreys, Cardiff and Scarlets were lifting trophies.
The loudest of the voices calling for Wales to drop to three regions in recent times was former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton. He used his platforms in the Times newspaper and on the BBC to demand a region be cut and specifically identified the Dragons as the team that should go. The irony of it now being Cardiff who has entered administration - a team he not only captained but also sat on the board of until just 2 weeks ago - will not be lost on those who have lost a lot of respect for Warburton in recent times.