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Once again, the prospect of a merger between the Ospreys and Scarlets is on the table.
Last week, the Welsh Rugby Union outlined how it plans to get from four professional teams to three, after a season of uncertainty. Cardiff and Dragons are in line to get two of the three licences, leaving the Ospreys and Scarlets fighting it out for the final one.
How that one unfolds in the next 12 months remains to be seen, with a merger a possibility.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the two west Wales sides have come close to merging.
Back in 2019, as the national team were three-fifths of the way towards a Grand Slam, Welsh rugby just about imploded in the days prior to a clash with Scotland at Murrayfield.
The news that the Ospreys and Scarlets were to become one seven years ago blindsided just about everyone in the Welsh game.
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Heads of terms were agreed and signed by both regions, with the merger to be proposed at a Professional Rugby Board meeting.
However, over the course of a few days, those plans ultimately fell apart in spectacular fashion.
At the start of the PRB meeting, the Scarlets were told that the Ospreys had changed their mind.
As is the driving force for change now, finances were behind the proposed merger back in 2019.
There were concerns at the time over the Ospreys’ situation.
Their previous accounts recorded a loss of £500,00 and projected cash flow problems for the following year. Players were even told that the club would cease to exist beyond the following summer.
It wasn’t just the Ospreys who were struggling, with the Welsh game as a whole needing change.
That change was deemed to be tapping into the untapped north Wales market. But to head north, room had to be made down south first.
On the field, the Ospreys had a solid case to stay – ending that season as Wales’ only qualifier for the Champions Cup.
Off it, there were issues with their tenancy at the Liberty Stadium – with attendances at the home of Swansea City a concern.
The Dragons were under the ownership of the WRU, while Cardiff and Scarlets were deemed stronger off the field – leaving the Ospreys in the crosshairs.
Here’s where things get complicated.
The Scarlets publicly claimed afterwards that they were approached by the Ospreys over a merger.
The Ospreys disputed that, claiming Scarlets chair Nigel Short had asked Ospreys chair Mike James to get together, with the pair meeting at the Marriott Hotel in Swansea.
A further short meeting at a west Wales derby followed, but no agreement was reached.
The Ospreys did sign a heads of terms agreement though, insisting later it was simply to explore options – rather than being committed to the merger.
Things unravelled as quickly as the news broke, though.
As details leaked out, it became apparent it was less of a merger and more of a takeover. The team would play the majority of home matches in Llanelli, wear a red kit and the Scarlets would have a majority shareholding.
Unsurprisingly, the Ospreys weren’t overly thrilled with those terms – nor were their fans.
When the reality of what that particular merger would look like, the Ospreys’ new chair Rob Davies – having taken over after James resigned citing the WRU’s ‘catastrophic mismanagement’ of Project Reset – torched the whole thing.
In a scathing statement, Davies said at the time: “There are three stark realities. Firstly, the concept of an Ospreys-Scarlets merger is dead and the clock is ticking. Secondly, Wales was promised a comprehensive review with nothing off the table, but nothing has yet been put on the table.
“Thirdly, the PRB cynically left it to the regions to have a shootout for survival with the clear direction that a region in the west should go and make room for a fourth in the north. We are now where we are as a result.
“It’s hard to look at this situation and not conclude that a stitch-up of convenience has just unravelled before us all. There isn’t a ‘plan B’, because there was never a ‘plan A’.
“Even the PRB has said a western merger was central to their planning, which is frankly mind-boggling. Wishful thinking is not an acceptable replacement for responsible decision-making.
“It’s now time for the grown-ups to get back in the room. It’s time for experienced strategic planning, robust consultation and a methodical process to emerge that is transparent, timely and carries with it the full range of the sport’s stakeholders. And this is what I will be discussing with Union and PRB officials over the coming days.”
That staved off the threat of a merger that time, but the prospect of going down to three, or even two, has always remained in the background.
Now, a year after first announcing their intentions, the WRU have inched a little closer to getting what they want.
As history has shown us, nothing is certain in Welsh rugby, though.
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