The Welsh Rugby Union have been urged to approach Wrexham's Hollywood superstar owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney about the possibility of setting up a professional rugby side in north Wales.
Reynolds and McElhenny bought Wrexham in November 2020 for £2million, and have turned the third-oldest professional football club in the world into a truly global brand, while they have also helped catapult them back into the Football League for the first time in 15 years.
Football has always been king in north Wales with rugby struggling to gain a foothold, but outspoken former WRU chief executive David Moffett is adamant this is the perfect opportunity for the oval-ball game set up camp in Wrexham.
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"I'd love to see a professional rugby team in North Wales with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney investing in it because I think they've done a phenomenal job with Wrexham football club," Moffett told WalesOnline.
"Owning, or even part owning a rugby club, would hugely benefit them as well because they'd get more usage out of the stadium for a start.
"In football it'll take them about a decade if not more to get Wrexham into the Premier League but they could get a rugby club into the top of European rugby in no more than three years.
"These guys are more switched on than anybody in Welsh rugby. North Wales is close to a huge population of Welsh citizens who are currently living in England.
"It's in a better location. If you had some really good players up there and it was properly funded it would be a success.
"These guys have done amazing things with only £2million. What they've done is use their contacts, and social media to elevate their profile. They've showed the idiots in the south of Wales how it could be done."
Big changes are afoot within Welsh rugby with a new independent chair, and chief executive, set to be appointed before the end of the year, while a new six-year financial framework has been agreed between the WRU and its four professional sides.
But the game in Wales remains in dire straits with the men's national side not performing while the four regions have struggled for consistent success which has impacted crowds.
This is why Moffett believe the next CEO needs to set up a meeting with Reynolds and McElhenney in a bid to persuade them to get involved with Welsh rugby.
"The new WRU CEO should go up to Wrexham, meet with them, and talk to them about growing a serious sporting franchise in north Wales, and that should include rugby," said Moffett.
"They can take this so-called national game of Wales, rugby, and do something pretty cool with that as well. They could also look at doing a cross deal with a rugby team in the new professional league in America, Major League Rugby.
"They could link their north Wales team with an MLR team which they could buy for pennies considering the Rugby World Cup is going to be in the US in the not too distant future.
"You'd just have a blank piece of paper, and you could brainstorm all these ways in which rugby can help them achieve what they want to achieve at the basic levels.
"They could grow the profile of rugby in Wales and the US, and they've even got the contacts to do a Netflix documentary about it. I think it would be a huge success if they got involved.
"People need to remember that north Wales is actually a part of Wales. When I first came to Wales my initial plan was to have four professional teams, three along the M4 corridor, and one in north Wales. There's an opportunity now to make that happen if somebody showed some ambition."
The number of professional teams in Wales has been hotly debated given the current financial climate, with many calling for one to be axed.
If Moffett had his way he would relocate the Ospreys to north Wales, playing at Wrexham's famous Racecourse Ground, but only if Reynolds and McElhenney got involved.
"The Ospreys are so close to the Scarlets so they'd be the team I'd relocate up to north Wales," he said.
"The Ospreys are never going to be what they were because there is not enough money in the game.
"The WRU need to part own a team in north Wales, centrally contract the players, and get Rob Reynolds and Ryan McElhenney involved. I'd have them as a full funded, fully operational team because you won't attract big investment without it.
"If the Ospreys were super smart they'd read this and go 'jeez Moffett has got a point here', and go up to Wrexham with the next WRU CEO to meet these guys. The Racecourse is also the perfect sized ground for a professional rugby team.
"In the past I've said Welsh rugby should cut a team but if you could get these guys involved you'd have enough money for four professional sides.
"So, my ideal scenario would be to move the Ospreys to Wrexham, and keep Cardiff, the Dragons and the Scarlets in the south.
"The Scarlets own the lease on their own ground which sits as an asset on their balance sheet which means they can't move, plus you need them to cover west Wales.
"If the Ospreys went to north Wales and these guys backed them they'd get back to the good old days where they were winning silverware on an annual basis. They could make them a powerhouse in Europe again."
Many fans will baulk at the idea of a professional rugby club in north Wales, given the areas love of football. But Moffett has urged people to look at how rugby has grown in Australia as an example of what can be achieved, while he insists football is biggest sport in south Wales anyway.
"It makes me laugh when Welsh rugby fans say there isn't the appetite for professional rugby in north Wales," he said.
"It's time they woke up. The hard truth is football is actually much bigger in south Wales than rugby union. They are sticking their heads in the sand if they think rugby union is still the national sport of Wales. Football overtook it a very long time ago.
"Also, lets look at rugby union in Australia. A few years ago the Australian Rugby Union set up the Melbourne Rebels to play in Super Rugby. That's Aussie Rules and cricket territory and rugby union has always been a minor sport there but the Rebels have done reasonably well. Also, in Western Australia they've got the Western Force who are competing with the much more popular AFL, who have two professional teams.
"What they want to do is attract the expats; Welsh men, women, and children who live in the north of England. Also there's so much crossover between the fans. You've got so many Welsh people who support rugby and football so I don't really see the issue."
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