Former Wales captain Paul Thorburn has called upon Welsh rugby to rip up the professional structure in this country and start again in a stunning attack on the regions.
Following Wales' surprise defeat to Italy on Saturday, the former full-back has come out to place most of the blame for Welsh rugby's struggles at the door of the four professional clubs, saying some of their decision-making over the years "beggars belief". He also pointed to the Irish model of four teams being owned by the union as the way forward for rugby in this country.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales a day after former WRU chairman Gareth Davies called for the WRU's constitution to be ripped up, Thorburn aimed much of the responsibility at the professional teams, saying: "I think there's a lot of truth to what Gareth is saying in relation to the structure.
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"But I don't think we can just blame it on the fact that the regions would like to have much more control over the game than they do at the moment, as this is about Welsh rugby as a whole. We've got to look at the whole infrastructure.
"There are serious problems at grassroots level. Clubs that were the rockbed of the game are either no longer in existence or not fielding teams that would suggest there's a conveyor belt of talent coming through. There's serious structural issues. Some of the blame need to be put at the regions.
"They will be very critical of the Welsh Rugby Union, but for all intents and purposes, they've largely been in control of their own destiny and they have a lot to answer for. I've been involved with the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union.
"Some of the decisions of the directors of the regions beggar belief. Some of the appointments they've made with coaches or directors of rugby. We've seen a massive influx of foreign coaches. Some of those decisions beggar belief and, the money they've wasted, they need to be held accountable."
You can read our explainer on the deep-rooted problems facing Welsh rugby, including the lack of investment in the professional game by the WRU, here.
Thorburn went on to criticise the regions for their participation in the "meaningless" United Rugby Championship, pointing to union-owned sides as the way forward. He also was critical of the attendances that the four regions pull in.
"They are also partly to blame for the pathetic league structure that our regions play in. It's not a league that is of any interest to anybody," he added. "There's South African teams playing it. It's a meaningless competition. There's no intensity to it.
"What's the way forward? Personally, I don't know but if you look across the water to Ireland, they have a very similar make-up in terms of the number of clubs. The provinces are in effect owned by the Irish Rugby Union, they're branches of that. They're all pulling together in the one direction.
"They're playing in the meaningless competition but are somehow getting it right. We need a review of things, but we need to take away the self-interest if we are to have a review that is worthwhile doing.
"The league is the league. The Scottish and Irish teams play in it and their unions are involved in those meetings. But this goes back to the inception of regional rugby, when the regions were very protective about their future in European competition.
"That basically meant the league was meaningless as it meant there was no meritocracy or European qualification. We had a situation many years ago where Brian O'Driscoll never actually ventured out of Ireland for a Celtic League match because they were protecting him for the European competition.
"Supporters in Wales are aware of the meaningless fixtures and the crowds haven't turned up. You only have to look at the crowds that the Ospreys now. Over the Christmas period, I'd be surprised if there were 4,000 people there. It's dire. There's a lot of people who are accountable.
"It's not just the WRU, the regions themselves are. But it goes deeper than it."
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It should be noted that, over the Christmas period between December 12 and January 29, the Ospreys didn't play any home games in front of fans due to the Welsh Government's blanket ban on fans attending matches due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The remaining three home fixtures at the start of December and end of January saw official attendances range from 4,600 to 5,700.
The question that arises from following the Irish model would be how the benefactors of the professional sides are paid were the union to assume control.
As for Thorburn's plan to rip it up and start again, the full-back offered little more in the way of a plan than a simple affirmation to a question. "Well, I think so," he said when asked about starting afresh. "Why not?"
