Sam Warburton has called for the four regions to come under central control of the Welsh Rugby Union as he outlined his blueprint for the way forward for the crisis-hit game in Wales.
The hugely respected former Wales and Lions captain turned top pundit spelt out his vision and called on everyone to 'put their trust in the WRU.'
Warburton feels the only way four professional teams can be retained in Wales is for them to come completely under the banner of the governing body in the way the Dragons already are.
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That, he concedes, would mean hugely difficult choices for senior figures at the Ospreys, Cardiff and Scarlets, some of whom would have to stand aside from their current roles.
However, Warburton maintains it has to be the way forward rather than rely upon benefactors or a hybrid model, which isn't working. He points out there would be an end to the tribalism and the WRU could distribute players more evenly across the four sides to make them more competitive.
For critics who will say the Dragons have hardly been a roaring success under WRU ownership, Warburton argues union powerbrokers have actually been "reluctant to show any bias towards them and therefore haven't been able to run it truly as would have liked."
Warburton spelt out his thought-provoking and fascinating views in a detailed column for the Times headlined 'Welsh rugby is still in dire straits, here's how I would fix it.'
He put forward his blueprint on the eve of the big Wales versus England Six Nations showdown at the Principality Stadium and at the end of a week which saw players threatening to take strike action because of their concerns over the contractual situation.
Warburton says he is glad the strike threat has been resolved, but stresses he remains "very worried" about the "dire situation" in Welsh rugby, with the regions in debt, a problem he points out which has been exacerbated by having to pay back money loaned to them during the pandemic.
He says the "vicious circle of uncertainty, with the players stuck in the middle" has to end and doesn't feel the six-year deal the WRU and regions are trying to finalise will resolve anything.
"I simply cannot see the WRU and the regions continuing to exist as they are," writes Warburton in his column. "This deal has taken so long for two main reasons: 1) The regions are not happy with the level of funding from the WRU; and 2) I think the WRU is only willing to give more money if it has more control, and the regions don’t want the union have that control."
He said the players "feel that the WRU undervalues them, but it is not necessarily that," continuing: "It is rather that the union doesn’t want to invest more money into the regions as it feels as if that would be like throwing money down a drain.
"The players are the victims of longstanding poor relations between the WRU and the regions. I can see why the players don’t necessarily understand that and take it quite personally. I would probably have been the same."
Explaining what he would do to rescue Welsh rugby, Warburton went on: "The only answer is centralised control.
"If it was me in charge, I would say that: that I want to take control, want to fund four regions properly, but I can only do that if I have more control of what is going on.
"The obvious reason for the regions to not want everything to be centralised is because the WRU would then want to appoint its own staff at the regions — from the boards, to the chief executive, to the coaching staff, right down to academy level. Some people would get to stay, but some of those in senior management roles at the regions would know they could be like turkeys voting for Christmas if they allowed the WRU to have complete control.
"Ideally, we want to keep four regions and I think if the WRU took over that would be possible. However, a takeover only seems like it could happen if the regions sadly went into administration. They haven’t been successful, yes, but they could be made more successful by improved management, recruitment, distribution of players, and increased budgets, which would stimulate more interest in them in terms of crowds and investment.
"People cannot be afraid of change. The self-interest and tribalism must end. Everyone must put Welsh rugby first, they must put their trust in the WRU.
"I know that will sound a little odd given recent events, and people can justifiably say that the WRU is not fit for purpose either, but that is why the whole governance of the union also needs to be addressed. They need non-biased, highly skilled people on the board and then the regions would trust them more.
"With central control, perhaps we could have two super regions and two development regions."
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Warburton feels central control would also resolve the issue the WRU recently raised about players being paid too much in their eyes.
"This is not true of all players - it is just a group across the four regions who definitely have been overpaid relative to their quality, with some third-choice players on nearly £200,000," he writes. "But sometimes that happens; maybe there is, for example, a scarcity of tight-head props and you end up paying over the odds for players in that position.
"That just wouldn’t happen with central control. The players would be spread evenly and sensibly. You wouldn’t have too many or too few of players in any one position in each region.
"The quality would be evenly distributed across the four teams and salaries would be fairer. You wouldn’t get inter-regional bidding, and players would move clubs via an agreed salary and mutual consent from regions and the player."
Warburton also argued the Welsh Premiership below the regional game should be reduced from 12 teams to 10, with a greater quality of talent and players on the fringes of the regional sides being chosen for the league. As things stand the WRU plan to increase the Premiership to 14 sides.
He is a big advocate of tapping into the north Wales playing pool and market, saying Warren Gatland should take the Welsh team for training sessions to increase interest up there.
Warburton concludes: "We must aim high as a rugby nation. Yes, as a general goal we want the game to be popular and thriving, but the long-term, more specific goal over the next 10 years must be to have a region winning a Heineken Champions Cup and for the national team to win a World Cup. That is the level of excellence to which we should be aspiring. There is still so much to do."
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