These are tough times for Welsh rugby with the game at all levels feeling the pinch financially.
With the professional game facing a period of austerity, things aren't much better at semi-professional and grassroots level either.
WalesOnline met up with a high-ranking member of a semi-professional Championship club, who wished to remain anonymous, to discuss what it takes to run a semi-professional club in Wales.
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Each Championship club currently receives £15,000 from the Welsh Rugby Union, but this is set to drop down to £4,000 next season with the competition changing format to a two-division league including east and west sections. This is also likely to include representation from north Wales.
Meanwhile in the Premiership, central funding is set at £50,000 per club. WalesOnline has also been told that should plans for an elite eight or six-team league get the green light, then Premiership funding would likely drop.
The key point is central funding to the Championship is dropping significantly but operational costs are staying the same, which is a big problem considering each club apart from one operates at a loss.
All things considered, it can cost more than £200,000 a season to run a Championship club. While the first thing people think of is the cost of paying players and fielding a team, the financial burden naturally goes much deeper than that.
Items such as supplements for the players costs circa £3,000 a season, with £4,500 being spent on strapping. The club in question told WalesOnline its water bill was £900, while food for players and officials after matches totalled a staggering £8,000 for the season.
One area which needs regular maintenance with most teams are the floodlights, and this cost £4,500 last season with pitch maintenance totalling £10,000. The stewarding and security was close to £5,000, transport and travel was £7,000, while general admin totalled £12,000 last season.
Championship clubs also have a playing budget between £125,000 to £150,000, while in the Premiership it is between £200,000 and £225,000.
When clubs need financial assistance, they can apply to the WRU for a grant but it is far from certain they will be successful.
There are also two ways to pay players at semi-professional level: the players either sign a retainer contract which is a basic monthly salary or they can accept a pay-as-you-play agreement with their club. They can also negotiate a hybrid of the two payment methods.
Given each Championship club receives £4,000 of WRU funding a season but spends on average £237,000 on operational costs, it isn't hard to work out why clubs are struggling.
"The rugby public need to understand the pain that clubs have to go through just to field their local side on the weekend," said a leading figure in the community game. "Without more of their support the clubs won't exist. Watching a game on a social media feed is not financially supporting your club. Your club needs you.
"The finances of Welsh rugby across the board are clearly broken, and the Championship is a casualty of that, and soon so will the Premiership if the elite league comes off.
"The top end of the game is so financially broken because wage bills are unsustainable so it filters down. These resources are then taken away from lower down the chain. It's a waterfall effect."
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