Cardiff captain Josh Turnbull believes the Welsh Rugby Union have enough money to support the game as he insisted more financial support was needed for Wales' regions to be successful.
The game in Wales has been mired with financial uncertainty in recent months. A new six-year funding model was signed off last month, but not before Wales players threatened to take strike action during the Six Nations amid a contracts freeze which has since been resolved.
Even with this new model in place, regional budgets will be reduced in the coming seasons with all four set to be working with £4.5million a year from 2024/25, begging the question how the four teams can possibly compete moving forward.
That issue will also be exacerbated by the number of players likely to leave Welsh rugby in the coming months due to the tightening of belts and the reduced wages on offer. With all that considered, it has been quite the campaign for the seasoned Turnbull, and it is one he is still struggling to find the words to assess.
"I don't know if we've got enough time!" he said. "A bit of a rollercoaster, I'll say. Hopefully now, with this long-form agreement being put in place, we won't see anything like this happen in a long time. It's been one hell of a rollercoaster.
"Ultimately things are changing. Hopefully, in the next couple of seasons, we'll see the reasons why and we'll be better for it. But it's been pretty tough this year."
At the height of the possible strike action, Turnbull participated in a live debate on BBC's Scrum V, quizzing Professional Rugby Board chair Malcolm Wall on the long-term strategy of the game in Wales. "I've got a question," Turnbull said to Wall in February. "What is your long-term strategic plan to get a region to win something? Because the way we're talking, with funding being cut, it doesn't look too promising. You must have a long-term plan?"
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Nearly two months on, and with a long-term model signed off, is Turnbull comfortable that the long-term vision is there?
"Look, we'll have to see on that one," he said. "Ultimately, my own personal opinion is that the game needs more money. I believe that the union make enough money to support the game at a better financial level. Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see whether Malcolm Wall and Nigel Walker come through with what they planned."
Of course, any time that someone involved with one of the four professional sides calls for more financial backing, the record of the teams is instantly thrown back in their face. Critics of the regions question why they should be handed more backing when they haven't delivered. Often, it resembles a chicken and egg argument without any of the nuance.
"There's always going to be that," admitted Turnbull. "There'll always be the question on whether the regions have delivered enough on the amount of money put in the game. But if they haven't delivered, what's been the marker? How much money are you going to give a team and what area of the season do you want them to get to?
"Is it knockout stages or do you want them to win things? We haven't done that yet. But if we haven't got enough money to get to the knockout stages, we definitely won't be winning anything. So what do you want? If you want to get the return on something, you're going to have to invest in it."
Given how hindered the Welsh sides are financially, Ospreys coach Toby Booth admitted that all the regional coaches were "nervous" heading into next season, hinting that qualifying for the Champions Cup with less money could end up being something of a poisoned chalice.
It begs the question of how those players left in Wales will face next season. However, Turnbull - who admits he has likely only got a season or two left in his career - is confident players will still put pressure on themselves to perform.
"I think we can look at it in two different ways," he said. "One is that we've got nothing to lose and we throw everything at it. Or you put an expectation on it and if you don't live up to it, you have everything thrown at you. I don't think [it's worthwhile] putting that much pressure on the Welsh teams after everything that's gone on this year, we'll put the pressure on ourselves."
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