Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Steve Phillips has denied there is a "master and slave relationship" between the WRU and Wales' four regions.
A catastrophic weekend for Welsh rugby, with the men's and U20s sides shipping more than 80 points between them in Ireland, has only served to shine a light on the issues facing Welsh rugby.
Many of those point back to the Union's governing of the game and its performance pathways in this country, with the regions having been hindered in recent times by the albatross of the £20million Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme loan around their collective necks.
