Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Lance Bradley puts figure on extra funding needed by Wales' regions

Ospreys' Morgan Morris attacks the Dragons last May (Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)

Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley has claimed that the regions in Wales need an additional playing budget of £2million each per annum in order to become regular knockout stage title contenders. It was 2017 when a Welsh club – Scarlets – last won the old PRO12, but they clubs have since struggled, especially in recent seasons due to financial restraints. 

ADVERTISEMENT

This past season was the first time in the three editions of the URC involving four South African franchises in a 16-team tournament that Wales had a quarter-final representative.  

Ospreys pipped the Lions to an eighth-place finish, securing them a knockout stage trip to Munster, but Bradley believes additional investment is needed to ensure that Welsh representation in the title race play-offs becomes a regular thing.  

Video Spacer

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Elrigh Louw’s inlcusions in the starting line-up

Video Spacer

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Elrigh Louw’s inlcusions in the starting line-up

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that he had the 2027 World Cup in mind when he selected Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as his starting flyhalf for this weekend’s Rugby Championship opener.

Ahead of the 2024/25 season which kicks off on the weekend of September 20, Bradley has given a wide-ranging interview to walesonline.co.uk which included an emphasis on the financials required to make the Welsh regions – which currently have a £4.5m budget each – more competitive in the long term.     

It’s believed that the professional rugby board in Wales will unveil a five-year plan this autumn that will deal with the multi-million-pound funding gap and ensure that none of the four regions are cut for the game to survive and thrive.  

Fixture
United Rugby Championship
Dragons RFC
23 - 21
Full-time
Ospreys
All Stats and Data

Bradley said: “In the discussions we are having with the WRU everyone is very clear that the plan is to have four pro clubs. If there were to be, and there is ongoing discussions with the clubs and union about how to close the funding gap, there is a proposal on the table that looks like it could do it but there is more detail needed on that proposal.  

“It’s looking positive but there are still lots of things to work out. If that does work out and we are able to either take that plan or take the best bits of that plan it looks to me as if we will have funding for four professional clubs in Wales. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“I know people have spoken about a two-tier funding model and everybody is in favour of that as long as they are one of the two that gets the most funding. We are the same, but our focus is on the plan that is on the table which is for four appropriately funded pro teams. If we can get to somewhere around £6.5m we can be regularly in the knockout stages.” 

ADVERTISEMENT

South Africa v British & Irish Lions | 2009 | Second Test | The Vaults

Matches 27 - 28 | Rugby Premier League | Full Day Replay

Hyderabad Heroes vs Delhi Redz | Match 28 | Rugby Premier League | Full Match Replay

England XV v France XV | Full Match Replay

"The Opportunity Of A Lifetime" | Wallabies All In: Episode 1

Are these the best ever Lions performances?

Pollock Loses Bill, Players Meet Their Roommates & Training in Portugal | Ep 1: The Ultimate Test

Top 10 inspiring Lions speeches

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

1 Comment
S
SK 324 days ago

The salary cap for SA teams is around 4 million pounds. They also have to fly up and down to Europe and back which costs a whopping amount of money especially for the long tours. How is SA Rugby able to stay competitive on a lower budget than the WRU? It definitely has to do with sponsorship, endorsements and the Springbok brand raking in the bucks but I am sure they WRU does not need 6.5 million quid per team to succeed when the SA sides get less than them currently and have already achieved success in the URC and challenge cups.

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 56 minutes ago
Can the All Blacks regain their aura and maintain their winning legacy?

Welcome to the discussion Necusil!


First, we have to ensure you think big picture, right? There’s no point looking at like a jar of sweets.

It would be different if you had Mounga, Frizzel, Aaron Smith and Leicester in your starting line up right?

Yes, in the immediate term it would improve the squad and performances (lets say), but what are the consequences going to be long term Necusil?


Another interesting topic I’ll give to you is one that has been used often for South Africa (who is a little ahead of Argentina in that they opened eligibility why Argentinians where still required to play for Jaguares), and that is that all their overseas pros grew up and left SA after they had finished their development.


How much different is it going to be when Argentina’s players haven’t had multiple seasons in a pro team like Jaguares before they go overseas? How are you going to identify all the new players that are going to start growing up overseas? What quality was the environment of Jaguares? Was it over and above the majority of clubs that their players find themselves in now?


And lastly, what would you want, a strong Los Pumas playing great rugby and winning big games, or a strong Los Pumas playing great rugby and winning big games and a strong Jaguares playing great rugby and winning big games? South Africa disbanding Super Rugby by their decisions to join URC, that left Jaguares in a tough predicament, but really they were probably in the same predicament where they couldn’t afford to have the players sit out another year doing nothing waiting for COVID to pass. That doesn’t mean they can’t be part of Super Rugby now that is back up and running again.

87 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Can the All Blacks regain their aura and maintain their winning legacy?

You’re assumption is that players who can’t make the All Blacks when they are young/in their prime who leave to play in other countries will sacrifice playing for that country if called up, on the basis that they may be the 4th or 5th best is their position

Again, you’re using the flawed notion that they have another country to play for. They don’t. But also, yes, they would. There are plenty of minor factors like those to nut out but I’m not sure why you’re making up the premise (in your first para) that they aren’t selected for the All Blacks. Remember, if just a change is made, it would be for all teams, Maori, XVs, and any other development side they create/use.


I’m not sure you’re also factoring in wages, NZR pays more for International, NH players get more for domestic. Perhaps they’d get more money choosing NZ?

Which players do you think would sacrifice international careers with Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland to hold tackle bags and “be opposition” for the starting team

You’re confusing the two different points I was replying to. I’ve made a huge list of players for current open eligibility already if you actually want to know who they potentially could have been. You have no note that we would have no idea who these players are as theres no point tracking their performance when they weren’t able to be selected. The premise though is that any in '“form” could have been better than any in form (or not, as this less numbers to chose from you often have to pick an out of form player) at home.


That second concept was that they could secure the best from playing for another country, and of those of course have already been named, and of course the benefits from being able to offload the current hasbeens from the current squad. Also with this second factor, you’d probably say it is a more recent one, where previously the NH hasn’t been able to develop players to the required level, so only those that left NZ already developed would have been a viable option. Now, we could see any unknowns potentially rise to the top and never be eligible to be chosen.


This of course is not to say I’m arguing for this decision. I was more giving a better perception of this particular component to the larger decision of ‘would it work’. In your proposition there is benefit to change if even one player would improve the team, so theres no point bring further names into the equation, and we don’t really want to do that, to go into the bottomless whole that is balancing the required benefit improvement in the squad from overseas selection compared to factors that may reduce improvement on the home side due to exodus.


The bottom line is that you are obviously going to A) continue to be able to select quality players that leave, therefor improving the squad, and B) be able to select for capture and assessment NZ talent from overseas. I’m not posting to show you the degree of talent.

87 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Ben Kay: 'I get the feeling Aussie pundits have no idea how much the game has changed in the Northern Hemisphere.' Ben Kay: 'I get the feeling Aussie pundits have no idea how much the game has changed in the Northern Hemisphere.'
Search