'Idiotic' - Welsh fans are irate with the timing of merger talks

In a week of controversial changes to rugby across the world, the WRU have chipped in with their own plan to potentially merge the Scarlets and the Ospreys.

In light of these increasing rumours, and the introduction of a region from north Wales, fans have shown their disapproval on Twitter.

This new proposal has seemed to anger fans for many reasons, as a huge number has flocked to express their outrage.
One major reason why fans are up in arms is because of the success of both the Scarlets and the Ospreys.

Those two sides have been the most successful in Wales in the professional era, with the Ospreys winning the Pro14 four times and the Scarlets winning it twice, compared to both the Cardiff Blues and the Dragons who have not won it at all. The fact that the Dragons were not part of the merger has confused many fans across Wales, as they have clearly been the least successful region.

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Very few fans see the new set up being successful at all, as there were waves and waves of fierce criticism, highlighting the Scarlets’ long and proud history that will be in tatters.

The amount of criticism is so vast that it cannot be boiled down to a few tweets, however, there is one element of this potential merger that has confused the fans a lot, and that is the timing.

Wales are days away from their penultimate game of this year’s Six Nations against Scotland, with a potential Grand Slam on the horizon. After their heroic win over England in the last round, Wales are the only unbeaten side in the Championship. This news could seriously curtail Wales’ progress, in what is Warren Gatland’s final Six Nations before he leaves.

This is what the fans have said:
https://twitter.com/kryptonknight83/status/1102829746902183937
https://twitter.com/alexj_roberts/status/1102878668072849408
https://twitter.com/Osian_Davies/status/1102685362139353088
https://twitter.com/ianlew17/status/1102875352580452352
https://twitter.com/Klaus_88/status/1102678443781689344
https://twitter.com/KilburnGa/status/1102675296954789888
https://twitter.com/JeffPhillips6/status/1102860025842810883
https://twitter.com/AndyYanited/status/1102672544623198213
https://twitter.com/juliemurray21/status/1102696226280140801
https://twitter.com/andy_thomas89/status/1102671457757347840
https://twitter.com/alexowen28186/status/1102845384836165632
https://twitter.com/RhydianFitter/status/1102889061189070848
https://twitter.com/ElisWilliams2/status/1102877335223709696

This is a proposal that has received universal criticism and condemnation across Wales, in what is one of the most radical changes in years.

Many will say that this is a move that had to happen and could not be avoided, but the timing of the announcement is what has irritated this particular set of fans.

Wales travel to Edinburgh on Saturday and will hope to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches, while setting up a showdown with Ireland in Cardiff the week later with the hopes of securing Gatland’s third Grand Slam. All Welsh fans will hope that these announcements have not been to detrimental to the national team.