Fans will have say in search for 'optimal solution' for Welsh rugby

ABI Tierney says the Welsh Rugby Union will produce what it believes is the optimal structure this month.

- STEFFAN THOMAS Rugby Correspondent

Over the next three months Welsh rugby will be turned upside down as a radical new structure for the professional game is put in place.

There is a very real possibility the Welsh Rugby Union will reduce the number of professional teams in Wales from four to three or even two.

As a result Welsh rugby tensions will be heightened and emotions will be high but those in the upper echelons of the game in Wales both within the governing body and the professional clubs believe significant change is essential.

The WRU will enter a formal consultation with a number of key stakeholders over the next couple of weeks.

But what is a formal consultation and how will the WRU arrive at what it believes is the optimum structure for Welsh rugby?

To begin with the WRU executive will have a preference over what it believes is the right structure to Welsh rugby before putting it before the main WRU board this month.

If the board agrees to the proposal then a formal consultation will begin imminently.

“We want to consult on an option rather than just go out there with something everybody has a view on,’ said Tierney.

“There's very clear guidelines of who you consult with, so it’s people who are directly impacted by any decision that you make.