Welsh in £60M 'peace deal'

The bitter civil war in Wales appeared to be at an end after it was announced that a six-year £60 million (US$100 million, €75 million) agreement had been struck between the Welsh Rugby Union and the country's four professional regional teams.

The regions and the WRU have been locked in a dispute over the funding and structure of the professional game in Wales for more than a year.

Amid all the uncertainty, several leading Wales players including Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, George North and Jonathan Davies have quit regional teams to take up lucrative offers with clubs in France and England.

But the hope is the signing of the new Rugby Services Agreement will encourage the return of the exiles, particularly as a new system of "dual contracts" for leading Wales players will be introduced as part of a deal which will run until 2020.

Wales coach Warren Gatland will decide which of his players get one of the new contracts, with Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau, Alex Cuthbert all likely recipients.

The New Zealander is convinced Wales players are not as well looked after abroad as they are at home.

Meanwhile, the clubs are desperate to retain their stars in a bid to convince often sceptical fans that the Pro12 (the competition featuring the Welsh regions, Irish provinces, Scottish pro teams and top Italian clubs) is worth watching.

As part of the new agreement, the regions – Cardiff Blues, Scarlets, Newport Gwent Dragons and the Swansea-based Ospreys – will be limited to a maximum of six overseas players each, plus two who are looking to qualify to play for Wales.

The immediate upshot is that Wales and British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton – the only player currently on a WRU central contract -will be able to play for the Blues against English giants Leicester in a pre-season friendly on Friday.

Up until Thursday, the flank had been left kicking his heels as the regions had an agreement not to field centrally-contracted players.

Wales routinely play a fourth end-of-year Test outside the International Rugby Board's designated 'window' for such matches.

This has long been a source of friction between the WRU and the regions, unhappy that their players are on international duty when they ought to be at their clubs.

But the agreement will see the regions release players for this fixture, thereby ending concerns Gatland would be unable to field a sufficiently strong side to play South Africa at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on November 29.

Now Wales, at Gatland's instigation, plan to follow England's example whereby any players who in future opt to play for clubs outside the country will only be considered for Test selection in "exceptional circumstances".

"The ultimate winner is Welsh rugby because together we've reached an agreement that meets the financial ambitions of the regions and achieves the rugby objectives of the Welsh Rugby Union," said WRU Chief Executive Roger Lewis.

"At the centre of the agreement are national contracts and those players awarded those will be chosen by Warren Gatland and we'll work with the regions and players to keep them in Wales."

Nigel Short, the Chairman of Regional Rugby Wales (RRW), the organisation that represents the four clubs, said: "Following long and detailed negotiations, RRW is satisfied that the new agreement with the WRU creates a fair, progressive and credible foundation to protect and support the best interests of Welsh rugby into the future."

Source: AFP