If anyone was keeping count, it took until just the second day of 2026 for Welsh rugby to have its first bit of bad news.
An admirable effort, you’d have to say, in Welsh rugby’s gigantic mess. The news that Aaron Wainwright is set to leave the the Dragons and join Leicester Tigers is disappointing, but hardly surprising.
There is a sense that Wainwright has more than done his time at Rodney Parade, suffering more than most with defeat after defeat. Perhaps the only irony is that the news has come out now the Dragons appear to have turned something of a corner in terms of results.
But, regardless of the recent upturn, the facts are that Wainwright has repeatedly stayed in Newport when others would have left long ago.
The Wales No. 8 is a loyal man, almost to a fault, having lost 72 per cent of his matches for the club since making his debut in 2017.
At times, the sapping strain of tasting defeat after defeat must have been unbearable. There are anecdotal tales of the 28-year-old looking tired of it all as the Dragons came so close, yet so far.
After a sterling start to 2024 that saw him crowned Welsh Rugby Writers’ player of the season, even being Wales’ best player on tour Down Under, Wainwright would have been in the mix for a spot in the British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia the following year.
Yet, when it came around, his name was barely mentioned. Hypothetically, had he been playing club rugby over the border and winning regularly, would he have been closer to Andy Farrell’s squad?
Perhaps. This is all to say, there are obvious reasons behind Wainwright’s departure.
But, in the grand scheme of Welsh rugby’s uncertainty, this is another high-profile star escaping the chaos.