The WRU will decide the future of the professional game by the end of the month

09:12, 12 Oct 2025Updated 11:07, 12 Oct 2025

Wales and Lions legend Jamie Roberts(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)

Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley insists he finds it hard to see a merger with the Scarlets. The Welsh Rugby Union board will meet on a number of occasions this month before arriving at a decision on the future structure of the professional game.

In August the WRU’s director of rugby Dave Reddin proposed what he deemed to be the optimal solution, which included a reduction of four to two professional teams with significant central control.

After a consultation period with key stakeholders, Reddin has handed in his findings to the WRU board.

Clearly a reduction to two or three teams could be achieved through mergers, but Bradley cannot see the Ospreys and Scarlets coming together.

“I credit myself as a rather imaginative person but even I can’t imagine that,” Bradley told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

“I can’t see how it could work.

“It was proposed a few years ago but there would be so many barriers to it now, that I find it very hard to imagine. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

“We have been working closely with the WRU but at the end of the day it will be them who has to make the decision.

“We have had a lot of conversations and they have been constructive.

“We felt that in a meeting we had with Dave Reddin that he genuinely listened to what we said and we hope that will be taken on board.”

The Ospreys are currently based at the Brewery Field in Bridgend but hope to move into a redeveloped St Helen’s by the start of the 2026/27 season.

But this is dependent on whether the Ospreys are part of Welsh rugby’s future. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free

“Some of the work has started at St Helen’s but it has always been the case Swansea Council, who are helping us fund the project, have said they will release the funding once they know what the future is and that is still the case,” Bradley told the BBC.

“Once we get some certainty, we can press ahead with it.”

The Ospreys have a number of key players out of contract at the end of the season, including Wales stars Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan.

WalesOnline reported last week that Lake was a transfer target for English club Gloucester but Bradley is still confident of keeping both players at the Ospreys.

“You always want to hang onto your best players and when they are coming up to the end of their contracts, it is always a time when they can be approached by other teams,” Bradley added.

“We hope to be able to keep our best players as we always do.” Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.

One person who will have a say on Welsh rugby’s future is former Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts who is an independent non-executive director on the WRU board.

Despite these challenging times Roberts is confident the right decisions will be made.

“There are important decisions to be made,” Roberts told S4C.

“It’s a privilege for me to be involved at this moment in a very special moment for Welsh rugby.

“Hopefully the right decisions will be made for the benefit of Welsh rugby as a whole.”

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