Former Welsh rugby captain Paul Thorburn said that regardless of how many professional rugby teams remain in Wales, they should come under the control of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Speaking to Cardiff Business Club, Mr Thorburn, who played 37 times for Wales and was tournament director of the 1999 Rugby World Cup, said that World Rugby also has to scrap the rule that allows foreign players with no family connections to a country to play on residency grounds, labelling it a “farce.”
He also said that the Welsh 25-cap rule, which means that capped players who leave Wales to play elsewhere become ineligible if they haven’t reached that number, is “ludicrous.”
The WRU’s consultation on the future of the professional game ended last week. The governing body’s favoured option is to reduce the current number of four regions to just two. However, a final decision will rest with the union’s board, with four options still possible - including maintaining the current four, but with two receiving greater funding.
The WRU’s current thinking is that whatever the outcome, it would have greater rugby control, with the commercial side being left to private investors. Although that has raised concern, which many see as a barrier to private investment.
Mr Thorburn, said like when the game went professional in 1995 leaving Welsh clubs totally unprepared for the realities of paying players, the current professional structure remains unsustainable.
Speaking at Glamorgan Cricket Club, Mr Thorburn said:“When the game went professional in 1995 it created chaos, as all of a sudden you had 12 clubs in Wales who had to find £30,000 to £40,000 per player across squads of 30.
"How anyone in their right mind, in business or finance, would ever think that a country with all its clubs within an hour and a half’s drive, with a population of 1.9 million (from Newport to Llanelli), could ever have 12 professional teams, is beyond me. It was never going to work and it collapsed.
“Some unions across the world were better geared up for professionalism. Ireland already had a provincial structure which naturally lent itself to its current model of four. Ireland is also a bigger country than Wales.”
He added: "The Welsh regional structure in 2003 wasn’t done fairly, and we had communities disenfranchised when 12 clubs went to five - and within a year the Celtic Warriors (a merger between Pontypridd and Bridgend) went bust.”
He said professional rugby was also trying to survive against the backdrop of a challenging economic landscape in Wales.
“It is not just Wales. The landscape in England is a real problem, as none of their clubs are making money at the moment. It is not an investable product. If Richmond, Wasps, London Irish and Worcester have gone bust, we must understand here in Wales that finance is a real issue and even more challenging economically.”
He said that with relatively low crowds across the four regions - although Cardiff (now under WRU control after being acquired out of administration) has been an outlier for the last two seasons - “could anyone think this was sustainable?”
The former full-back, who worked for the WDA's inward investment team and oversaw the commercial activities of the Ospreys, added: "The Ospreys have been averaging crowds of 5,000 for the last two seasons, but are paying players £110,000 across most of the squad. Even in France, they have done well but are starting to struggle. This is something that needs to be sorted.
“My personal view, in terms of what we need to do in Wales, is that we have to bring ownership of the four entities under the control of the WRU. That doesn’t mean I am happy with what the WRU has been doing — they need a serious shake-up and the right people in place.
"But I think we have to get to a model where we are not reliant on benefactors. As we’ve seen recently when Cardiff went bust - who is going to bail them out? So, let’s go down the Irish model, which is a bit more sustainable.
“However, if we cannot sustain four and we have to go to two, then please don’t get rid of two of the existing regions and keep two . That will completely disenfranchise a massive section of the community.
"If we have to go to two, then I believe we have to totally restructure and create two new entities. I would propose an East Wales and a West Wales. How that is branded and named, I don’t know, but hopefully that will engage everybody.”
However, if they did come under union ownership, regardless of the number of teams, the governing body would be faced with having to make up a significant funding gap created by exiting current regional benefactors.
He said that regardless of how many teams emerge out of the consultation, there should no longer be any non-Welsh qualified players.
He explained: “They are no good for Welsh rugby, and we also have to engage the top tier of clubs (below the regions), like the Swanseas and Llanellis of this world, and get them at the heart of that pathway. I am a proud Welshman, and this nonsense where you can move from say Tonga, live here, and be eligible to play for Wales is killing the game and creating a false market.
“We need to understand and appreciate the impact that has on the player pathway we always talk about in Wales. We all came through a junior rugby club pathway, with people who drove you around and gave up their time for free - they are the foundations of this game.
"And when you’re on that pathway, thinking you’re going to play for Wales, and all of a sudden a team brings in a Samoan or Fijian who has lived here for five years (under the residency rule, which was previously three), and they take your place for Wales... you’re going to be really annoyed.
“If you watched the Lions’ tour to Australia, it was a farce. There were so many players who weren’t truly British or Irish playing for the Lions.
"I wasn’t good enough to play for the Lions but playing form them must be the most magical moment. To have that denied because of an overseas player is nonsense.
"Rule changes have also killed the game, and it’s a sad reflection when we have international referees as part of the commentary teams having to explain why a decision was made. It’s not great for attracting people.”
He also criticised the 25-cap rule - although it currently only impacts one recent international, Rhys Carre.
He explained: “They are Welsh, so why shouldn’t they play for Wales? It is very hypocritical at the moment because you can be a non-Welsh player, come and live here for five years, and get picked for Wales — but then Wales will not pick genuine Welsh players who have decided to earn a better living elsewhere. It is ludicrous.”
