BBC Sport
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chair Richard Collier-Keywood [Source: BBC Sport]
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chair Richard Collier-Keywood has given Scarlets, Ospreys, and Dragons a deadline of Tuesday evening to ensure an agreement remains in place to confirm their intention to sign a new deal following the governing body’s takeover of Cardiff.
The Arms Park outfit were placed into temporary administration last Wednesday with the WRU taking control of the capital-based region.
This raised concerns about the new proposed arrangement between the WRU and all four of the Welsh professional sides, known as the Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA).
In February, it was announced the parties had agreed in principle to a five-year deal – but that was before last week’s dramatic events unfolded and Cardiff went into WRU ownership.
The WRU met with Scarlets, Ospreys, and Dragons before Collier-Keywood sent a follow-up email to the three sides stating they need to agree to sign the new PRA by “close of play” on Tuesday, 15 April.
No information has publicly yet been given about what will happen if they do not reach an agreement in time.
After outlining the reason for the Cardiff takeover, Collier-Keywood wrote: “Given your boards had previously agreed to sign the new PRA prior to the events of this week, I hope with the information above, they are assured the new PRA continues to represent a fair and better deal for Welsh Rugby.
“On this basis, we would ask to receive confirmation by close of play on Tuesday, 15 April, that the agreement remains secured, and we will circulate executable copies for signature.
“This is now urgent as we want to move forward into the 2025-26 season with certainty.
“In order to complete the re-financing, we will need to terminate the current agreement within this timescale.”
The three sides are waiting to see a final copy of the completed new PRA document before they agree to sign a deal, less than a week after events changed with the Cardiff takeover.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
