Welsh rugby rallies around crisis-hit Ospreys

There was no love lost between rivals in recent derbies but Ospreys' plight in another Welsh rugby crisis has drawn sympathy from their regional opposition.

Mark Jones' squad has been rocked by the news that the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has picked their owners as preferred bidders for a takeover of Cardiff.

Ospreys players released a statement on Tuesday expressing their anger at being kept in the dark over a move that puts the club's future at risk.

The 2025-26 season has been played with a backdrop of off-field uncertainty - with the governing body initially aiming to cut from four clubs to two, and then three - and Cardiff, Dragons and Scarlets feel the pain of their Welsh rivals.

Josh McNally is one of Cardiff's two representatives on the committee of the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA), who released a statement on Wednesday evening after meetings were held at the Arms Park.

The lock – who suffered when London Welsh were struck by financial trouble in 2016 – wants Ospreys players to get some answers.

"At the moment there is no certainty coming from any powers that be," said the 35-year-old, who joined Cardiff from Bath in 2024.

"I've been on the WRPA calls and I've spoken to the Ospreys boys, they're not getting much information which is probably the worst part about it.

"They want to know what direction the club is going in, where the next step is. We'll support them as best we can and I'll keep fighting that fight with the WRPA."

Cardiff are also impacted by the decision to go with Y11 as the preferred bidder and have coped with the uncertainty admirably.

The Blue and Blacks are in a strong position for the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs and are also, like Ospreys and Dragons, in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup.

"It's something that's been in the background all year, from right back in August with the consultation period and the announcement of going from four to three," said McNally.

"Since then the lack of clarity has probably affected us, all we've wanted to do is know what direction we're going in now."

McNally outlined players simply need to know who they are playing for and who they are playing with.

"If they get that sort of clarity you see teams perform," he added.

"I think you can see throughout Welsh rugby this year the lack of clarity is affecting on the pitch.

"We've done a pretty good job here of trying to keep the noise out and trying to keep driving forward performance to performance but that only goes so far.

"We're hoping there's going to be more information to come out, I think the statement released in the week [by the WRU] didn't give us much information."

McNally stressed that the Blue and Blacks are being kept involved by the club hierarchy.

"A big part of the role I've found myself in is to try and create a relationship between us and the other side of the business," he said.

"If we can keep the information filtering down to the lads it keeps them happy as they know something is happening and there's progress.

"I've got a great relationship with [interim managing director] Jamie Muir and our exec team and that will continue going forward as well."

Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia is an Ospreys legend after winning two league titles and the Anglo-Welsh Cup with the club. He also played in the 2006 win against the touring Australians in Swansea.

"I still have a strong affiliation with the Ospreys," said Tiatia, who cut his coaching teeth with Swansea.

"I'm on the Ospreys old boys chat group and we connect, we talk, we check in.

"I have empathy with what everyone's going through, not just the Ospreys but every region. It's tough."

Tiatia returned to Wales in the summer of 2024, initially as Dragons' defence coach, and believes that the four-team model is the strongest.

"I don't agree with a lot of things that are going on but there needs to be change. I agree with that," he said.

"I've spoken around identity of the Dragons, the Ospreys, the Scarlets and Cardiff. Four teams are really important and I've spoken to [Wales head coach Steve] Tandy to give my thoughts.

"Let's find the best solution for the group moving forward," he continued.

"Three or two teams, I don't think will work, but that's an opinion.

"What I do emphasise at the moment is what everyone's going through, and it's not a nice place to be in."

The WRU's plans for only one side in the west pits Ospreys against Scarlets, yet the Llanelli club feel for their counterparts.

"It's terribly sad, we have a lot of empathy for anyone who's going through this right now," said interim director of rugby Nigel Davies, whose son Sam previously played for Ospreys.

"There's a huge amount of uncertainty, there's a lot of connections within Wales, with the players, the coaches and the supporters.

"We've spoken about it very briefly as a group and the boys here have a lot of empathy and compassion for what's going on.

"We don't really know a clear way forward at the moment. There are a lot of uncertainties, a lot of unknowns which are causing a lot of this grief, and we all feel that pain here."