Ospreys captain Alun Wyn Jones admits frustrations with Welsh rugby row

Alun Wyn Jones has admitted the continued civil war in Welsh rugby is a source of frustration for the nation’s top players.

The raging row between the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union shows signs of abating going into the New Year with no resolution.

“I don’t think it is affecting players personally but it is just an element of frustration now,” said Jones.

“There is plenty of professional rugby players in Wales but there are not many in the board room.”

With fellow Welsh second-row Ian Evans having already announced he is departing for Toulon, Jones is one of two high profile Ospreys stars out of contract at the end of the season alongside namesake Adam.

This pair are joined by Scarlets duo Rhys Priestland and Scott Williams, while Blues stars Leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton make up the six star names the WRU have been linked with trying to centrally contract.

Scarlets boss Simon Easterby admitted the regions were in limbo about trying to keep their star names with Lions centre Jonathan Davies having already joined Clermont for next season.

“The uncertainty is exactly that,” admitted Easterby.

“It is making life very difficult currently to put things in place for next season.”

Meanwhile, Easterby was left to reflect on a sixth successive Scarlets defeat following a 17-12 loss to Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium on Friday evening.

The Scarlets have had chances to claim victories in their last three league outings against Munster and the Ospreys (twice).

Gallery: Ospreys v Scarlets

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“We aren’t doing ourselves justice, but at the end of the day we have lost three games on the bounce that we could have conceivably won,” said Easterby.

“You can’t fault the effort we are putting it, we are just not getting the reward for it at the moment. I was disappointed with the first half, we were 14-3 down and had given them a soft seven points at the end of the half. We played in the wrong areas, we didn’t kick the ball well enough so our possession and territory was way down.

“It was role reversal in the second half, we created opportunities, we pressurised their scrum and started to build the game.

“We had a couple of try-scoring chances in the second half which we didn’t take and that was probably the difference, they took their chances.”

Ospreys forwards coach Chris Gibbes paid tribute to his side’s battling qualities as they secured back-to-back derby victories over the Scarlets.

The four-times champions were forced to dig deep as the West Walians finished strongly in another tense encounter.

But the Ospreys, who had led 14-3 at half-time, had enough in the tank to claim a win that consolidates their play-off position in the Pro12 table.

“Satisfied probably isn’t the word for the performance, but we’ll take the win,” said Gibbes.

“As a group we targeted these three games over this period and we knew if we could come out of them with three wins we would be in a good position.

“We put it on the boys, they have had some big weeks, some big games and we are very proud of the group.

“I have to admit it was tense at the end, there was a shift in momentum in the second half and we had to dig deep. We stopped playing and ended up defending for a long time.

“But we have trust in what we do, particularly our defensive systems, and when it counted we stepped up.

“For me that was the story of the night.”

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Ospreys captain Alun Wyn Jones admits frustrations with Welsh rugby row