DAVID Moffett has raised the possibility of Welsh rugby once again accommodating a fifth region.
The former Welsh Rugby Union chief executive was at the helm when Celtic Warriors were wound up in 2004.
At the time the suggestion was there were not enough players or cash to fund five regions in Wales, with the Warriors’ crowds also poor.
But Moffett believes there could come a point when the regional base could again be expanded.
“There is no way Wales could ever have 12 professional teams again, but it could have five,” he said.
Moffett presided over the original shrinking down of top-tier Welsh rugby, when he moved the elite game from a club set-up to a regional system based on five sides.
But after just a single season, the Warriors were disbanded, leaving the Ospreys, Scarlets, Blues and Dragons as the professional teams.
Moffett made his latest comments at an event organised in St David’s Hall, Cardiff, modelled on BBC’s Question Time programme.
No union representative accepted his invitation to debate, but former women’s rugby international Non Evans, ex-Dragons coach Paul Turner and ex-Sport Wales chief Huw Jones talked through the issues, with around 100 people present.
“If we all work together and get everything in the right order then I believe we could have another (professional) team,” said Moffett.
Article source: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/tv3-secures-rights-to-2015-rugby-world-cup-30187579.html
David Moffett: Fifth Welsh rugby region possible
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