As the Ospreys struggle for results and appear ever more vulnerable to losing their best players, Owen Morgan has a radical solution – one that’s common enough elsewhere from Bristol to Barcelona. With Swansea City’s takeover of the Liberty Stadium apparently imminent, the club should take another arguably bolder and even more beneficial step forward.  It’s a step I believe would also be hugely advantageous to their fellow tenants at the Morfa  ground, making the Ospreys more resilient to the kind of raid which has lured star outside-half Dan Biggar away to Northampton in a £600,000 deal. 

Danny Wilson is leaving Cardiff Blues at the end of the season and Robin Davey is less than surprised at a “yo-yo” region where coaches are either on the up  . . . or the way down. The downbeat feel extends to the Ospreys and the Dragons, too, but at least he sees the Scarlets continuing to set the standards. The new rugby season is only a month old but already it’s a tale of woe for three of the Welsh regions with little prospect of things getting any better soon. Cardiff Blues, the Ospreys and the Dragons are all having their problems, though the Scarlets are an honourable exception having got their campaign off to a pretty effective start.

Not enough time at night to sit down and read the WRU’s latest accounts and annual report from cover to cover? No, we thought not. But don’t worry because Geraint Powell has and here are his half dozen headlines. Having reviewed the latest annual report from the Welsh Rugby Union (http://www.wru.co.uk/downloads/WRU_ARA_2017_1o.pdf), these six main themes can be appreciated from the underlying 2016-17 financial and other information. For those who have not yet read it, particularly Chairmen, Secretaries and Treasurers at the constituent member clubs of the WRU, I would, as with every other year, always recommend starting with the Strategic Report prepared by Finance Director Steve Phillips (pages 14-21) before reading the statements by Chief Executive Martyn Phillips, Chairman Gareth Davies, Head of Rugby Performance Geraint John and Head of Rugby Participation Ryan Jones.  

The Ospreys will turn to Alun Wyn Jones and Rhys Webb in order to prevent a drama becoming a full-blown crisis. The Lions pair are to be brought back for their first matches since the summer tour following the region’s poor start to the Guinness Pro14 campaign. Head coach Steve Tandy has confirmed his two biggest names will be pressed into action for their next games – away to Treviso in Italy and then the trip to South Africa to play the Cheetahs.

Cardiff Blues flanker Ellis Jenkins was awarded the Stuart Gallacher memorial ‘Man-of-Judgement’ trophy by the Welsh Rugby Writers Association (WRWA) at its annual dinner on Wednesday night. Jenkins is the second winner of the award following British & Irish Lions, Wales and Ospreys scrum-half Rhys Webb, who picked it up in September 2016. This year’s WRWA Player of the Year award – also presented at the Cardiff Arms Park event – went to Justin Tipuric after his efforts for the Ospreys, Wales and the Lions

Cardiff Blues flanker Ellis Jenkins was awarded the Stuart Gallacher memorial ‘Man-of-Judgement’ trophy by the Welsh Rugby Writers Association (WRWA) at its annual dinner on Wednesday night. Jenkins is the second winner of the award following British & Irish Lions, Wales and Ospreys scrum-half Rhys Webb, who picked it up in September 2016. This year’s WRWA Player of the Year award – also presented at the Cardiff Arms Park event – went to Justin Tipuric after his efforts for the Ospreys, Wales and the Lions

Ospreys coach Steve Tandy admitted his team’s “brutal” defeat to Glasgow is already putting pressure on them to stay with the Guinness Pro14 Conference leaders. The high-flying Scots handed out a 31-10 drubbing at Scotstoun and Tandy admitted pace-setters Glasgow and Munster are already opening up a gap on the Ospreys who have taken four points from two games.

Dan Biggar’s move to Northampton next summer will allow Ospreys and Wales fans plenty of time this season to quantify what they’ll be missing. Seimon Williams says the move has blown apart the dual contract strategy and says it’s time for a fundamental re-think. .So Dan Biggar has announced – in one of the worst-kept secrets in Welsh rugby – that he will leave the Ospreys at the end of this season for Northampton Saints. It’s perhaps no real surprise. Biggar has been with the Ospreys his whole career. He has been among the finest European fly-halves for the past 3-4 years and performed with credit on the recent Lions tour to New Zealand. He will turn 28 next month and has, probably at most, 4-5 years left as an elite player. The pay – at, allegedly, up to £600,000 per season – is substantial.

Dan Biggar’s confirmed departure for Northampton next season underlines turbulent times at the Ospreys, says Robin Davey. But the Cardiff Blues and the Dragons have plenty to concern themselves with, too, and only the Scarlets can be happy with the way they started the season. The Scarlets lit up the start of the new Guinness Pro14 on a disappointing weekend for the Welsh regions, made more so by the subsequent confirmation that Dan Biggar is to leave the Ospreys. Biggar will move to Northampton at the end of this season, the Saints excitedly announced on Wednesday afternoon, almost a full 12 months before he will be pulling on their jersey.

Dan Biggar’s confirmed departure for Northampton next season underlines turbulent times at the Ospreys, says Robin Davey. But the Cardiff Blues and the Dragons have plenty to concern themselves with, too, and only the Scarlets can be happy with the way they started the season. The Scarlets lit up the start of the new Guinness Pro14 on a disappointing weekend for the Welsh regions, made more so by the subsequent confirmation that Dan Biggar is to leave the Ospreys. Biggar will move to Northampton at the end of this season, the Saints excitedly announced on Wednesday afternoon, almost a full 12 months before he will be pulling on their jersey.

Alun Wyn Jones is preparing for his Ospreys return – possibly against Munster on September 16 – after being given an extended break following the Lions tour to New Zealand. Peter Jackson assesses the milestones the Wales forward is capable of passing this season and beyond. If his track record is anything to go by, Alun-Wyn Jones will pass another landmark towards the end of the coming season. His 400th competitive match is on the horizon, putting the durable Welshman on course to reach it faster than any other player of the 21st century. Nobody ought to be one bit surprised because nobody gets through games on a scale to compare with Jones. He has averaged as close to 30 per season as makes no difference, not for one season but the last eleven. And that at a time when just about every other player contracted to his national Union plays no more than 25. Kieran Read tops the All Black list at 27.

The Guinness Pro 14 kicked off on Friday night – and then spread into Saturday, when every other oval and round ball game was providing an alternative. Geraint Powell says it doesn’t have to be like this. The question of the optimal kick-off time in which to play Welsh regional rugby has once again been brought into stark focus on this opening weekend of the new Guinness Pro 14 season. Obviously, official attendances have to be taken with a pinch of salt. As many will already know, the market practice is to use a “tickets out” basis and this will include all free tickets handed out to corporate sponsors and all season ticket holders – whether in actual attendance or not. Some were querying the wisdom of all four Welsh regions playing at home on the opening