The Ospreys are the bookies’ favourites to be culled if the Welsh Rugby Union goes ahead with its plan to reduce the number of regions from four to three.
The Scarlets – the other region who have so far refused to agree to the WRU’s new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) – are second favourites for the chop.
The Dragons – who won precisely one URC game all season – are third favourities to be jettisoned, with Cardiff Rugby, currently owned by the WRU, unsurprisingly considered the least likely to be closed down.
Welsh bookmakers DragonBet make the Ospreys a short-priced 5/6 to be cut by the WRU by October 1, 2025.
That mirrors the uncertainty the last time reduced numbers were mooted in 2019, as merger plans between the two west Wales regions were heavily weighted in the Scarlets’ favour.
This time, the Scarlets are a 3-1 shot to be outside the tent come the autumn, whilst the Dragons – who signed the new PRA deal just before the deadline – are 7/2 to disappear.
Cardiff are the 9/1 option should the WRU decide the best thing to do with their own debt-ridden club is to close it down.
DragonBet director James Lovell said: “The Ospreys are considered the most likely to go because of uncertainty over their long-term future funding and also their stadium plans.
“But who knows? This is Welsh rugby, after all. This week, the rumoured plan is three regions. Next week it could be two!”
READ MORE: Time For The Ospreys And Scarlets To Take Another Rebel Army To England
Welsh rugby region to be cut before October 1, 2025:
Ospreys - 5/6
Scarlets – 3/1
Dragons – 7/2
Cardiff Rugby – 9/1
(Odds courtesy of DragonBet)
