Swansea Council are urging the Welsh Government to consider asking the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to repay up to £14 million in Covid survival funding if plans to remove the Ospreys from Wales’ top-tier regional structure go ahead.
The move came as councillors overwhelmingly backed a cross-party motion calling on the WRU to urgently rethink proposals that could see professional rugby effectively disappear from Swansea.
Council leader Rob Stewart said it was a “fair and legitimate question” whether public money given to the WRU specifically to keep regional rugby alive should be returned if the governing body now chooses to close down one of those regions.
“We know that, for instance, during Covid, the WRU received millions of pounds of grant on the basis that that grant was to be used to keep the regions alive,” Stewart told councillors.
“It was the Covid survival grant for the regions. So again, I think it’s a fair question to ask – if the WRU received that money on that basis and they are now proposing to get rid of a region, should that money be repaid?”
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Senior council sources estimate the total value of Covid-related grants received by the WRU could amount to as much as £14 million, a figure which may now be raised directly with Welsh Government ministers.
Stewart confirmed he was due to meet ministers to discuss funding accountability, national governance concerns and whether continued public support for the WRU could be justified if regional rugby in Swansea is dismantled.
“I would question if they are not prepared to support and be a national body in the true sense of the word, should they continue to receive that sort of support from the Welsh Government,” he said.
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The debate followed confirmation that the WRU has entered a 60-day exclusivity period with private equity firm Y11, the owners of the Ospreys, after Y11 were named preferred bidders to take over Cardiff Rugby.
Councillors fear the move could lead to the Ospreys losing their status as a professional Welsh region, with rugby in Swansea reduced to a development or rebranded model.
The council motion instructs the WRU to immediately halt negotiations with Y11 and return to discussions with all four regions on alternative plans that would retain the current structure.
Stewart said the council had been left deeply dissatisfied after a recent high-level meeting with WRU and Y11 executives, describing the encounter as “extremely tense” and lacking credible answers.
“We discussed in detail the rationale for the WRU decisions and the processes it claimed to be following,” he said. “We were unsatisfied with the answers.”
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Following that meeting, Stewart said the council’s account of events was publicly challenged by senior Ospreys and WRU figures, prompting him to take the unusual step of committing to publish the meeting record in full.
“To be clear, in attendance at that meeting with myself were the chief executive, the chief legal officer, the chief finance officer, the director of policy and the head of communications,” he said. “We did not misunderstand what was said.”
He added: “Given the accuracy of what we have publicly said has now been questioned, I can confirm that we have written to both Y11 and the WRU to advise them that as of 4pm this coming Wednesday, we intend to place the full details of that meeting – minus anything that is required to remain confidential – in the public domain.”
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The publication of the transcript is expected to intensify scrutiny of the WRU’s decision-making and transparency at a time when pressure is mounting from across Welsh rugby.
Councillors repeatedly challenged the WRU’s claim that Wales lacks the money or playing depth to sustain four regions, pointing to international comparisons and the governing body’s own finances.
“The WRU receive over £20 million a year more than the Irish Rugby Football Union in income,” Stewart said. “Yet the Irish Rugby Football Union are able to run four regions. If the plan is wrong, ditch it and do something else.”
He also argued that proposed spending increases in academies and the women’s game, while supported in principle, could be phased differently to avoid sacrificing a region.
“There are different ways to fund money, and that will allow the WRU to fund the four regions,” he said.
Throughout the debate, councillors emphasised the wider consequences of losing the Ospreys, not just for elite rugby but for grassroots clubs, community programmes and the regional economy.
Since their formation in 2003, the Ospreys have been the most successful Welsh region of the professional era, winning four league titles and producing a generation of international players including Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Biggar, Justin Tipuric and Jac Morgan.
More than 20,000 young people engage with Ospreys community programmes each year, while nearly 12,000 registered players are involved across 77 clubs in the region.
Stewart told councillors he had received deeply emotional correspondence from families fearful that the pathway from grassroots rugby to the professional game was being torn away.
“I had a letter from 10-year-old Lenny and his father,” he said. “He has a burning ambition to be an Osprey. His dad said to say he’s been in tears this week is an understatement – feeling that his dreams are being taken away from him.”
“If you remove a regional team from Swansea, you don’t just lose the professional side,” Stewart warned. “You lose the entire ladder underneath it.”
The council also reiterated its commitment to invest more than £5 million in redeveloping St Helens as a modern rugby venue – but only if the WRU gives a firm, long-term commitment to the Ospreys as a top-tier regional side.
“The only thing holding that up is the WRU and their decision,” Stewart said.
“Not a rebrand, not a repackaging, not playing in a different league – the Ospreys as a regional side as they are now.”
Councillors from all parties backed the motion, warning that reducing Welsh rugby to three regions would set a dangerous precedent.
“If the Ospreys go, there is no guarantee that three will stay,” Stewart said. “There is clearly potential for other structures to come along, other changes to follow.”
The motion was carried unanimously following a named vote, with councillors resolving to escalate their campaign nationally, engage Welsh Government, explore legal options and continue building a coalition of clubs, supporters and former players.
“We are not done yet,” Stewart concluded. “We will fight for the Ospreys, fight for our communities, and fight to keep Welsh rugby strong for generations to come.”
