In an explosive escalation of the row over the WRU’s proposed restructuring of the game, Swansea Council have issued pre-action legal letters to both the WRU and Y11, the owners of the Ospreys.
They call for an immediate halt to the process, which they say is unlawful.
At the same time, the council has taken the unusual step of publishing key details from a behind-closed-doors meeting, insisting it has clear proof of what senior WRU and Ospreys officials said about the region’s future.
The meeting, held on 22 January 2026, involved the leader of Swansea Council, five senior officers, WRU chief executive Abi Tierney and Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley.
Although the council originally intended to release full minutes, it says objections from Y11, the Ospreys and the WRU prevented that.
Instead, it chose to disclose what it describes as “the key facts which it believes it is clearly in the public interest to disclose”.
Those facts, according to the council, make stark reading.
It says the WRU confirmed at the meeting that Welsh regional teams would be cut from four to three, and that Y11 are the preferred bidders to acquire Cardiff Rugby, with a 60-day due diligence process already under way.
More significantly, the council says Bradley outlined what that would mean for Swansea.
It claims it was told there would not be a professional Ospreys team playing regional rugby at St Helen’s after the 2026-27 season.
Instead, the Ospreys envisaged a potential merger with Swansea RFC, with the merged side competing in the semi-professional Super Rygbi Cymru rather than the United Rugby Championship.
Swansea Council says it left the meeting with “a clear understanding that the basis of the WRU’s and Y11’s proposals for the future… was that the Ospreys would not continue as a professional regional team after 2026/27”.
On that footing, Tierney went on to explain “certain potential alternative rugby uses for St Helen’s”, details of which remain confidential.
It’s understood her plan was for a women’s team to be based in Swansea, in place of the Ospreys.
The council says it was blindsided by those revelations, particularly given recent discussions around the redevelopment of the ground.
In its statement, it said it was “deeply frustrated that, despite extensive and recent discussions about the redevelopment of St Helen’s, it had not been informed earlier of these proposals”.
It added: “This lack of transparency and engagement is wholly unacceptable.”
That frustration has now hardened into a legal challenge.
Swansea Council says it has “serious concerns that the WRU’s restructuring proposals breach UK competition law” and has formally asked the governing body and Y11 to pause the process and reconsider.
In its pre-action letter, the council argues that “the WRU’s decision to cut the number of professional regions from four to three is, by its nature, a restriction of competition and has not been carried out in a fair, transparent or non-discriminatory way”.
It also claims the licensing process “created an unfair distortion, effectively protecting Cardiff and Dragons while disadvantaging the Ospreys”.
Concerns over conflicts of interest sit at the heart of the council’s case.
It points to “the WRU’s ownership of Cardiff at the time of these decisions”, saying this created “a clear conflict of interest”, which was then “further compounded by its willingness to allow Y11, already owners of the Ospreys, to become preferred bidders for Cardiff Rugby”.
Most explosively, the council suggests the entire arrangement appears to rely on “an understanding that the Ospreys would withdraw from competing for a regional licence”, an outcome it describes as “both anti-competitive and unlawful”.
It says the council itself “will suffer loss as a result of these unlawful acts”, strengthening its position should the matter proceed to court.
The WRU has long argued that reducing the number of regions is necessary to stabilise the professional game and improve competitiveness.
But Swansea Council insists the cost to the city and the wider region has been ignored.
In its statement, it said it was “profoundly disappointed that such a significant decision affecting the city’s rugby future has been taken without proper consultation, fairness, or regard for the impact on Swansea, its people, its young players, and communities across the region”.
The authority has been keen to stress its actions are not anti-Wales or anti-player.
It said: “By taking this step we are demonstrating clear and unwavering support for players across Welsh Rugby, particularly those, including Ospreys, who are preparing to represent Wales in this weekend's Six Nations.”
Swansea Council says it remains “resolute in standing up for the city” and will continue to challenge any attempt to remove regional rugby from Swansea.
Whether the dispute now ends up in court may depend on how the WRU responds to the pre-action letters.
But with evidence now in the public domain, legal lines drawn and trust badly eroded, the battle over the future of the Ospreys has moved into open confrontation — and could yet prove to be one of the most significant legal tests in the history of Welsh rugby.
