It has also published details of a meeting where it was confirmed the Ospreys have no future as a professional outfit under current plans
The Ospreys’ future as a professional rugby team looks over unless Swansea Council and fans can overturn the current plan(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Swansea Council has commenced early stage legal action against the WRU and Y11 Sport and Media as it published bombshell minutes of a meeting during which it says it was confirmed the Ospreys will cease to be a professional rugby region after next season.
The publication of key details from the meeting on January 22 between the leader of Swansea Council Rob Stewart, Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney and Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley sheds new light on what’s been happening behind the scenes.
In those minutes from the hour-long meeting at Mr Stewart’s office at the Guildhall in Swansea, Bradley and Tierney are said to have confirmed the Ospreys’ fate and put forward the suggestion of a shock merger with Swansea RFC to form a team that will play semi-professional rugby at St Helen’s in Super Rygbi Cymru. That plan would see Swansea RFC effectively become the ‘Osprey Whites’.
Ms Tierney also said that a redeveloped St Helen’s could be used for alternative rugby uses. For reasons of confidentiality, the council said it could not disclose what they were. However, it is understood to have been St Helen’s possibly becoming the home to a new women’s professional side, as well as hosting men’s U-20 internationals.
Also present at the meeting, were the council’s chief legal officer, Lucy Moore, chief executive Martin Nicholls, director of place Mark Wade, director of finance Ben Smith, and head of communications Lee Wenham.
Following the meeting, Swansea Council publicly stated rugby bosses had indicated there was “no viable future for the Ospreys” under their plans. That statement was slammed by Ospreys CEO Bradley as “categorically incorrect” in an email to staff as he insisted he would have said if it was the case. WalesOnline has attempted to contact Bradley.
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The Ospreys have released a statement, though, saying: “Ospreys Rugby notes today’s statement from Swansea Council regarding discussions on the future of regional rugby in Wales.
“As has been stated previously, Ospreys Rugby continues to operate as a professional club and is focused on supporting its players, staff, and supporters while competing in the URC under existing agreements.
“No decisions have been made regarding Ospreys’ future past the 2026/27 season, and no statements have been made by Lance Bradley or anyone else associated with Ospreys which contradict that. Given the sensitivity of these matters, and the fact that they involve multiple parties and ongoing discussions, it would be inappropriate for Ospreys Rugby to comment on interpretations of meetings, unfinalised proposals, or legal correspondence.
“Ospreys Rugby remains committed to constructive engagement with all stakeholders and will communicate directly and transparently when there is confirmed information to share.”
A WRU statement read: “We can confirm that we have received a pre-action letter from Swansea Council, alongside a public statement which is inaccurate in reference to a recent meeting we attended,” the WRU said.
“As you will understand we will be taking our own advice and so cannot comment on this at this time.
“This WRU Board has worked in good faith since it took office some two years ago to create a new way forward for Welsh rugby given the significant financial and performance issues we are all facing. “We appreciate that these are difficult issues for everyone concerned, but we have conducted ourselves with future long term success in mind.”
Having taken external legal advice, Swansea Council has now sent pre-action legal letters to both Ms Tierney and chief executive of the Y11, James Davies-Yandle. It calls on WRU to pause plans for Y11 acquire Cardiff Rugby and consider maintaining the current number of regions at four.
They believe the process by which the the union is seeking to reduce the number of regions from four to three – via the demise of the Ospreys – is unfair on competition legal grounds.
The letter from Ms Moore, with legal advice from Nick De Marco KC and Mark Vinall of Blackstone Chambers, claims:
The council had agreed to provide £5m of funding to help redevelop St Helen’s as a permanent new home for the Ospreys, who this season are playing their homes games at Bridgend.
That money has now been withdrawn as the council refuse to release it without assurances professional rugby will remain in Swansea.
The £5m would have been repaid over 50 years at an annual rent of £100,000 (inflation linked) paid by the Ospreys.
As part of the St Helen’s project the council has already incurred costs of around £1.5m, including the relocation of Swansea Cricket Club from St Helen’s to Swansea Civil Service Cricket Club with an improvement to the Sketty Lane ground.
The redevelopment of St Helen’s envisaged creating a new stadium with a capacity for more than 8,000 spectators, with a new all-weather pitch parallel to a refurbished north terrace with a new roof, new stands on the east and south sides and relocation of the current south stand to the west end of the ground.
Swansea Council statement in full
Swansea Council has today released key details from a recent meeting with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the Ospreys where they outlined proposals on the future of regional rugby in Wales.
The Council has also issued pre-action legal letters to the WRU and Y11, owners of the Ospreys, calling for an immediate pause to the current restructure of Welsh rugby.
The meeting took place on 22 January 2026 between the Leader of Swansea Council, five senior council officers, WRU Chief Executive Abi Tierney, and Ospreys Chief Executive Lance Bradley, following a request from Mr Bradley.
While the Council had intended to publish the full minutes, Y11, Ospreys and the WRU have all objected to it doing so. In order to be constructive, minimise the risk of unnecessary disputes, and avoid delaying vital information reaching the public, the Council has instead decided to release only the key facts which it believes it is clearly in the public interest to disclose.
During the meeting, the WRU confirmed its position that Welsh regional teams would be reduced from four to three. It was also confirmed that Y11, the owners of the Ospreys, are the preferred bidders for Cardiff Rugby, with a 60-day due diligence process already under way.
Mr Bradley outlined the Ospreys’ intended direction should the Y11 acquisition of Cardiff Rugby proceed:
There would not be a professional Ospreys team playing regional rugby at St Helen’s after the 2026/27 season.
The Ospreys envisaged a potential merger with Swansea RFC (the Whites) after the 2026/27 season, with the merged team competing in the semi-professional Super Rygbi Cymru (SRC) rather than the United Rugby Championship (URC).
On the footing that there would be no URC regional rugby at St Helen’s if the Y11 acquisition completed, Ms Tierney explained certain potential alternative rugby uses for St Helen’s (the details of which remain confidential).
Council representatives left the meeting with a clear understanding that the basis of the WRU’s and Y11’s proposals for the future (if the acquisition of Cardiff Rugby by Y11 completed) was that the Ospreys would not continue as a professional regional team after 2026/27.
The Council expressed deep frustration that, despite extensive and recent discussions about the redevelopment of St Helen’s, it had not been informed earlier of these proposals. This lack of transparency and engagement is wholly unacceptable.
Swansea Council is 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 Council has serious concerns that the WRU’s restructuring proposals breach UK competition law and has issued pre-action letters to the WRU and Y11 requesting that they pause their restructure; reconsider proposals that would reduce the number of regions from four to three; and fully support efforts to secure the Ospreys’ future as a regional team in Swansea.
In its pre-action letter, the Council states:
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.
The process for allocating regional licences created an unfair distortion, effectively protecting Cardiff and Dragons while disadvantaging the Ospreys.
The WRU’s ownership of Cardiff at the time of these decisions created a clear conflict of interest, further compounded by its willingness to allow Y11, already owners of the Ospreys, to become preferred bidders for Cardiff Rugby.
This arrangement appears to rely on an understanding that the Ospreys would withdraw from competing for a regional licence, an outcome that is both anti-competitive and unlawful.
The Council will suffer loss as a result of these unlawful acts.
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.
The Council remains resolute in standing up for the city and will continue to challenge the removal of regional rugby from Swansea.
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