Ron Jones has been at the forefront of Welsh rugby for over 20 years.

Involved in the consortium to save the Scarlets from bankruptcy in 1997, he has been with the club ever since as chairman and director.

As owner of Tinopolis, the Llanelli-based television and distribution group, Jones has built it into one of the UK’s largest independent television providers.

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The former partner of accountant Arthur Anderson and treasurer of Glamorgan County Cricket Club may not be familiar to the average rugby fan, but he is one of the most respected figures in the Welsh game.

There’s nothing Jones hasn’t experienced since joining the Scarlets, but the 74-year-old has never been less optimistic about the future of the sport in Wales than he is now. He fears he is looking into the abyss at every level.

“I’ve seen the financial projections for all four professional clubs and, at the moment, there is no club that can survive more than a limited period without the support of philanthropists,” says Jones.

“I think Welsh rugby players should be concerned about these issues. Where to find another Rob Davies or Mike James for the Ospreys and where to find another Hugh Evans for the Scarlets?

“The Dragons don’t have a benefactor now. David Buttress and his team would have to assemble a group of benefactors for it to work.

“These are difficult questions, but for me the union is ready to promote a business model that takes this uncertainty into account.

“I fear that at some point one or more clubs will go bankrupt.”

While Warren Gatland returned as Wales head coach in a major coup for the Welsh Rugby Union, the situation regionally is grim.

Cardiff, Dragons RFC, Ospreys and Scarlets have recently verbally agreed a new six-year financial structure with the WRU, with the main deal likely to be signed before the weekend.

However, recruitment and retention across all four professional sides are suspended, meaning players remain in limbo. This has led to the likes of Wales’ Will Rowlands and young Cardiff center Max Llewelyn signing for clubs outside Wales. There will be more to come.

While the WRU has decided to use some of the money received from the CVC to allocate funds to the regions, the new funding package has an important caveat. Professional clubs will have to repay a significant portion of that money, and the WRU is also asking former sponsors to come back and act as guarantors to limit the risk they take.

Four years ago, former WRU chief executive Martin Phillips proposed a so-called “Reset Bill”, which called for the removal of benefactors such as Nigel Short (Scarlets), Peter Thomas (Cardiff), Martin Hazell (Dragons) and Rob Davies (Ospreys). ) in one direction.

But the WRU has turned around with current chief executive Steve Phillips insisting that Welsh rugby benefactors, who have invested £70m of their own money in Welsh rugby since the game turned professional in 1996, they could once again take the plunge. in their own pockets.

Jones believes he is a disaster for the game in Wales and has not held back in his criticism.



Ron Jones was not silent in his criticism of Welsh rugby

“In my opinion, this is economic madness,” argued Jones. “That way it won’t work even on the corner. In essence this means that the existing Professional Rugby Agreement is designed to ensure that income generated by Welsh rugby is distributed based on the needs of the entire professional game, both the Welsh team and the four areas.

“The PRA must be amended for clubs to continue to fulfill their obligations to the union to source these players, provide development and provide facilities and training and meet broadcasters’ requirements.”

He continued, “Now the union is really handing over the revenue that goes into the game”, arguing that it “doesn’t give the clubs enough to support themselves”.

“My fear is that clubs will accept this and the benefactors will either get back into the game in a big way or have to declare bankruptcy.

“The risk you run as a union is that there are enough people who care enough about their community, who care enough about their clubs, who care enough about Welsh rugby, to raise huge sums of money.

“The idea that we are now developing a business model for Welsh rugby that involves ensuring the supply of quality players to the national team, whilst making benefactors pay for it, is the equivalent of a company in any business that claims to be successful and profitable only because it regularly receives charitable contributions from outsiders”.

With regions already struggling to deliver, the situation could get even worse in the coming years. A £5m salary cap, a drastic cut in player salaries and a general lack of investment in the Welsh game make it hard to see how these four centre-backs can compete on the pitch.

The WRU believes it has a responsibility for the whole game in Wales, not just the professional side, and wants to create what it believes will be a sustainable financial structure for the future.

So what will professional rugby look like in Wales for years to come?

“Inevitably, as the risk to regions is even greater than before, they will operate in smaller units,” Jones said.

“They will work with cheaper equipment and this will massively affect the players because many of them will lose their jobs, many will have to accept lower wages or look elsewhere for wages that meet their expectations.

“I read somewhere that Toby Booth said 37 of his (Ospreys) players are out of contract at the end of the season, while we have about 19 out of contract.

“With the players’ strong commitment to Wales, particularly with the autumn international fourth and longer preparation period, and Warren Gatland demanding more game time, neither club can be expected to perform well in the URC, let alone at the European level in that period. 🇧🇷

Jones is also concerned about how politics could affect the national team, as Gatland and future Wales managers will have a smaller and less prepared pool of players as a result.

“The question for Warren will be: will he provide the player base he needs?” he said. “Potentially for the World Cup he can do something but there has to be life after Gatland and we have to make sure our players are ready for the next 10 years.

“We focus on players who have just reached youth level and we look at them because they will be at a greater disadvantage than any other age group.

“Usually at 25 you know if a player is international or not, but at 18 or 20 you don’t.

“Clubs are taking them under their wing, developing them as rugby players, but where will they be in 10 years? Potentially play away from Wales or not play at all.

“We will have fewer professional players available.”

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