The Ospreys say they have already lost a player they would love to keep amid the turmoil of professional football in Wales.

Manager Toby Booth broke the news in response to suggestions by former Welsh Rugby Union chief executive David Moffett that the game in Wales should deal with rugby’s financial crisis by reducing it to three professional teams, with Ospreys in the region.

Booth responded by insisting that he was optimistic about the future of ospreys. He declined to name the player who told him he was leaving.

But he pointed the finger at the mess in Welsh rugby’s contract for the next match.

“It takes a significant percentage of your budget, so the depth-to-quality ratio will always be difficult to control, and there will be some deviations, some forced, some voluntary because it took so long,” he said.

“I’ve already lost a player, who I won’t name, but who would be good to keep. He had a choice and he went somewhere. This is a misfortune. He is a victim of this whole scenario.”

The Ospreys have started offering contracts to certain players, and one of their priorities is to retain some young players. Next season, they intend to work with a squad of 36 to 38 players, reducing them from around 50, which means that departures are inevitable.

But they hope to save others they would like to save. “We’re going to end up with a team of about 36,” Booth said.

“We can go up to 44 and of course I would like 44 because of the depth issue but we are looking at a maximum of 36 to 38. I don’t see how we can afford anything more. Think all regions around you from a maximum point of view. I don’t see how the numbers fit any other way.

“You will depend to a large extent on the next group of players from the academy, which in some cases can create bigger problems because you can betray people who are not on the list at all, but the other face of that is the ones who are on the list. will “gain game time.”

Fielding a 36-man squad will present significant challenges, as numbers show that, on average, 23% of players on professional teams are injured at some point during the season. Look at the Wales draft and the scale of the problems is clear.

“We will have to be very creative in preparation, not to mention the team. So it’s going to be extremely difficult, no doubt,” Booth said.

He was speaking within a week when Moffett described what he personally feels should be the way forward for the Wales game.

Moffett, of course, oversaw the introduction of regional rugby to Wales in 2003, with five teams initially involved, but this was reduced to four after one season when Celtic Warriors were controversially removed from the board.

Now he believes the numbers should be reduced further, arguing that ospreys should be made scapegoats because they don’t own their land.

But Booth doesn’t believe that, saying, “People are entitled to their opinion. The region has produced more international players over the past two years and is the only Welsh team in the Champions Cup.

“So I probably don’t agree with that. Whatever happens, we need competitive regions and a competitive Wales.

“Everybody would agree with that, because people follow success. What it looks like in these difficult times, we must understand what it is to wait.

“However, people are entitled to their opinion. Money is money.”

Booth raised the possibility of people trying to make more money “because if you can do that, you can make your team more competitive”.

But Moffett’s proposal this week was not the first time there has been talk of removing professional rugby from Swansea and one of the most fertile areas for rugby union in Wales, although not a week goes by without a call to verify the number. . regions of Wales.

“It’s a distraction for me,” Booth said. “I’m a little older than the others, so I’ve seen a lot of these distracting things, not as much or as distracting as this one.

“There are distractions in the English Premier League when two clubs are liquidated, so those things are always there and there is always a solution somewhere.

“My biggest disappointment is that this situation, some would say, has been brewing for 10 years. It was certainly during my tenure.”

But he remained optimistic about the future of ospreys after speaking with their owners, Y11. “Yes, I certainly am, until I know otherwise. For example, I’ve had great conversations with Y11 owners. They are committed to us and to ospreys. Until I hear otherwise, we will continue to do what we have to do.”

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