Cardiff captain Josh Turnbull believes the Welsh Rugby Union has enough money to sustain the game and has insisted that Welsh regions need more financial support to succeed.

The game in Wales has experienced financial uncertainty in recent months. A new six-year funding model was signed last month, but not before Wales players threatened to go on strike during the Six Nations amid a contract freeze that has since been resolved.

Even with this new model implemented, the regional assumptions will be reduced in future seasons, with four teams operating with 4.5 million pounds sterling a year from 2024/25, which raises questions about how the four teams can compete in the future.

The problem will also be compounded by the number of players likely to leave Welsh rugby in the coming months due to pay cuts and belt tightening. All that said, this campaign was real for the seasoned Turnbull, and he’s still struggling to find the words to appreciate it.

“I don’t know if we’ll have enough time!” he said. “A bit of a roller coaster ride, I would say. Hopefully, now that this long-term deal is in place, we won’t see anything like this for a long time. It was really a rollercoaster ride.

“Eventually everything will change. I hope that in the coming seasons we will see the reasons for this and be better. But this year was quite difficult.

Amidst a possible attack, Turnbull took part in a live debate on BBC Scrum V, quizzing Professional Rugby chairman Malcolm Wall on the long-term strategy for the game in Wales. “I have a question,” Turnbull told Wall in February. “What is your long-term strategic plan for the region to gain something? Because as we speak, with the funding cuts, it doesn’t look very promising. Should you have a long-term plan?”

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Nearly two months later, and with the long-term model approved, is Turnbull comfortable with the long-term view?

“Look, we have to look into this,” he said. “At the end of the day, my personal opinion is that the game needs more money. I think the syndicate makes enough money to keep the game at a better financial level. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see if Malcolm Wall and Nigel Walker show up to finish what they’re doing.”

Of course, whenever anyone associated with one of the four professional sides requests additional financial support, the teams’ results are instantly cast upon them. Critics in the regions ask why they should get more support if they don’t. It often resembles a chicken-and-egg argument without any nuance.

“It’s always going to be that way,” admitted Turnbull. “There will always be questions about whether regions have invested enough money in the game. But if they didn’t, what was the score? How much money are you going to give the team and where in the season do you want it to be?

“It’s the playoffs, do you want them to win? We haven’t done that yet. But if we don’t have enough money to make the playoffs, we definitely won’t win anything. So what do you want to do? If you want to profit from something, you have to invest in it.”

Given Welsh teams’ financial constraints, Ospreys manager Toby Booth admitted that all regional managers were “nervous” ahead of next season, suggesting qualifying for the Champions Cup on less money could be something of a poisoned chalice. .

This raises the question of how the remaining players in Wales will fare next season. However, Turnbull, who admits he probably only has a season or two left in his career, is confident the players will still struggle to perform.

“I think we can look at this from two different angles,” he said. “First, we have nothing to lose and we are throwing it all away. Or you set expectations, and if you don’t meet them, it’s all on you. I don’t think [it’s worthwhile] putting so much pressure on the Welsh teams after everything that’s happened this year let’s put the pressure on ourselves.

Source: Wales Online