One of Welsh rugby’s most promising coaches believes the return of the Wales A team will help bridge the gap between the regional and international game.

Wales was once the second Welsh Rugby Union team to compete in the Six Nations, but has not played since being disueled by former WRU executive director, David Moffett, in 2003 as part of a plan to cost reduction. The WRU officially re-established its A team in 2016, which meant the Wales U20 team was no longer the team to capture in an effort to bring more dual nationality players into the squad.

But Wales A have not taken to the field since the announcement seven years ago. And Hugh Gustafson, Ospreys academic skills coach, head coach at Swansea RFC and director of rugby at Swansea University, believes the return of the Wales A team will provide a clearer answer as to whether players like Keiran Williams, Morgan Morris and Cy Evans could make the step up to Test level.

“The most important thing for me is that there is no Wales A and we can’t judge them on anything, so we have to be brave,” the former Dragons and Ospreys player told WalesOnline’s Welsh Rugby Podcast.

“We could go for Louis Rees-Zammit or Josh Adams or even move 10 aside. We can resolve these situations.

“Looking at players like Keiran Williams and Morgan Morris, how can we judge whether a player is good enough for international rugby when all he has to do is play international rugby and the next stop is the Six Nations?

“You look for someone new and you keep two senior groups of wingers with them to have that maturity around them, or you keep three mature defenders, three players.

“It depends on how Warren sees things. Will it be a Six Nations build-up or will they do everything they can to win and then use the summer tour to blood up some of these players?

“Or are you going to gather one or two into this camp and mix them with the older ones? “These are decisions that need to be made.”

One of the most controversial issues in Welsh rugby at the moment is the formation of the Elite Development Competition, which from next season will be played between the semi-professional Premier League and the regional game. Gustafson, who coaches in the Premier League, believes it could be a positive step for Welsh rugby.

“I think something needs to change because the difference is so big,” Gustafson said. “If you look at the Welsh Premier League, it’s a financial problem.

“The more money you pay, the better players you will get, but with this new league we will have more players on the move and more young players playing together regularly.

“Will playing fewer but more competitive games help them develop? You’ll still have the Premier League, but it’s a pretty confusing mix.

“But for me something has to change. What is the aim of the Welsh Premier League?

“In the end you win a trophy, yes, but what do we do as a group? We haven’t won many games playing with these transition players, but our victories have come from players like Cian Haire, who is 18 years old and in top form. Would many other clubs do this?

“He will play 20 games until he is 19-20 and there are not many tenacious players at that age. But we’re not going to win the title playing with these young people. Read my weekly column in our rugby newsletter.

“The main question is what is the path and what is the end goal?” Are we going to turn it into a competition where players can develop and be successful, or are we going to turn it into a competition where we need to win games, where it’s important to win trophies?

“Something must be changed for the common good.”