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The prevailing mood in Welsh rugby has frequently been dark but rarely this bible black. Once upon a time a Six Nations squad announcement would have topped the agenda across the country; on Tuesday it felt like a semicolon in a much bigger narrative. Even Wales have never selected seven players whose club is in imminent danger of being axed by their own union.
The bare facts of the situation are increasingly stark for all involved. The existing owners of Ospreys, Wales’s most successful region of the past two decades, have just been controversially nominated as the preferred bidders for Cardiff, potentially clearing the way to reduce the number of Welsh professional sides from four to three. The internecine politics have become so increasingly toxic that Steve Tandy, the national head coach, had to plead for rugby-related questions at his lunchtime squad announcement.
Good luck with that. Barely had Tandy, a distinguished ex-Ospreys player and coach himself, completed his media duties in a soggy Vale of Glamorgan than a statement was being issued by the current Ospreys squad on social media, accusing their owners and the Welsh Rugby Union of leaving them in the dark. “We struggle to believe the most successful Welsh team to exist with the biggest history is on the brink of non-existence,” read the statement, making clear the players had yet to receive any notification of any kind. “We will continue to play for the fans and for the people who have stood by the Ospreys over the years.”
The local Swansea West MP Torsten Bell also weighed in on X, accusing the WRU of behaving “disgracefully from start to finish” and suggesting legal action could follow with Swansea Council keen to keep the Ospreys in the city. This is a saga showing increasingly few signs of an amicable resolution: support is being canvassed for a potential extraordinary general meeting of the union while the WRU’s leading officials are also due to appear in front of a parliamentary select committee on Wednesday.
According to Bell they will need “to justify their chaotic decision-making” which is fast escalating into a full-blown civil war with the entire future of Welsh rugby at stake. Jonathan Davies, the Welsh fly-half legend, believes it would be “a disaster for Welsh rugby” if a Ospreys-Cardiff merger goes ahead, wondering aloud how it will enhance the game in the Ospreys’ catchment area which includes Aberavon, Bridgend and Maesteg, as well as other tribal heartlands such Neath and Swansea.
Townsend turns to France-based forward duo
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The Scotland head coach, Gregor Townsend, has opted for experience and reliability by recalling forwards Jonny Gray and Dave Cherry for the Six Nations.
In a 40-man squad of few surprises, the France-based pair were among the most notable inclusions given that they had not featured for the national team since last year's championship.
Cherry, 35, was Scotland's first-choice hooker in the 2025 Six Nations but appeared to have drifted out of contention after joining French second-tier side Vannes in the summer and then being omitted for the autumn series. The Bordeaux lock Gray started four of the Scots' five championship matches last year but was not selected for either the summer or autumn campaigns.
"Experience with Dave," Townsend said, explaining the return of the forwards. "He was a bit of a glue player for us around his set-piece and in attack and defence. He missed the summer tour with injury and we decided to look at different options in November. On form, Dave probably should have been in the November squad.
"Jonny hasn't had that many opportunities [at Bordeaux], but he's actually in really good form. He's looking fit and sharp, his work-rate is outstanding. Again, someone who played really well last year's Six Nations. He's someone that has played well for us and we can rely on him if required during this championship."
Townsend and his experienced team have been the subject of scrutiny after back-to-back fourth-placed finishes in the Six Nations and a poor autumn campaign.
"I don't really think in those terms," he said when asked if he felt under extra pressure.
"I think I'm so privileged to be going into another Six Nations. I can't wait to be working with the players again. When I see the team, I see the players in really good form, it excites me for what's coming up ahead."
Notable omissions include Andy Onyeama-Christie, Cameron Redpath, Alex Samuel and the uncapped Gregor Hiddleston. PA Media
Scotland squad: Forwards (23): Ashman, Bayliss, Bradbury, Brown, Cherry, Cummings, Craig, Darge, Dempsey, Douglas, M Fagerson, Z Fagerson, Gilchrist, Gray, McBeth, McConnell, Millar Mills, Rae, Ritchie, Schoeman, Sutherland, Turner, Williamson.
Backs (17): Burke, Dobie, Graham, Hastings, Horne, Hutchinson, Jones, Jordan, Kinghorn, McDowall, Russell, Rowe, Smith, Steyn, Tuipulotu (capt), Van der Merwe, White.
Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA
Trapped in the middle, like Warren Gatland before him, is the unfortunate Tandy, a decent rugby man who would love to be attacking the Six Nations without any off-field distractions. Instead he is being left to try to fire a cannon from a desperately wobbly canoe, with the seven Ospreys in his squad in limbo regarding their club’s future.
They include his squad captain Dewi Lake, who has already signed for Gloucester, and fly-half Dan Edwards, who recently turned down an offer from Leicester to re-sign with the Ospreys. The other five are Gareth Thomas, Harri Deaves, Kieran Hardy, Owen Watkin and Reuben Morgan-Williams, with Tandy promising to do everything in his power to help players worried about their situation: “There is lots of history with every club. Whoever you represent, it’s going to hurt and there will be frustration and anger. One thing we can’t do is run away from it or pretend it’s not happening. If the players have got something to share, if they’re seeking more clarity or anything they want to talk about then we have to be open.”
Tandy’s task would also be easier if Wales were in a more buoyant place on the pitch. They have won just two Six Nations matches in their last four championship seasons and will be battling to avoid a third straight wooden spoon. Their opening game this year is against England at Twickenham and the bookmakers have them at a distant 100-1 for the title. As Tandy wryly observed: “The bookies don’t often get it too far wrong, do they?”
All he can do is extend a warm welcome to uncapped newcomers such as Leicester’s Gabriel Hamer-Webb and Bath’s Louie Hennessey, pray the decisions to omit the likes of Tommy Reffell, Rio Dyer and Jake Ball do not come back to bite him and try to concentrate on things he can vaguely control. “The focus for us would be on our team getting better. I can’t control the odds, I can’t control England, I can’t control lots of off-field stuff.
“I know there’s lots going on off the field but, ultimately, the better we get and the more support we have, the more we can produce something on the field and hopefully alleviate some of that other stuff. I know my face doesn’t look optimistic a lot of the time, but I am a generally optimistic person.” In Welsh rugby right now there are increasingly few of those around.
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