Archive December 28, 2025

Another shocking year of Welsh rugby is about to come to an end.

After a haunting 2024, there was a gloom about how things would not get worse in 2025, but that optimism soon vanished.

Terms like ‘ laughing stock ‘ have been used to describe the current crisis state of Welsh rugby. With regard to the past year’s events, it’s difficult to disagree.

There have been numerous record defeats, wooden spoons, high-profile resignations, Cardiff’s administration, top domestic rugby players leaving, and yet more disputes between the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

“Welsh rugby is on the precipice”. It’s difficult to disagree with former Ospreys head coach Sean Holley’s opinion on Scrum V.

The Welsh rugby international team is regarded as the pinnacle of the sport.

Two victories against Japan this year and remaining in the top 12 to prevent a harder World Cup pool draw may be viewed as progress, despite not having won a Test match in 2024.

Not really.

Wales have three men’s head coaches in 2025, extended their unfavorable record to 18 successive Test defeats, lost to a second consecutive Six Nations clean sweep of defeats, and been humiliated in Cardiff with record home defeats against England, Argentina, and South Africa.

10 games and 10 losses That was the dismal record of Wales ‘ two national sides in the 2025 Six Nations over the space of 86 difficult days.

It was a miserable three months as both teams finished at rock bottom, from the 43-0 Friday night Paris mauling suffered by the men’s side in January to the 44-12 hammering suffered by Italy’s women in late April.

Before Steve Tandy was appointed as the autumn international manager, Matt Sherratt took over as the interim boss for the rest of the Six Nations and the summer tour of Japan after Warren Gatland left in February after being defeated by Italy in Rome.

There might have been a change of personnel but the chastening days will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

How could it be topped by losing 68-14 and handing away 10 tries in March to England at the Principality Stadium?

That was before South Africa’s 73-0 defeat at the end of November, which was the second-worst outcome in Welsh rugby’s history. Those two days have been among the bleakest known.

When two players, captain Jac Morgan and scrumhalf Tomos Williams, were named in the British and Irish Lions’ touring party in Australia, it was no surprise.

In the winning score, Morgan replaced him and brought about a contentious, crucial clearout that put the series and the second Test in order.

With smaller squads and limited resources, the regional game has again had problems both on and off the field.

With no side qualifying for the Champions Cup in the 2024-25 season – when the final was held in Cardiff – Scarlets made Europe’s elite tournament for this campaign by finishing in the top eight of the United Rugby Championship (URC).

In the 2025-26 campaign, Cardiff are flying the flag, finishing third overall, with Scarlets and Dragons in the bottom two spots.

Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan, who play rugby in Wales, are leaving the soap opera to join Gloucester next season, according to news in December.

Off-the-field headlines were dominated by Cardiff after going into administration in April before being taken over by the WRU.

The governing body of Welsh rugby announced in October that they wanted to cut one of the four professional sides by reducing the number to three, with one for the west and east and one for Cardiff.

The WRU had hoped a consensus decision could be reached before the end of the year, but that goal was not realized as negotiations continued.

One solution proposed seeing Ospreys owners buying Cardiff and another possibility is a straight shootout between Scarlets and Ospreys.

The process will be called out for tender if issues aren’t resolved, which could take six months.

In the spring, when Wales will be attempting to avoid a third straight defeat at the Six Nations, the process may still be going on.

Lake cited the uncertainty in Welsh rugby – and not knowing whether Ospreys would exist in its current form next season – as major factors in his decision to move and that should set alarms bells ringing.

It’s unknown whether other leading players will follow Lake and Morgan’s footsteps in leaving.

What could be accomplished by the two Boxing Day derbies, which attracted almost 25 000 fans.

Director of rugby and head of elite performance Dave Reddin, chair Richard Collier-Keywood, and chief executive Abi Tierney, who will return to the workforce in January after receiving cancer treatment, are the people in charge of the WRU change process.

The faith in the ability of this trio to instigate and implement change is under intense scrutiny.

In a pre-Christmas message, the WRU outlined what it claimed to have accomplished in 2025 while also expressing how difficult the year has been and why significant changes in Welsh rugby are required.

Whatever resolution they choose could have financial or legal repercussions despite having the power. People accept change is needed but do not want change to see their team disappear.

The increasing gulf in the Welsh rugby public’s judgment is one of the biggest problems facing the WRU.

While people reflect on what they believe to be a string of past errors made by the governing body, which has caused the upheaval in Welsh rugby, the WRU is trying to instigate radical change.

A glance at comments to any public messaging the WRU puts out on social media demonstrates the disdain and distrust that currently exists for the Welsh game’s powerbrokers. When these emotions persist, it’s difficult to bring them along on a journey.

The WRU also struggles with changing its minds about important issues like the number of men’s professional sides.

Before Cardiff went into administration, it was adamant four equally funded sides would remain.

The WRU changed its tune and said the original assessment of four-percent funding was impossible after Ospreys and Scarlets objected to a new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA).

The WRU then suggested a two-team strategy as its preferred option before a public opinion led to the most recent negotiations, which led to the creation of three.

Reddin also wants more control over playing affairs at the remaining three sides which is also a major sticking point.

Welsh fans hope Louis Rees-Zammit’s return from American football will add some X-factor while Tandy and Wales’ women’s head coach Sean Lynn will hope to establish their philosophies and avoid finishing bottom of the Six Nations pile.

There will not be many reasons to be optimistic until the latest Welsh rugby restructure is resolved one way or another.

Welsh rugby needs to address the animosity that is currently present in the environment.

The on-the-field mediocrity and off-the-field controversy are starting to win people over.

Christmas attendances might be encouraging but the floating feet need to be engaged permanently.

What was worse for Welsh rugby, questioned former Wales captain Ken Owens. Being viewed as a laughing stock, or being seen as a parody of this once-proud rugby nation by outsiders?

The attendances at the three home Six Nations matches against France, Scotland and Italy will be an acid test about whether the public remains interested in the Welsh rugby circus with more than 50% of WRU revenue coming from staging international games.

The curtain is about to fall on another shocking year of failure in Welsh rugby.

There was a hope that things would not deteriorate in 2025 after a haunting 2024 but that anticipation soon evaporated.

Terms like ‘laughing stock’ have been used to describe the current crisis state of Welsh rugby. Events of the past 12 months make it hard to disagree with that assessment.

There have been record defeats, wooden spoons, high-profile resignations, Cardiff going into administration, top players leaving Welsh domestic rugby and yet more squabbles between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the regions.

“Welsh rugby is on the precipice.” That was the verdict of former Ospreys head coach Sean Holley on Scrum V. Again, hard to disagree with those sentiments.

The Wales men’s international side is regarded as the pinnacle of Welsh rugby.

Having not recorded a Test victory in 2024, two wins this year against Japan and staying in the world’s top 12 to avoid a harder World Cup pool draw might be deemed as progress.

Not really.

In 2025, Wales have had three men’s head coaches, extended their unwanted record against tier one countries to 18 successive Test defeats, suffered a second successive Six Nations clean sweep of defeats and been humiliated in Cardiff with record home losses against England, Argentina and South Africa.

Played 10, lost 10. That was the dismal record of Wales’ two national sides in the 2025 Six Nations over the space of 86 difficult days.

From the 43-0 Friday night Paris mauling suffered by the men’s side in January, to the 44-12 hammering inflicted by Italy’s women in late April, it proved a miserable three months as both sides finished rock bottom.

After Warren Gatland resigned in February following defeat by Italy in Rome, Matt Sherratt took over as interim boss for the rest of the Six Nations and the summer tour of Japan before Steve Tandy was appointed prior to the autumn internationals.

There might have been a change of personnel but the chastening days will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

It was hard to see how losing 68-14 and conceding 10 tries against England at the Principality Stadium in March could be topped.

That was before the 73-0 loss at the hands of South Africa at the end of November, the second worst result in Welsh rugby’s history. Those two days have been among the bleakest known.

There was no surprise when there was a record low of two players, captain Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams, named in the British and Irish Lions touring party to Australia.

Morgan came on as a replacement and produced a controversial, crucial clearout in the winning score that sealed the second Test and the series.

The regional game has again struggled on and off the field as Cardiff, Scarlets, Dragons and Ospreys have battled against the odds with smaller squads and budgets.

With no side qualifying for the Champions Cup in the 2024-25 season – when the final was held in Cardiff – Scarlets made Europe’s elite tournament for this campaign by finishing in the top eight of the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Cardiff are flying the flag in the 2025-26 campaign as they finish the year in third place but Scarlets and Dragons occupy the bottom two positions.

December has also brought news Ospreys duo Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan are walking away from Welsh rugby’s soap opera by signing for Gloucester next season.

Off-the-field headlines were dominated by Cardiff after going into administration in April before being taken over by the WRU.

Welsh rugby’s governing body announced in October they want to cut one of the four professional sides by reducing the number to three, with licences to be granted in Cardiff and one each for the west and east.

Negotiations have continued and the WRU had been hoping a decision could be made by consensus before the end of the year but that was not achieved.

One solution proposed seeing Ospreys owners buying Cardiff and another possibility is a straight shootout between Scarlets and Ospreys.

If things are not resolved, the process will go out to tender and that could take six months.

So the process could still be ongoing in the spring when Wales will be attempting to avoid a third clean sweep of defeats in the Six Nations.

Lake cited the uncertainty in Welsh rugby – and not knowing whether Ospreys would exist in its current form next season – as major factors in his decision to move and that should set alarms bells ringing.

Whether other top players follow Lake and Morgan in leaving remains to be seen.

The pair of Boxing Day derbies that attracted almost 25,000 fans demonstrated what could be achieved.

The WRU change process is being led by director of rugby and head of elite performance Dave Reddin, who was appointed in April, chair Richard Collier-Keywood and chief executive Abi Tierney, who will return to work in January after undergoing cancer treatment.

The faith in the ability of this trio to instigate and implement change is under intense scrutiny.

The WRU sent out a pre-Christmas message outlining what it said it had achieved in 2025 but also acknowledging how tough the year has been and why major change in Welsh rugby is required.

While they hold the power, whatever resolution they decide could result in financial issues or legal ramifications. People accept change is needed but do not want change to see their team disappear.

One of the major issues facing the WRU is the increasing lack of faith the Welsh rugby public have in its judgement.

The WRU is attempting to instigate radical change, while people reflect on what they consider to be a string of past mistakes made by the governing body that has resulted in the turmoil Welsh rugby finds itself in.

A glance at comments to any public messaging the WRU puts out on social media demonstrates the disdain and distrust that currently exists for the Welsh game’s powerbrokers. Taking people with you on a journey is hard when these feelings are lingering.

The WRU is also hampered by changing its minds on key issues like the number of men’s professional sides.

Before Cardiff went into administration, it was adamant four equally funded sides would remain.

After Ospreys and Scarlets refused to sign a new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA), the WRU changed its tune and said the original assessment of equal funding for four was not possible.

The WRU then presented a two-team strategy as its preferred option before a public consultation persuaded it that there should be three, resulting in the latest negotiations.

Reddin also wants more control over playing affairs at the remaining three sides which is also a major sticking point.

Welsh fans will hope Tandy and Wales’ women’s head coach Sean Lynn can establish their philosophies and avoid finishing bottom of the Six Nations pile, while Louis Rees-Zammit’s return from American football could provide some X-factor.

There will not be many reasons to be optimistic until the latest Welsh rugby restructure is resolved one way or another.

One thing Welsh rugby has to address is the apathy now surrounding the game.

People are starting not to care any more about the on-the-field mediocrity and off-the-field controversies.

Christmas attendances might be encouraging but the floating feet need to be engaged permanently.

Former Wales captain Ken Owens posed the question about what was worse for Welsh rugby. Being considered a laughing stock, or outsiders now just feeling sorry for this once proud rugby nation.

The attendances at the three home Six Nations matches against France, Scotland and Italy will be an acid test about whether the public remains interested in the Welsh rugby circus with more than 50% of WRU revenue coming from staging international games.