TIMELINE OF CHAOS
OCTOBER 2020
WELSH rugby’s current crisis can be dated back to the pandemic. When rugby, like all sports, was cancelled due to Covid, the game was hit by financial issues and the Welsh Rugby Union took an emergency £20million loan from the Welsh Government. It was given to the four professional regions. Without it, they would almost certainly have gone bust.
APRIL 2020
All Wales-based players take a pay cut amid financial concerns brought on by the impact of the pandemic.
MARCH 2021
Wales win the Six Nations and narrowly miss out on a Grand Slam. All appears rosy.
MARCH 2022
The WRU renegotiates the terms of the Welsh Government loan, but the regions are still the ones left to repay their £5m shares with significant interest, which hugely impacts their financial performance.
JULY 2022
Negotiations begin between the WRU and the regions on a new six-year funding model for the future.
NOVEMBER 2022
After just three wins from 12 matches in 2022, Wayne Pivac is sacked as Wales head coach and replaced by the returning Warren Gatland (above).
JANUARY 2023
WRU chief executive Steve Phillips resigns as the governing body is rocked by allegations of sexism and misogyny.
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Sportsmail reveals that with no financial agreement between the regions and the
WRU, and Welsh-based players who are out of contract at the end of the season unable to sign new deals, Gatland’s Six Nations stars are considering strike action for Saturday’s match with England.
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Wales players lay down three main demands to the nation’s Professional Rugby Board and tell them they must be met by February 22, or they will strike.
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Arguably Wales’ most high-profile player, Alun Wyn Jones, confirms the strike threat is real but is a last resort. Gatland says he would not support such a move.
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
Sportsmail reveals Welsh-based players could have their contracts cancelled on performance grounds and be loaned to another region without their consent, under unpopular contractual proposals.
FEBRUARY 19, 2023
PRB chairman Malcolm Wall says there has been progress on the demands made by the players, although no official deal is confirmed.
FEBRUARY 20, 2023
Crunch talks between the WRU and the Wales players continue.
YESTERDAY
Gatland says he is hopeful of a resolution and that the England game will go ahead.
TODAY
All Welsh-based players will meet with the WRU to try to come to an agreement in time to meet the deadline today.