{"id":34214,"date":"2019-03-05T12:33:55","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T12:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=34214"},"modified":"2019-03-05T12:33:55","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T12:33:55","slug":"fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34219 size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-770x578.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-293x220.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-1400x1050.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34219 size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-770x578.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-293x220.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52-1400x1050.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/00-Default-01-WRU_rdax_1800x1125_80-52.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/noscript>FANS of South Wales rugby have been left confused and divided over radical plans to merge two Pro14 sides.<br \/>\nThe Professional Rugby Board will meet today to discuss the proposals, under Project Reset, to merge Scarlets and Ospreys, bringing the number of sides in South Wales down to three.<br \/>\nAs part of the programme, a team would be set up in North Wales to play at the Racecourse Ground.<br \/>\nIf a decision is made today, the merged side is likely to start the next Pro14 season, although there will be lots of issues to be sorted including where the team would play and who would coach them.<br \/>\n<em>The Cardiffian<\/em> asked fans for their views on\u00a0what would be the largest rugby shake-up since 2003, and would bring about\u00a0 the end of Wales\u2019 most successful rugby region in history.<br \/>\nDavid Allsop, 28, believes a merger between Blues and Dragons would make more sense.<br \/>\n\u201cThe Dragons haven\u2019t brought enough to Welsh rugby. Whether people like it or not the Ospreys have been the most successful region in history,&#8221; he said.<br \/>\n\u201cIf the WRU get rid of the Ospreys I am done with regional rugby and Welsh rugby in general, including the national team.\u201d<br \/>\nThe WRU has received widespread criticism surrounding their approach to grassroots rugby since the outset of the project.<br \/>\nFollowing the merger, three teams in South Wales would mean less opportunity for young Welsh players to progress through the ranks.<br \/>\nGareth Hughes, 40, said: \u201cThe WRU don\u2019t have the interests of grassroots or regional rugby at the front of their minds. They just care about selling more tickets and taking the money.\u201d<br \/>\nRaymond Hall, 56, is also concerned for the future of Welsh players.<br \/>\n\u201cThe merging of clubs means some young professional Welsh qualified players moving outside Wales and then not being eligible for the national side. How would the WRU justify that?\u201d he said.<br \/>\nNot all fans were wholly negative towards the idea, with some suggesting there is little alternative if the PRB is decided on setting up a North Wales team.<br \/>\nDylan Owen, 23, said: \u201cThe success of all the regions is the most important thing for the national side, so I would rather have fewer that work well, as opposed to multiple struggling clubs.<br \/>\n\u201cI think the West, East, North model would be best for us, with only three clubs.\u201d<br \/>\nA statement is expected later today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FANS of South Wales rugby have been left confused and divided over radical plans to merge two Pro14 sides. The Professional Rugby Board will meet today to discuss the proposals, under Project Reset, to merge Scarlets and Ospreys, bringing the number of sides in South Wales down to three. As part of the programme, a team would be set up in North Wales to play at the Racecourse Ground. If a decision is made today, the merged side is likely [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":34221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,17,3,151,4],"tags":[6485,154,328,765,6486,1030],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-34214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-home-lead","category-news","category-rugby","category-sport","tag-prb","tag-rugby-2","tag-six-nations","tag-welsh-rugby-union","tag-weslh-rugby","tag-wru"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FANS of South Wales rugby have been left confused and divided over radical plans to merge two Pro14 sides. The Professional Rugby Board will meet today to discuss the proposals, under Project Reset, to merge Scarlets and Ospreys, bringing the number of sides in South Wales down to three. As part of the programme, a team would be set up in North Wales to play at the Racecourse Ground. If a decision is made today, the merged side is likely [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-05T12:33:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jonathon Hill\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonathon Hill\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/\",\"name\":\"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-05T12:33:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/49cec13e030a43831d70de2467489b4f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/49cec13e030a43831d70de2467489b4f\",\"name\":\"Jonathon Hill\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ab948e4dc2c8785ed6f73f772970b1b5\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d3ceda931c6dc166dafa6ed08b59ee72c19c0522ad1846d3860364dd0fa3bec?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d3ceda931c6dc166dafa6ed08b59ee72c19c0522ad1846d3860364dd0fa3bec?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jonathon Hill\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/author\/hill-j\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms - The Cardiffian","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms - The Cardiffian","og_description":"FANS of South Wales rugby have been left confused and divided over radical plans to merge two Pro14 sides. The Professional Rugby Board will meet today to discuss the proposals, under Project Reset, to merge Scarlets and Ospreys, bringing the number of sides in South Wales down to three. As part of the programme, a team would be set up in North Wales to play at the Racecourse Ground. If a decision is made today, the merged side is likely [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/","og_site_name":"The Cardiffian","article_published_time":"2019-03-05T12:33:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jonathon Hill","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jonathon Hill","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/","name":"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms - The Cardiffian","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-05T12:33:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/49cec13e030a43831d70de2467489b4f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/1Cardiff.MillenniumStadium-400x400-1.jpg","width":400,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/05\/fans-react-as-welsh-rugby-shake-up-looms\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fans react as Welsh rugby regions shake-up looms"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/","name":"The Cardiffian","description":"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/49cec13e030a43831d70de2467489b4f","name":"Jonathon Hill","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ab948e4dc2c8785ed6f73f772970b1b5","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d3ceda931c6dc166dafa6ed08b59ee72c19c0522ad1846d3860364dd0fa3bec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d3ceda931c6dc166dafa6ed08b59ee72c19c0522ad1846d3860364dd0fa3bec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jonathon Hill"},"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/author\/hill-j\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34214"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=34214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}