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SCARLETS: Llanelli region last to sign Welsh rugby’s new deal — tying all four clubs to a plan that ends with three

The Scarlets have signed Welsh rugby’s Professional Rugby Agreement — the last of the four professional clubs to do so, and more than a year after the deal was first put on the table.

The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed the Llanelli region has joined the Dragons, Cardiff Rugby and the Ospreys on PRA25, which the governing body says establishes financial stability for all four men’s teams through to June 2028.

But the agreement runs only until the start of the 2028/29 season — at which point, the WRU says, its plan to move to a new three-club model will be implemented.

That leaves all four clubs signed up to a deal that ends with one of them gone.

For the Scarlets and the Ospreys, the signing closes a stand-off that has run since spring last year.

The two west Wales clubs refused to sign the original agreement in May 2025, seeking guarantees about their futures — prompting the WRU to announce it would move away from evenly funding all four clubs.

A U-turn followed in April, when new agreements were offered to both — hailed by politicians in the region as “a massive victory,” though with warnings the three-club threat had not gone away.

The Ospreys signed in June. The Scarlets held out a further five weeks.

The Llanelli club’s signing comes days after accounts revealed a third straight £2m annual loss, with the club navigating its 150th-anniversary season under the shadow of the WRU’s restructuring plans.

WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said she was “delighted” all four professional clubs had now signed.

“We have now entered a period of increased stability across the performance game in Wales and begun to increase investment in our support structures and pathways,” she said.

She said the union’s long-term strategy was “clear,” with further updates promised soon: “For now, we look forward with excitement to the start of the next United Rugby Championship in September with all four of our professional teams at play.”

Marianne Økland, chair of the Professional Rugby Board, called the signing “a significant step forward in our plans for the future of Welsh rugby.”

She said the “collaborative way” negotiations had been conducted was “hugely encouraging, given the future challenges facing our game both globally and in Wales.”

Scarlets executive chairman Simon Muderack said the deal was “another important milestone as we build the next chapter in Scarlets’ proud 150-year history.”

“With certainty for the next two years, we can accelerate the significant progress already underway on and off the field and move forward with confidence,” he said.

All four Welsh clubs will start the new United Rugby Championship season in September.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SCARLETS: Nigel Davies confirmed as boss for the long haul — as club posts third straight £2m loss
The state of the Llanelli region’s finances as it signed.

WRU: Ospreys sign new professional rugby deal — but threat of cut to three regions still looms
The Ospreys’ signing in June, five weeks before the Scarlets.

WRU: ‘A massive victory’ — reaction as Ospreys and Scarlets handed lifeline in Welsh rugby U-turn
April’s reversal that put new agreements on the table.

SCARLETS: Nigel Davies confirmed as boss for the long haul — as club posts third straight £2m loss

The Scarlets have confirmed Nigel Davies as their director of rugby for the next two seasons — as fresh accounts lay bare the financial pressure the Llanelli region is under.

Davies, a former Scarlets and Wales player, captain and head coach, returned to Parc y Scarlets on an interim basis in January and has now been handed the role permanently.

The club says he has spent the past five months leading a full review of its rugby operation — strengthening the coaching group, reshaping the squad and overhauling its performance, analysis and medical programmes.

Davies said it was difficult to put into words what the club meant to him, describing Scarlets as a huge part of his life for more than 40 years.

He said the work of the past five months was “only the beginning”, and that the club now had players, coaches and staff committed to building something supporters could be proud of.

Managing director Jon Daniels said Davies had made a significant impact since returning, and that his strategic review had been fully backed by the Scarlets board.

He said the appointment offered “continuity, clarity and leadership at a critically important time” for both the Scarlets and professional rugby in Wales.

But the announcement lands the same week as the club’s latest accounts, which show a loss of £2.1m for the year to June 2025, according to figures reported by the BBC.

It is the third year in a row the region has posted a loss of more than £2m, though the deficit is down from £2.6m the previous year.

Turnover fell from £11.3m to £10.2m, with gate receipts, sponsorship and money from the WRU all down, while the wage bill was cut from £8.24m to £6.94m.

The club’s debt remains above £10m, owed largely to the WRU and to Carmarthenshire County Council, which owns the Parc y Scarlets ground and is still owed £2.6m.

In notes accompanying the accounts, chairman Simon Muderack described the operating environment for professional rugby in Wales as “challenging” and “deeply uncertain”.

That uncertainty stems from the WRU’s plan to cut the number of professional men’s clubs from four to three — a move that would leave the Scarlets and the Swansea-based Ospreys competing for a single west Wales licence.

The union confirmed the three-club model in October 2025 and, despite a series of U-turns and delays, remains committed to reducing to three sides by the end of the 2027/28 season, with a decision on how to do so delayed again in recent weeks.

Both west Wales regions have spent the saga shoring up their positions, with the Scarlets confirming significant new investment from their existing funding group earlier this year.

The accounts note that the Scarlets are also in the “final stages” of signing the new Professional Rugby Agreement, or PRA25 — the deal the club says will relieve much of its Covid-related debt, including £4.8m owed to the WRU.

The Scarlets remain the only Welsh region yet to sign the agreement, having been expected to commit by the end of June.

Davies will lead the club into the 2026/27 season, with the squad back at Parc y Scarlets this week and further rugby announcements expected in the coming weeks.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

WRU: Search for new chair begins as decision on cutting a west Wales region is delayed again
The decision on reducing Welsh rugby to three professional clubs is pushed back once more.

Scarlets confirm ‘significant’ new investment after difficult period
The club secures fresh funding from its existing backers amid financial uncertainty.

Scarlets and Ospreys face fight for survival as WRU confirms three-club model
West Wales’s two regions are left competing for a single professional licence.