Warren Gatland has implored Welsh rugby’s warring factions to come together and resolve the dispute that has led their Six Nations campaign to descend into crisis.
Wales are due to meet England in Cardiff next Saturday, but as a contract row with the game’s governing body continues, the former captain Alun Wyn Jones said on Thursday that the players were willing to carry out their threat of unprecedented strike action.
The Welsh Rugby Players Association and the Professional Rugby Board are in dispute over a proposed six-year funding arrangement that would mean players’ wages were reduced and the introduction of a new bonus structure.
In a tense and dramatic week the PRB said there was no room for negotiation on the deal, prompting a furious response from the players’ body.