Wayne Pivac urges Welsh rugby chiefs to consider axing one region

As he surveyed the wreckage that is Welsh rugby around him and looked back on his team’s disastrous Six Nations, Wayne Pivac cut a reflective figure on Wednesday.

There was, after all, much to discuss.

Among the many talking points raised by his selection of a 33-man squad to take on South Africa this summer, Pivac’s admission that Wales should seriously look into the possibility of cutting the country’s number of professional teams from four to three was one of the most significant.

First Test

South Africa v Wales

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

KO 4.05 PM, Live on Sky Sports

Second Test

South Africa v Wales

Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein

KO 4.05 PM, Live on Sky Sports

Third Test

South Africa v Wales

DHL Stadium, Cape Town

KO 4.05 PM, Live on Sky Sports

Such a proposal has been put forward and is being discussed by Welsh rugby’s Professional Rugby Board as financial problems and poor on-field performances continue to trouble the country’s national game. Doing so is fraught with politics and, in reality, unlikely.

It would also dramatically reduce the talent pool available to Pivac given the Welsh Rugby Union’s 60-cap rule means players who don’t have that number of Test appearances must play for a Welsh side to feature at international level. 

Interestingly, Pivac hinted there are many at the four regions who he feels will never be cut out to make it to the top.

‘If you look at the teams that have been dominant in the club scene and look at their national teams, they are all aligned. I think it is very important we get that alignment,’ Pivac said.

‘It certainly helps the national team. We have probably been in silos for a long, long time. Warren Gatland used to talk to me about that and I don’t think a lot has changed in the