Today's rugby news as WRU chief publicly accused by 'sad' chairman

Nigel Walker
Nigel Walker -Credit:© Huw Evans Picture Agency


These are the rugby headlines on Tuesday, May 21.

Buttress calls out WRU

Dragons chairman David Buttress has called out the WRU for what be perceives as "gaslighting" employees in regional rugby.

Buttress, who is standing down as chair at Rodney Parade later this year but will remain on the board as a non-executive director and a major part of the ownership team, was responding to a quote from WRU executive director of rugby Nigel Walker about the prospect of cutting the number of regions in Wales from four to three.

The debate over how many regions are sustainable in Welsh rugby has been going on for some time, something which Buttress has taken issue with. He also urged the governing body to invest money "in the core rugby business".

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Reposting a quote from Walker which said cutting a team "has to be an option which will be considered and discussed", Buttress wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "So sad and sorry to see that the national governing body continuing to gaslight hundreds of professional employees who are trying to do a great job everyday. Have the courage to make a decision or stop talking about one. And while we are on it invest in the core rugby business."

When one fan told Buttress the game needed his continued voice, he later added: "You can only say the same things in the same rooms for so long, until it becomes time to move on. Sorry to say that, because I love Welsh rugby but it’s true."

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Walker was speaking on BBC's Scrum V on Sunday evening where he covered a wide range of topics. He admitted cutting a side was being considered. He said: "Is it on the table? It's obviously got to be an option which has to be considered and discussed. Which way we go - the PRB, the regions and the WRU - on that is yet to be determined. But of course, reducing to three regions has to be on the table. It doesn't mean it will follow and there will be three regions, because you have to get agreement and come up with a mechanism to going down from four to three. But it will be discussed at the appropriate time."

You can read more about that here.

Hathaway set for biggest game yet

Emerging Welsh star Josh Hathaway is set to start Gloucester's Challenge Cup final against the Sharks on Friday, in what will be the biggest game of his career to date.

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The 21-year-old, who has represented both Wales and England at U20s level, has emerged as a potential bolter for Warren Gatland's squad to tour Australia this summer, having filled in at full-back for the Cherry & Whites in recent weeks. He has taken his opportunity with both hands, delivering a series of impressive attacking performances, scoring a hat-trick against Saracens and grabbing another try and assist against Newcastle at the weekend.

While Gloucester are soon set to welcome back Argentina international Santiago Carreras, who is back in full training, head coach George Skivington says he would be confident to see Hathaway take to the field at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the huge final.

“I think Josh has had a great season," he said. "I think he's growing really, really nicely. He obviously knows how to score tries. He's working really hard on other aspects of his game and learning what it is to be a premiership winger and playing in the top flight is slightly different.

“He's been growing week on week. I think he's very coachable," Skivington added. "He knows where he's at. He knows where he's got to get better at.

"But I'm very comfortable playing Josh. I think he's he showed some really good character even in that Northampton game [a 90-0 defeat] I thought Josh showed some some real toughness."

Navidi to perform at Judgement Day

Former Wales star Josh Navidi will be performing at this year's Judgement Day.

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The ex-Lion, who retired due to injury in April 2023, is now a DJ, among other things, and he will he playing an exclusive set at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, June 1.

He did the same last year and will now be part of the warm-up entertainment as Scarlets and Dragons and Cardiff and Ospreys go head-to-head on the final day of the regular URC season.

Scarlets v Dragons kicks off at 3pm, while Cardiff v Ospreys starts at 5.15pm.

Ponty announce 12 player departures

Pontypridd have announced 12 player departures.

The club will be playing in a new-look Premiership next season, with the new Super Rygbi Cymru kicking off in the biggest change in the game since 2003.

Ponty, though, won't be involved and are instead putting in plans in place for their next campaign in the community game.

"As the Pontypridd RFC coaching and management team continue working hard behind the scenes to reshape the squad for our 2024/25 Welsh Premiership campaign, we can confirm a number of players will be departing the club," they wrote on their club website.

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Tom Harper, Sion Parry, Tom Devine, Aled Ward, Joseph Scrivens, Ben Burnell, Josh Phillips, Harvey Nash, James Murphy, Liam Lloyd, Ryan Wilkins and McCauley Rowley will all leave Sardis Road.

"Pontypridd RFC would like to thank all the departing players for their efforts during their time with the Club and would like to wish them all the very best for the future," the statement continued.

"The club has retained the services of a large section of the squad, and remain in negotiations with other players. We’ll have further squad news for our supporters in the near future, watch this space…"