\n<\/p>\n
Ospreys finished 11th in the URC last season and were knocked out in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup.<\/p>\n
Mark Jones’ side were impacted by uncertainty, with fans protesting against the WRU and Y11 at fixtures in Bridgend.<\/p>\n
The unsettling situation was a factor in Wales captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan opting to join Gloucester<\/a> for the coming season.<\/p>\n Signing the Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) with the governing body offers some level of security until 2028, but the latest development will provide more challenges for both Scarlets and Ospreys.<\/p>\n “Is it really a surprise? We just had a little bit of a break from the debacle,” said former Ospreys and Wales wing Shane Williams on Radio Wales Breakfast.<\/a><\/p>\n “The conversation has always been that everyone believes there will be a region cut, that players’ welfare and jobs will be put on the line again.<\/p>\n “It’s no real shock to me, we just have to start the conversation again and the uncertainty hits us again.”<\/p>\n There is the prospect of a tender process to be the western club, or the possibility of reviving the merger that almost happened in 2019.<\/p>\n “It’s easier said than done,” said Williams, who is from Carmarthenshire. “There is huge rivalry and the Ospreys are in the process of rebuilding St Helen’s and there is Parc y Scarlets, which is barely used by anyone else.<\/p>\n “For the fans, there has been a huge rivalry and it would take some job to get those two sets of supporters together to support one entity.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n