Welsh Regions Dispute With Union Heads For High Court With Players In Limbo

The four Welsh regions "will not meet next week's deadline" to continue their participation agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union as the dispute over the funding and control of the professional game in the country "heads to the high court," according to Paul Rees of the London GUARDIAN. The WRU's board discussed the issue after Friday's meeting in Dublin between the Six Nations involved in the Heineken Cup "succeeded only in aborting the five-country tournament, excluding England, that had been agreed last month." French Rugby Federation President Pierre Camou had said that French participation "hinged on the tournament being run by Fira, the organisation made up of the smaller unions, as a precursor to a major shake-up of the way the game in Europe is organised" (GUARDIAN, 12/23).