Agreement expected in Welsh rugby

Welsh Rugby Union chiefs and the country’s four professional regions are set to unveil details of a new peace agreement today.

The deal, reached after lengthy discussions between both parties, has seen a detailed participation agreement thrashed out.

It is set to cover contentious issues like player release to Wales coach Warren Gatland for games outside the International Rugby Board’s recognised Test match windows.

One such fixture – Wales’ November 7 clash against New Zealand in Cardiff – had been at the centre of a furious row between the Welsh Rugby Union and Regional Rugby Wales, an umbrella organisation for Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, the Scarlets and Ospreys.

RRW, confident they did not have to release players for the Millennium Stadium encounter, had sought a High Court ruling, with a date set for this week.

Peace though, now appears to have broken out following talks driven by WRU chief executive Roger Lewis and RRW boss Stuart Gallacher.

Relations between both organisations have been frosty, to say the least, for months.

And there was a major stand-off last autumn before the WRU won a court judgement confirming player release for Wales’ November Test against world champions South Africa.

Damaging episodes such as that one though, could now be at an end.

Apart from player release, other areas agreed upon in an extensive document are thought to include foreign player restrictions at the Welsh regions and general funding.