Neath and Bridgend to merge for new season

Welsh rugby was last night plunged into open warfare when it was announced that Neath, who are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union, are to merge with Bridgend next season. The leaking of the news yesterday came as a shock at a time when the nine Premier Division clubs in Wales are still meeting to discuss a way forward for next season.

The Wales coach, Steve Hansen, wants to have four provincial teams, with all the players centrally contracted to the WRU, whose first group chief executive David Moffett, the former head of Sport England and the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, started work on Monday. The clubs are considering a different approach. They want a minimum of five "Super Club" teams.

Stuart Gallacher, Llanelli's chief executive, said: "How can a club owned by the Union [Neath] possibly dictate the future of Welsh Rugby under a provincial structure and, further more, unilaterally declare its own province to boot? This makes a total mockery not only of David Moffett's appointment, but also of the Union's role in attempting to pave the way for the future of Welsh Rugby."

Gallacher added: "We are now seeing, very publicly, the way Welsh rugby operates at its worst. This is a loose-cannon approach at a time when the game needs, more than ever, a considered and well-thought through, concensus-based approach to the future of rugby in Wales. This whole issue must be referred immediately to David Moffett before matters get even further out of hand."

A WRU spokesman said last night that Moffett would be meeting with Gallacher this week to thrash out the issues, but would not air them through the media.

Neath, one of the oldest clubs in Wales, went broke to the tune of £600,000 three years ago and had to be bailed out by the WRU. It set up a new holding company, Gowerpark Ltd, to keep the club running and both Glanmor Griffiths, the chairman of the WRU, and the WRU secretary, Dennis Gethin, are officers of the company.

Bridgend are owned by the millionaire Leighton Samuel, who is worried his club may be passed over for top-flight status next season when the clubs vote in the new year on the future shape of the professional game in Wales.

Scottish officials have promised a worldwide search to replace Ian McGeechan as the national coach. The three-times British Lions coach will leave his post after next year's World Cup and will take over from Jim Telfer as Scotland's director of rugby. Telfer, 63 next year, will retire to spend more time with his family.

"We intend to advertise worldwide for the position," Bill Watson, Scottish Rugby Union's chief executive, said. "We are keen to ensure that whoever succeeds Ian is able to utilise the depth of knowledge we currently enjoy."

The current back-room team includes the former Scotland fly-half John Rutherford and Pat Lam, the former Samoan Test captain, but a global recruitment drive could attract significant interest, with officials seemingly not averse to making an overseas appointment.

McGeechan's England counterpart, Clive Woodward, yesterday collected an OBE at Buckingham Palace. "The Queen did mention that we were having a successful time," he said.