Welsh Rugby

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:24 pm on 6 March 2019.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 3:24, 6 March 2019

Minister, I thank you for the answer you've just given. Clearly, the message we're now getting is that the merger is off, but we often talk about the two rugby teams, the Ospreys and the Scarlets, and we just think of those two teams, but there's a lot more behind the scenes than just those two teams on the pitches. The Ospreys have embraced the regional concept very much and they work with our local communities. They have Ospreys in the Community, they go and meet with the schools, they work with science, technology, engineering and mathematics groups and organisations to promote STEM and other career pathways. There is a lot more going on. They're actually one of the best at women's rugby in the area. They do a lot more than simply what we see with the 15 players on the field. And they are issues that the Government should be involved with, and it's the funding you give to the Welsh Rugby Union that feeds into that.

So, I think it is important the Government has a say on this to ensure that the services that the Ospreys currently give to the communities aren't lost. Because if the Ospreys disappear, Scarlets are going to have their own commitments already. They haven't got the funding to go beyond that, so what will happen to our region and those community services? And, therefore, the Government will need to look very carefully at what that actually means to the local communities—not just the fans, but the people who live in the area, the children in the area, the schoolchildren they get support from. And I'll declare an interest: my granddaughter actually very often goes to the Ospreys camps in her holiday time. These are services that people get a huge lot out of, and the Welsh Government should be looking at what happens to those as well.