Can I declare an interest, first of all, as an Ospreys season-ticket holder and can I commend Andrew R.T. for his opening pronouncements? And I'm also a member of Dunvant RFC as well. 

Now, back in the day, I played rugby for many years, though bafflingly overlooked by selectors. I've never understood why. [Laughter.] And my sons have played for Waunarlwydd and Dunvant through all the year groups, from under 11, under 12, under 13, under 14—so it goes up to youth. And the village rugby club plays the role of youth club. Dozens of children, girls and boys, playing regularly, twice, three times a week, as well as training. And, obviously, this doesn't just apply to rugby. It also applies—certainly in the Swansea area—to football, cricket, athletics and swimming. So much more. There's an army out there of volunteers who sustain all this activity. So, yes, it really is in the soil, is rugby.

Now, there was a surreal point at one stage a week last Saturday when Wales had just won the rugby Grand Slam—again, as Andrew mentioned—then Scotland had recovered miraculously from 31-nil, down, to England to lead 38-31, and, also, at the same time, Swansea City were leading Premier League Champions, Manchester City, two-nil in the FA Cup, and I thought, 'Duw, the capacity of sport to inspire, to turn things on their head, to reach a higher level, never ceases to amaze.' Yes, at that point, it really was surreal, almost a religious experience, really, until I realised that Jesus was playing up-front for Man City—Gabriel Jesus, that is—and normal service was restored, unfairly in the Swans' case. 

Now, in strongly supporting this motion, I shall make a few points as an unashamed Ospreys fan, and, as we would say as Ospreys fans, the only true region. We went through the pain of uniting Swansea and Neath rugby clubs—the most ferocious and bitter of local rivals—over 16 years ago. Some still bear the scars of that. And Ospreylia corresponds to my electoral region of South Wales West, so I would be a fan. And, plainly, the Ospreys have been the most successful rugby region, having won the Pro12 and Pro14 on four occasions. That's the best record of all regions, including the Irish ones, and supplying, notably, obviously, 13 out of the 15 Welsh players for Wales as they beat England at Twickenham in 2008 in Warren Gatland's first game in charge. And as fans down the years, we have thrilled to the talents of Shane Williams, Dan Biggar, Tommy Bowe, Mike Phillips, James Hook, Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Jones,  Duncan Jones, Justin Tipuric, Adam Beard, George North, Owen Watkin—I could go on, but I see the clock is ticking. And Alun Wyn Jones, as a true legend, is about to be given the freedom of Swansea—totally deservedly so.

Now, clearly, the issue is money, and the financial challenges mean that the Ospreys cannot afford to have two international level 15s in their squad. So, let's talk about a bit of reorganisation and a bit of marketing, I would say. Obviously, Saracens and the top English clubs can have two international-level 15s so that when the internationals are on, they're not weakened at all. But when the internationals are on, our regions are weakened. So, let's reorganise the Pro14 season so that games do not clash with the internationals. Let's market the Pro14 properly. There's very swish marketing of the premiership in England. We deserve that in Wales. It is the game of the people. It is our national game—New Zealand and Wales share that accolade. Attracting more money to the game in Wales, obviously, is the huge challenge, but we are in a strong position. We are, after all—. Wales are the Grand Slam champions—I may have mentioned that already—potential world champions, and so the challenge for the WRU, Welsh Government, and all partners is to make sure that we can get the marketing and the financial structures sustainably in place. I'm pleased that the merger is off because ditching your best region was never a clever idea and was met with absolute astonishment and bewilderment in Swansea. Support the motion. Diolch yn fawr.