After another week full of twists and turns regarding the future of Welsh clubs, the derby between Cardiff Rugby and the Ospreys lived up to expectations. Cardiff were pushed all the way but secured a 24 to 21 home victory and can still dream of the playoffs. As for the Swansea based side, they do not come away from the week empty handed. Despite the defeat, the Ospreys have finally received confirmation that the team will exist at least until 2028.

Life has been anything but smooth for Ospreys supporters. Since the start of the season, uncertainty over the club’s future has disrupted the daily lives of players, staff, and followers of Welsh rugby. In the short term, however, the situation has become clearer. The Welsh Rugby Union, which currently owns Cardiff Rugby, is looking to reduce the number of professional regions in order to restore its finances and strengthen national competitiveness.

With this in mind, it had spent several months considering selling Cardiff to the Y11 group, owners of the Ospreys. Such a move would likely have led to a merger between the two entities and almost certainly the disappearance of the Swansea based club, as it seems unthinkable to deprive Cardiff, seen as the epicentre of Welsh rugby, of its professional team. However, the WRU announced on Wednesday that negotiations had collapsed due to financial and strategic disagreements, as well as strong public opposition to the disappearance of a historic club.

A relief for everyone at the club

At the same time, the Ospreys secured their medium term future by signing the new Professional Rugby Agreement 2026, a key financial deal with the WRU aimed at stabilising the economic model of Welsh regions.

As a result, the Ospreys are now guaranteed to exist until 2028 after a long year of uncertainty. This period has left its mark on the squad and made head coach Mark Jones proud : “Staff and players have made a big impression as people in this situation. You have seen it all season. With everything going on, everybody got closer together. It has been a privilege to see them come together like they have.”

This resilience has also been evident on the pitch. On Friday night, the Ospreys trailed 24 to 7 and spent most of the match a man down following a 20 minute red card for Daniel Kasende, along with two yellow cards for Owen Watkin and Dan Edwards. Yet they never gave up. Despite having nothing left to play for in the league, they fought back to 24 to 21 and even had a match winning opportunity in the 80th minute, lost due to a knock on.

Asked about the link between off field uncertainty and on field performances, Dan Edwards preferred to focus on the game : “We have just concentrated on what we can control, not what others decide. At least we had some positive news for the club earlier this week, and we hope that continues. But we need to keep working without being distracted by outside noise.” That approach seems to be working for the Welsh fly half, who delivered an outstanding performance with a try and an assist after a brilliant individual effort.

However, it was not enough to overcome Cardiff, where priorities are very different. The capital’s side is focused on reaching the United Rugby Championship playoffs for the first time in its history and securing qualification for the Champions Cup next season. Cardiff rose to the occasion in front of a packed crowd at Cardiff Arms Park with 12036 spectators.

The home side relied on forward power to make the difference, with tries from Rory Thornton, Liam Belcher, and Daniel Thomas. The latter, outstanding especially in defence with 12 tackles, was named man of the match and helped his team secure their first home win against the Ospreys since 2007.

Cardiff now have two matches left to secure a playoff spot. To do so, victory will almost certainly be required away in Scotland against Glasgow and then at home against the Stormers. “It is a huge opportunity,” said second row Rory Thornton in a press conference. Now they just have to seize it.

Léo Billard

Picture : Tom Delourme / Sport W