Neath to be thrown out of the Welsh Premiership?

There seems to be a lot of rumours floating around locally that Neath are about to be expelled from the Welsh Premiership. It's no secret that they have been struggling to pay a big tax bill, but it seems they may have now admitted defeat and will be relegated as a result.

Sad times for a great club if this is true,

Why cant the WRU help them out? Theyve done it for Llanelli for the past 20 years. Why not Neath

The last thing the WRU needs to be doing is to bail out bankrupt clubs, they got themselves into a massive mess already by doing that.

This mess is down to Geraint Hawkes and his plan to set NEath up as it's own region. As well as paying players far more than the club could possibly generate.

I thought Neath were loaded to be honest as it was all part of the whole francise with the Scorpions RL and Neath FC all playing at the Gnoll all part of the empire

Can't feel too sympathetic if that stuff about Hawkes and yet another regional debacle is true. I do feel sorry for those clubs with the all too familiar board of greedy yet clueless directors and executives.

End of the day just another group trying to cut themselves more cake than they're capable of chewing.

So is this benefactor behind the break from the Os?

There was a time when Neath were offering more money than the Ospreys and as a result none of the Neath players were playing for their region.

This is sad news for a team that has really dominated welsh club rugby post regionalism. Real shame that the whole Cuddy/Hawkes issues could bring down a side like Neath.

( Steff - I think WRU did step in to help NEath out in the past, didn't they buy the Gnoll? (I could be wrong, but the WRU have rescued a few different sides over the years). )

If the thing about wages being higher then O's then they deserve to go to the wall.

Sad for the club followers but they would have to have know it was wrong.

The WRU could bail them out, but I think they would have to take it out of the Prem funding, and that wouldn't go down well,

I think all the clubs should go back to being totally amateur and owned by the fans as members.

There is just not the finances for this sort of thing and there is an inevitability about what will happen to these clubs eventually. The classic being paying wages but not paying over the tax and national insurance from those wages.

It would be dire if Neath are thrown out of the Prem and would be a shocking case of mismanagement - it'll also be another nail in the coffin of the Valleys Rugby business plan, but that's another aside.

If it is true that they were paying regional wages to their players then it's shocking and does make you ask if maybe the WRU could have stepped in - but either way I truely hope they can be saved, and get a competent board of directors in

Where would the disenfranchised Neath fans go ?

(Lights blue touch paper and retires)

I'm not sure they were paying regional wages but they certainly were able to attract players on the fringes of regional squads of ex-internationals that were past playing for regions.

In Ireland the IRFU ruled that the club has to be completely amenture with the exception of two pros. If the WRU can not do that then they have to put a salary cap in place to ensure this doesn't happen again.
A bit of money and something for the young players to expire to with no need for excessive spending.

Be a shame in Neath go under. A lot of history. I know the backer went under, a shame as well.