00:00Since Rugby Union went professional in 1995, the game in Wales and England has relied heavily on wealthy benefactors.
00:09Figures such as Peter Thomas, Rob Davis, Mike Cuddy, Hugh Evans and Tony Brown have kept clubs afloat, often funding survival rather than success.
00:19It is a flawed model, but without them, there might not have been a professional game in Wales at all.
00:25Now the Welsh Rugby Union is pushing for radical reform.
00:30Its proposed optimal structure would cut the number of professional clubs from four to two, placing rugby operations under tight central control.
00:40This week, the WIU begins formal consultation, but still the plan depends on £17 million of private investment over five years,
00:49creating tension that the WIU want complete control on rugby matters.
00:54A tough pitch for investors who traditionally back teams out of loyalty.
01:00The risk is obvious. Many long-term investors only support clubs they feel attached to and would not necessarily fund new entities created through mergers or rebranding.
01:11As WIU Performance Director Dave Reddard admitted, some current investors may simply walk away.
01:17Finances add to the puzzle under the professional rugby agreement offered before these changes.
01:25The WIU pledged £120 million under the new model.
01:29The commitment is just £94 million.
01:32A £26 million pay gap from the men's team and rising costs from the women's game and national facilities.
01:38But it raises questions of trust.
01:41The stakes are huge.
01:42A reduction to two clubs in the United Rugby Championship risks aliating sponsors, benefactors and fans, while a legal challenge or even strike cannot be ruled out.
01:54Supporters argue that only an Anglo-Welsh league could justify such drastic change.
01:59The WIU is walking a tightrope without the buy-in of existing benefactors.
02:05Their so-called optimal solution could collapse before it begins, leaving Welsh professional rugby weaker than ever before.
02:13The WIU is walking a tightrope without the
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