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'Gutted' Shane Williams' emotional social media post on Ospreys possible extinction

Shane Williams in action for the Ospreys. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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Wales and Ospreys legend Shane Williams has taken to Instagram to show his disappointment at the news of a merger between his former club and the Scarlets.

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The Ospreys’ highest try-scorer said that he would be “gutted if we lose this identity”, as well as sharing a video of the Ospreys over the years. This is what he posted:

It is clear that the former World Player of the Year Williams has a lot of pride in the Welsh region, a side that he would have been part of during their formation in 2003. This was part of the major restructuring of Welsh rugby at the beginning of the century, which has then seen the Ospreys have a fair amount of success, winning the Pro14 four times since then. Williams highlights the work that has gone into making the club.

However, Williams, like many other former players, may have resigned to the fact that this will go ahead, as the Welsh Rugby Union seeks a major overhaul of their regional structure. This would see the new merger get the same funding as the Cardiff Blues, while the Dragons and a new team from north Wales would receive less.

Williams played 141 times for the Ospreys, scoring 57 tries, and he will certainly not be the only former or current player disappointed by this news, as many more will surely voice their opinion.

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Phantom 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Fact: the gap between the North and the South has narrowed considerably - that I get. However, determining that only selecting only Home grown players or playing in the home country is is the optimal strategy is a bit of a toss up and highly reliant on the economies of the home union. I do understand that England and to a lesser degree Ireland selects home based only. The top 14 is a massive threat to their domestic product. France would probably not be affected (the money is at home). Fiji, Argentina, Samoa, Italy and you could even argue Scotland have only benefitted from this. Their players either go overseas to learn at higher levels (Fiji, Samoa, Argentina) or players coming into their leagues to strengthen the home product and their National teams (Scotland, Italy, Japan).

South Africa used to limit its selection to the home based players, but the reality of a weak currency vs what players could earn oversees meant that you lost access to your best players at some stage of their careers, with very few exceptions. Kolbe left SA as he was considered too small for International Rugby (yes coaches/selectors view), but ironically in France he forced selectors to notice his endeavors and select him. He is only reaching 50 caps now despite being north of 30 - granted rotation and the odd injury also played a role, but for the most part it is having debuted or becoming a regular so late.



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