"It's been a tough week"- Jones confirms Ospreys owners are interested in purchasing fellow Welsh region

The WRU has now entered a period of exclusivity, with reports stating that an announcement could be made as early as next week.

This will ultimately see the WRU, whose chief executive Abi Tierney and chair Richard Collier-Keywood were in parliament on Wednesday afternoon, get to their chosen three professional teams.  

This came after months of speculation about which side would be on the brink of extinction, and the Ospreys players and coaches found out on Monday evening.

A statement was then released from the playing group, which stated they had been left in the dark by both the WRU and Y11. 

“It’s been a tough week,” said Ospreys head coach Mark Jones ahead of his side's meeting with the Lions in the United Rugby Championship (URC) on Friday evening in Bridgend. 

Ospreys players also did not train on Tuesday following the news, with WalesOnline reporting that some players even walked out of the meeting. 

“It was a busy day, as you can imagine, for lots of different reasons,” continued Jones. 

“It was a big rugby day planned, from a preparation point of view, and then obviously, with what broke late in the evening the night before, clearly the focus of the day had to be around addressing that.

Frustrations perhaps mounted after players and staff were told the Ospreys would be around for 18 months. That was especially the message when it came to playing at St Helen’s for the 2026/27 season.

The club are also signed up to a PRA agreement which runs to the summer of 2027. “That’s what we were told, yeah, and we’re carrying on as normal,” added Jones. 

After reaching the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup despite following two back-to-back defeats, Jones’ side return to URC action as they take on the Lions. 

On what has happened in the last 48 hours for the region has affected preparations, Jones added: “It’s certainly not something you plan into try and be high performance, that’s for sure.