The Welsh Rugby Union has hit back at Swansea Council after the authority published controversial notes from a private meeting about the future of the Ospreys.
The row erupted after the council released its account of a January meeting between council leaders, WRU chief executive Abi Tierney, and Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley.
According to the council’s notes, Bradley suggested there would be no professional Ospreys team playing at St Helen’s Rugby and Cricket Ground if a proposed takeover deal involving Cardiff Rugby went ahead.
But the WRU has now challenged the accuracy of the document, saying the meeting had been confidential and was never formally minuted.
In a statement issued on Friday, the governing body said:
“The WRU notes that Swansea Council has chosen to publish its purported minutes of a meeting with Abi Tierney and Lance Bradley on 21 January 2026. Our position has been clear and consistent throughout. This was a confidential meeting.”
The WRU added that the notes released by the council were “not an accurate reflection of what was said” and insisted Tierney had made that clear previously.
“It was not formally minuted – as Swansea Council themselves acknowledge. The notes are not an accurate reflection of what was said, and Abi Tierney has stated this throughout,” the statement continued.
“Indeed, her own comments on the notes – now published without her consent – make clear that she did not say what is purported. The WRU has behaved professionally and courteously throughout and has nothing further to add.”
The dispute comes amid a growing political storm over plans involving Cardiff Rugby, after proposals emerged that could see the club purchased by the Ospreys’ ownership group Y11 Sports & Media.
Swansea Council insists it had no alternative but to release its account of the meeting after Tierney said earlier this week that no decision had been taken about the future of the Ospreys.
Council leader Rob Stewart said those comments were “misleading”, prompting the authority to publish the notes in full.
The release of the document has intensified an already bitter row between the council and Welsh rugby’s governing body.
Swansea Bay News previously revealed what it described as “smoking gun” notes from the meeting, which suggested the Ospreys could effectively lose their future as a professional team at St Helen’s if the controversial deal goes ahead.
The council has also demanded Tierney resign over what it claims is a “duplicitous plot” surrounding the potential takeover.
Long-time Ospreys supporter and benefactor Rob Davies has also weighed into the debate, insisting Welsh rugby must retain four professional regions.
Swansea West MP Torsten Bell has also confronted the Welsh Rugby Union over the crisis.
The escalating war of words now leaves the future of the Ospreys – and the wider structure of professional rugby in Wales – hanging in the balance.
