ALEX BYWATER: Welsh players need clarity over their futures as they have bills to pay and families

Wales’ opening two performances in the Six Nations have been more than disappointing, but the impact of contractual uncertainty behind the scenes on the displays is now clear.

To learn a player in Warren Gatland’s national squad has been taking antidepressants during the Championship to cope with the anxiety caused by his future being up in the air is shocking.

If that – and the comments given to Sportsmail by players on the ongoing issue of a lack of clarity on Welsh rugby’s budgetary issues – can’t shock the game’s authorities into action, then nothing will.

The Welsh Rugby Union has had a nightmare start to 2023 on and off the field. There are a whole host of issues for it to sort out. But unless there can be clarity given to its players on their futures in the coming weeks, there won’t be a game left. A mass exodus of players looks imminent.

As things stand, out-of-contract players in Welsh rugby cannot officially sign new deals until the governing body agrees a new budgetary agreement with its four professional regions.

Even if that does happen, there is now simply less money around in Welsh rugby than there has been in the past. The players are the ones paying the price. They have, understandably, had enough of all the uncertainty. Many of them will be out of work in the summer unless things change quickly.

That is why they will soon discuss the possibility of strike action ahead of Wales’ Six Nations clash with England in Cardiff a week on Saturday.

All parties involved will hope it doesn’t have to come to that. But the fact it is even being mooted is a sad reflection of what is a sorry state of affairs.

So, what is the solution? To say interim WRU chief executive Nigel Walker has a lot on his plate is a significant understatement, but one of his main priorities must be to get the budgetary deal done as soon as possible. It will already be too late to stop some players leaving, but it would be a start.

Renegotiating the repayment structure of the Welsh Government Covid-19 loan which went to the four regions would also help significantly. It is worth pointing out Wales is the only British rugby nation with a loan from the pandemic still hanging around its neck.

In the background, the players are the ones in limbo. They are the ones feeling the squeeze. There is an acceptance among Welsh rugby’s players that there is less money to go around.

They accept salary cuts are likely to a degree. Sportsmail has learned of high-profile Welsh players who would be willing to leave the game and move abroad if it ensures three or four others can stay.

Whatever the state of play, they want clarity first and you can’t blame them for that. It is no use to players in Wales now to have the possibility to discuss conditional offers. They need firm decisions to be made. They might be professional athletes, but like anyone else they have bills to pay and families to think of. If your employer told you an extension to your already-expiring contract would be forthcoming but it wasn’t officially there yet, you would probably look elsewhere for security.

It is only human nature. That is the situation Welsh players are in and it comes at a time when the country’s best are supposed to be concentrating on the 2023 Six Nations.

It’s no surprise it is proving a huge distraction.

‘Must be nice knowing you can still provide for your kids in about four months,’ Cardiff and Wales centre Uilisi Halaholo posted on Twitter on Tuesday, summing up the whole farcical situation nicely. 

‘Especially when you get injured putting your body on the line for your club. Now you got less chance of trying to get a contract somewhere to provide for your family because of injury.

‘Mental health is real. Stay strong.’

Frankly, the players deserve better.