Warren Gatland has opposed plans to cut a Welsh region and revealed the stark warning he gave the WRU board during his successful first spell

Former Wales head coach Warren Gatland says he would be against the Welsh Rugby Union's plans to cut the number of professional teams if he were still Wales coach, while revealing he repeatedly warned the governing body's board that serious problems were being masked by the national team's success.

Gatland believes Wales should have four regions to maximise the number of players available for international selection, warning that reducing the professional game to three teams would have significant consequences for the national side.

The WRU intends to reduce the number of men's professional teams from four to three ahead of the 2028/29 season, with a final decision on which team will be axed due no later than the end of the current campaign.

Thursday's publication of the WRU's annual accounts revealed a huge £18m loss, with chief financial officer Gavin Marshall insisting the game in Wales simply can't afford four teams going forward.

The proposals have sparked considerable uncertainty across Welsh rugby, with the futures of Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets all under scrutiny. Currently, one of the two west Wales sides will go in 2028.

And Gatland, who enjoyed unprecedented success during his first spell in charge of Wales, has made it clear that he would not support such a reduction from an international coach's perspective.

Speaking to BoyleSports, the New Zealander said: "If you asked me as a national coach, would I want to go from four to three? No, I wouldn't. You want as much choice as you possibly can have around players in terms of selection and availability.

"I've always said about the number of foreign players, if you're going down to three teams, what are the number of foreign players in the squad going to be?

"I think quality foreigners can help a team in terms of experience, winning games, being great examples for the youngsters coming through, but I think they need to look at the numbers of those foreign players in the squad."

Under the WRU's plan to invest millions into a new pathway, the number of foreign players would be slashed.

Gatland's preference for four regions does not mean he is not in favour of change. He previously outlined his plan for Welsh rugby, saying the Ospreys and Scarlets should merge, while a new pro team in north Wales should be formed. He also believes Welsh rugby must think outside the box and not be so parochial.

The former Lions boss, who this week denied going in for the job as Fiji head coach, believes the consequences of reducing the number of professional teams would extend beyond simply having fewer opportunities for Welsh-qualified players.

He suggested the WRU would also need to reconsider its eligibility rules and potentially abolish 'Gatland's law' of 25 caps, arguing that restricting the ability of players based outside Wales to represent their country would become increasingly difficult to justify if domestic opportunities were reduced.

"The pathways, the academies and stuff, that becomes really important," he continued.

"And then if you're going down to three teams, you probably need to scrap the law in terms of players having to play in Wales to be selected, because as a coach you wouldn't have that choice.

"You need players then playing outside of Wales and you'd probably be looking at the Scotland model, where you're encouraging some of your best players to be going to play for the top teams in Europe, and that's saving you money and then you're helping bring some of the youngsters through the system."

Gatland also revealed that he had warned the WRU board about the underlying problems facing Welsh rugby during his hugely successful first spell as national coach.

Between 2007 and 2019, Gatland guided Wales to four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and two World Cup semi-finals.

But he now admits that the success of that generation helped conceal deeper structural issues which he feared would eventually catch up with the Welsh game.

"I had that generation of players that came through and when you lose one or two, you bring one or two in and the transition becomes easy," he explained.

"But on a number of occasions at board meetings I did say, 'Look, we're just plugging a hole in the ship. When the dam bursts it's going to take a long time.'

"There were issues underneath and issues behind that needed to be addressed, and unfortunately, we were probably covering them up."

Gatland acknowledged that the financial demands on the WRU have become increasingly difficult to balance, with resources stretched across the professional, community, women's and age-grade games.

"It's difficult because everything's spread so thinly now," he added. "You've got the community game, the women's programme, the U20s, the academies, funding the four regions.

"If you don't get crowds and you're not successful, it's going to be tough."

Gatland returned for a second spell in charge of Wales in December 2022, but his tenure ended during the 2025 Six Nations amid a disastrous run of results and growing unrest surrounding the team.

Reflecting on his departure, he revealed that the relentless negativity surrounding Welsh rugby had ultimately taken its toll.

"I'd like to go to France, or Japan, I'd think about something like that," he said of his coaching future.

"I've been lucky and rugby has been brilliant to me. It's given me and my family great opportunities. Yes, we've made lots of sacrifices by being apart and doing things and being away from family and friends and those sorts of things.

"And that's kind of the reason that when I left Wales, I just woke up one day and said, 'Look, I've just had enough of the negativity. I don't need this in my life at the moment.'"

Despite the circumstances surrounding his exit, Gatland insisted he remains desperate to see Welsh rugby recover.

He believes that rebuilding the national side must begin with establishing stronger foundations throughout the domestic game, particularly at academy and age-grade level.

"There's been a lot of issues there, not just with rugby, but a lot of things with four regions potentially going down to three and the finances and people leaving," he said.

"It's a country with so much passion, so much history. You want them to be doing well, you want them to be successful, and hopefully they can get the right structures in place long term and people can have a bit of patience while they look to rebuild.

"And that has to be done through the age group stuff. You want the U18s and the U20s to be doing well and to be successful, and then hopefully that can transfer into the national side."