Today's rugby news as Wales set to host English matches in Cardiff for years to come

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, December 4.

English Premiership plan for Cardiff

The Welsh Rugby Union are planning to host an English Premiership match in Cardiff every season for years to come, while the number of autumn internationals is expected to return to four from next year.

Bristol Bears will host Bath at the Principality Stadium in May - the first time a top-flight English league game has been held at the stadium. And it is understood the hope and expectation is that this will be become an annual feature on the Principality Stadium's schedule.

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Such fixtures are part of the WRU's plan to increase revenue amid difficult financial times, with a fourth home autumn international also expected next season after just three this year. One of those fixtures will be against New Zealand in 2025 - the first time the two sides would have met since 2022.

The plan is also to continue with the annual Judgement Day event at the stadium, while it is hoped the iconic venue will also host four major concerts every year going forward, on top of multiple motorsport events, such as the popular speedway. Music giants Oasis are already booked in to perform the opening two nights of their world comeback tour in Cardiff next summer.

The Principality is Welsh rugby's biggest asset and utilising its iconic status to host a variety of events will be key to financial success going forward as the entire sport struggles to balance the books.

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RFU council meeting called

By PA Sport Staff

A Rugby Football Union council meeting has been convened before Christmas amid a continued outcry over pay and bonuses, the PA news agency understands.

The governing body’s annual report, that includes accounts for the year until June 30, 2024, showed a record operating loss for the organisation of £37.9million.

It also revealed that RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney is being paid a combined salary and bonus of £742,000, as well as a one-off sum of £358,000, lifting the total to £1.1m.

Other executive directors shared a bonus approaching £1m, with the revelations sparking anger in many quarters.

Details of the bonus payments came little more than two months after the RFU announced that 42 members of staff were being made redundant due to financial losses it described as “unsustainable”.

The RFU board, at a pre-planned meeting on Tuesday, discussed and agreed that an informal meeting of the council would be called to allow conversations in a calm and considered fashion regarding the annual report.

It is understood that due to the meeting’s informal status, no votes will be cast.

Council members could spark an emergency RFU meeting if sufficient support is gained for a vote of no confidence in the RFU leadership.

Sweeney’s salary is an 8.5 per cent increase over 12 months after he was paid £684,000 in 2023.

He has made no public comment since the report was published, but high-profile English rugby figures such as England’s 2003 World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward and former RFU chief executive Francis Baron have been among those to condemn his financial package.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the headlines that he was paid a total of £1.1m for the last financial year,” Woodward told the Daily Mail.

“I repeat, I would have no issue with Sweeney taking home such a sum if the RFU were performing to the best of their ability on and off the field.

“But, simply put, they are not. And that makes Sweeney’s salary incredibly difficult to understand.

“I can’t be the only one who thinks it is an insult to the wider English rugby public at a time when our great game continues to struggle with financial issues.”

Saracens look to bounce back from shock

By Andrew Baldock, PA Rugby Union Correspondent

Mark McCall says Saracens have a chance to “react and respond” following their defeat at Newcastle when they face opening Investec Champions Cup opponents the Bulls.

Saracens host the South African heavyweights on Saturday after a 17-12 loss to Newcastle that saw Falcons climb off the Premiership basement.

McCall has now lost centre Alex Lozowski due to a hamstring injury that forced him off just before half-time, but Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Nick Isiekwe and Ben Earl are all available following England’s Autumn Nations Series campaign.

“It was a very disappointing performance, and we have discussed why,” Saracens rugby director McCall said.

“It is the first kind of major bump in the road for this group, to be honest. It has been the exception and not the rule.

“A number of things didn’t go the way we wanted them to. We have been fantastic all season at dealing with that, getting on with the next thing with a clear head, but we weren’t able to do that.

“We have been absolutely delighted with the fight and spirit this group have shown all year. We have got an opportunity to react and respond against the Bulls.”

Saracens went down 27-16 to the Bulls in Pretoria during last season’s Champions Cup, but they have home advantage this time around at the start of a pool phase that also sees McCall’s team face Stade Francais, Munster and Castres.

“The Bulls are a heck of a proposition,” he added.

“They have a lot of Springboks in their team, they are very well coached and they are going to be a big challenge.

“They have got a strong record on the road, especially this season. I think they have won four away from home in the URC (United Rugby Championship), and we know they are going to go full-strength as well.

“It is about us a little bit. We want to respond to the setback we had on Friday in the right way.

“South African rugby is on a real high at the moment. Their national team has been phenomenal, and we know what a big challenge this is going to be. It is a good test of where we are at.

“They have got a great set-piece, an incredibly clever kicking game, and are a big danger on the outside.

“You put all that together, and you have got a pretty good team, but we have got a pretty good team ourselves and we are looking forward to matching up against them.”