The Ospreys have issued a defiant message after holding initial talks with Cardiff Rugby over a potential merger, claiming they are "carrying on as usual" as speculation around the region's future intensifies.
The Swansea club's majority owners Y11 Sport have been involved in exploratory discussions with Cardiff bosses amid Welsh rugby's ongoing financial difficulties, with senior figures concerned that there is simply not enough money to continue to fund four regions.
While the proposal is far from a done deal, some of those involved in the talks are reportedly pushing for any change to be carried out by the beginning of the season. If agreed, it would see the merged team play at Cardiff Arms Park with Ospreys not the owners of their own stadium.
But the Ospreys have broken their silence over the matter by insisting there are no plans for them to move and they are preparing as normal for the new season.
An article published in The Rugby Paper on Sunday, carrying the headline ''Ospreys: We are not going anywhere', quotes an anonymous club source in claiming it remains business as usual.
"We at the Ospreys are cracking for next season as normal," the source is quoted as saying. "The players are back in training and our recruitment has worked out almost as we wanted. We still have some more to do.
"Michael Collins was offered a new deal but he's decided to go to Japan. As for everybody else, we're carrying on as usual."
Another anonymous source told the publication: "There have been conversations with Cardiff about trying to help them but they are in a very poor state. It’s such a mess. That makes any talks about a merger sound implausible. From a business perspective, it doesn’t make any obvious sense. It’s so far-fetched."
The defiant claims come after Wales rugby legend Jonathan 'Jiffy' Davies suggested the talks could spell the end for the Ospreys if the merger comes to fruition.
After slamming the situation as "totally ridiculous," Jiffy tweeted: "This is not a merger. This is Y11 jumping ship and Ospreys gone".
Y11 Sport, who hold a 75.1 percent shareholding in the region and took over three years ago, are understood to have also held talks with Ealing Trailfinders and other clubs earlier this year, with the investment group open to increasing their stake in professional rugby.
Those discussions came to nothing, although the Asia-based sports marketing group said it would continue "to develop a strategy of multi-club ownership and develop a commercial ecosystem that will benefit all clubs within the group of clubs."
