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Wales Online
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Steffan Thomas

The transfers Wales' four regions will target over the coming weeks to fill the gaps

Wales' four professional sides have six months to wait until they play a competitive game of rugby again, but rest assured they will already be planning for next season.

To say times are tough in Wales would be an understatement with all four regions having to cut their playing budgets down to £5.2million next season, while wages have been slashed, making it difficult to recruit players externally.

Nevertheless, a new six-year financial deal has been signed with the Welsh Rugby Union meaning each region will be busy trying to put the best squad possible together ahead of next season's United Rugby Championship.

READ MORE: Meet Tomi Lewis, the Welsh rugby speedster returning to Wales who Shane Williams is really excited about

We take a close look at where each side needs to strengthen and what they'll go after:

Cardiff

Times really are tough in the Welsh capital with the effects of this new period of austerity being felt more acutely at the Arms Park.

Cardiff have a number of players who were a part of the now defunct National Squad 38, whereby 80% of a Wales player's wages were effectively paid with extra money from the Welsh Rugby Union. Regions now have to honour existing Wales stars' deals themselves, meaning there is little money left to spend on others.

Many key players like Dillon Lewis and Jarrod Evans have left Cardiff for pastures new, with the club unable to offer them favourable terms to stay. Realistically, Cardiff won't be able to afford any big names and are going to have to scour the market for any bargains within their price range.

One area where they simply cannot go into next season without strengthening is outside-half, given they have lost Evans to Harlequins while veteran playmaker Rhys Priestland has retired.

Both Ben Thomas and Matthew Morgan have slotted in at No. 10 in the past but neither would call it their favoured position, while academy prospect Harri Wilde is one for the future.

Cardiff were hopeful of signing South African Tinus de Beer from Currie Cup outfit the Pumas but this has been blocked by the WRU. You can read the full details on that here.

Elsewhere, with Lewis following Evans to Harlequins and Dmitri Arhip also exiting, they could do with an extra body at tighthead to share the load with new Wales squad members Kieran Assirratti and Will Davies-King. Wales-qualified Harlequins prop Rhys Litterick has been rumoured as a potential target, while they are in need of a centre given Max Llewellyn, Rey Lee-Lo and Willis Halaholo have all left.

Another problem Cardiff have is who leads the recruitment given director of rugby Dai Young is currently suspended.

Dragons RFC

To their credit, the Dragons have made a good fist of recruitment so far with veteran Wales blindside Dan Lydiate returning to the club having been released by the Ospreys, while Scarlets pair Dane Blacker and Corey Baldwin have also signed up. All three are decent signings who should strengthen the club on and off the field but more is needed to make the Dragons competitive.

The Dragons have some wriggle room in their budget after they failed to retain Wales international Ross Moriarty, who will be plying his trade in the second tier of French rugby next season for Brive.

With Rob Evans being shown the exit door, head coach Dai Flanagan has promised to strengthen his front-row, while they also need new recruits in the back-five of the scrum.

The loss of Will Rowlands to mega-rich French outfit Racing 92 will be keenly felt at Rodney Parade, and ideally they need to replace him as they are looking a bit light at lock. Cory Hill would be a perfect signing for the men of Gwent but whether he would want to return to Rodney Parade is another matter entirely.

The Dragons pack needs to go up a few gears if they are to climb up the URC table next season.

Ospreys

Despite the financial constraints in Welsh rugby, the Ospreys should still have the strongest squad in Wales next season.

Head coach Toby Booth hit the nail firmly on the head when a matter of weeks ago he said the Ospreys were more of a cup team than a league team, which was proved by their victories over Montpellier and Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup. When they can get their best team on the park they are a match for anyone but, understandably given the cut in playing budgets, they lack strength in depth.

With experienced outside-halves Gareth Anscombe and Stephen Myler leaving, there will be a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Owen Williams next season, although Jack Walsh is a capable deputy.

Where the Ospreys could really do with recruiting is outside centre, given George North will be away with Wales for large parts of the season. They do have the underrated Owen Watkin but they need to find more creativity in midfield.

Booth has by far the strongest pack in Wales to work with, and it was a significant boost to retain the services of destructive scrummaging loosehead Nicky Smith who at one point looked set to sign for an English club.

Morgan Morris will yet again be a key player, but they could do with an explosive ball-carrying No. 8 to compliment his skills.

Scrum-half is also a problem position with Rhys Webb expected to leave and Harri Morgan taking a break from rugby.

Scarlets

Many players have already departed Parc y Scarlets but head coach Dwayne Peel has worked hard to develop the next generation of player in west Wales. The likes of Kemsley Mathias, Joe Roberts, Sam Wainwright, Tom Rogers and Sam Costelow have all come to the fore but there remain areas which are in need of strengthening.

It doesn't take a rugby genius to work out the pack needs some work. Tongan pair Sam Lousi and Vaea Fifita are among the best players in the URC but there is a school of thought down west that Fifita would be better served at blindside.

The Scarlets have struggled to replace former Wales lock Jake Ball, and are in need of an enforcer in the second-row who can do the hard yards in the tight to compliment the skillful Lousi.

Considering they have lost Aaron Shingler, Blade Thomson, Sione Kalamafoni and Tomas Lezana from the back-row this is an area which also needs a bit of work. Peel has already confirmed they won't be recruiting at No. 8, with Carwyn Tuipulotu expected to get given a chance to fill the void left by Kalamafoni, while Josh Macleod can also fill in here.

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