Welsh rugby powerbrokers may have avoided a player strike by the skin of their teeth but the game in this country remains on a precipice.
A cancellation of this Saturday's Six Nations clash with England would have been catastrophic, costing the Welsh Rugby Union in the region of £10 million.
But while a player strike has been averted, Welsh rugby remains in a state of crisis with the next few months crucial to the future of the game in Wales.
READ MORE: The 22 players who can now leave Welsh rugby and still play for Wales after WRU rule change
WalesOnline take an in depth look at the problems which still need to be fixed:
Are there too many professional sides?
The Professional Rugby Board have been locked in negotiations over a new long-term funding deal since last summer.
Former WRU chief executive Steve Phillips was a big driver in those negotiations with the four regions unimpressed at the terms offered.
As a result of the stand-off, a freeze on offering new contracts has been put in place but this is set to be lifted next week.
WalesOnline understands the regions have now received a long-term document but are not optimistic about the direction the game is heading in.
The key question which needs addressing is whether Wales can sustain four professional sides or not. As it stands there is a strong argument Wales should go down to three regions.
Playing budgets are set to be £5.2 million next season before dropping to £4.5million.
The National Squad 38 is also a big problem. Under the current model the WRU pay for 80% of an NS38 players salary with the region picking up the remaining 20%.
Moving forward, the regions will have to honour the contracts of the NS38 players without the money to pay them meaning there's very little left to contract others.
When you consider United Rugby Championship rivals Leinster spend in the region of €10 million on their squad, it hits home how insufficient the Welsh figure is if they want to avoid becoming whipping boys, let alone compete.
One other point beyond the contracts is, as part of the new regional model, that a region could lose funding if they let a player who is in the "national interest 60" move on without having made "reasonable endeavours" to retain his services.
Prioritising contracts for players who are not Wales-qualified over Welsh players does not count as "reasonable endeavours" and any release fee for players heading outside of Wales would result in a pound-for-pound reduction in funding from the union.
Also, there is an argument the equality model doesn't work. The commercial opportunities in rugby lie in latter stage participation.
Consistently reaching the knockout stages of the Champions Cup leads to bigger crowds, prize money, along with a greater chance of attracting sponsors and investment, which ideally would trickle down into the central pot.
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A potential player exodus?
With the controversial 60-cap law getting lowered to 25 there are worries we could see an exodus of players out of Wales.
The reality is it is unlikely to be an exodus given the financial situation in England, while most sides already have full squads for next season.
Nevertheless, the cap law dropping to 25 opens the door for far more players to leave.
The likes of Dillon Lewis, Josh Navidi, Wyn Jones, Adam Beard, and Josh Adams could all leave Wales yet remain eligible for the national side.
This could cause issues with regards availability for training camps and negatively affect preparation for a test match.
But the players are in a difficult situation because of the financial situation in England with clubs not spending as much on wages as they used to due to the salary cap, while there are fewer spots for overseas players in France.
Regional debt and Project Light money?
Over the next few years Welsh rugby is going to aggressively cut costs which isn't good news for the players.
One of the biggest issues the players have with the WRU is the lack of investment into the regional game.
During Covid, the WRU took out a loan of £20m from Natwest on behalf of the regions which has now been refinanced meaning they will have to pay it all back over the next 20 years.
This means each region will have to pay back in the region of £270,000 per year with around £1million wiped off the playing budgets.
Is it time for the WRU to take on the debt itself by loaning against the Principality Stadium?
A number of WRU chief executives have refused to take on any risk but their lack of investment in the regional game and the development pathway has finally caught up with the national side.
While the regions cannot be absolved of blame - they have been guilty of wasting money in the past - the WRU needs to realise without its professional sides thriving the chances of success at test level drops significantly.
Also, there are question marks over how money from Project Light, which is the £51 million the WRU received from CVC for the Six Nations, has been spent. The players have asked the WRU to put this money into the professional arm of the game, but will they listen?
Player welfare and the fixed variable contracts
With regional budgets getting dramatically cut next season, squads could drop to as low as 34.
This has led to concerns over player welfare especially considering each region could lose between eight and 10 players to the Wales squad.
Given the injury rate is so high in professional rugby, there is a concern players could be rushed back too soon from injury while some academy players could be thrown in too early.
This is something which needs to be reconsidered. The players are also concerned about the performance-based elements of any future contracts.
Players are set to be offered the option between signing a fixed variable contract, or a fixed price contract.
In simple terms, a player could get the choice between signing a contract of £80,000 with no bonuses, or a contract of £70,000 which could potentially rise to £90,000 if he meets certain appearance or performance markers.
But with regional budgets pathetically low next season how can any player on a fixed variable contract have any confidence they will be able to meet any performance markers?
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Sexism allegations and external taskforce
The WRU has suffered serious reputational damage following allegations of a "toxic culture" of institutional sexism, misogyny, and racism.
An independent taskforce led by Dame Anne Rafferty has been set up to investigate these allegations. The group will be considering the period from 2017 to the present day, but the timeframe may change depending on the evidence that comes to light.
The taskforce will consider behaviour at all levels of the sporting organisation, how comfortable staff feel raising concerns or challenging inappropriate and discriminatory language and behaviour, the effectiveness of the WRU's whistleblowing policies and procedures, and action taken by the WRU in response to the concerns raised in the BBC investigation.
Modernising the WRU board
The WRU has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for Sunday, March 26, after putting forward a number of radical proposals to modernise.
Among the proposed changes either the new chair or the chief executive must be female while the board must comprise of five women.
The WRU also want to increase the number of independent non executive directors onto the board from three to six while also reducing the number of elected national or district members, elected from the WRU Council, from eight to four.
These will be put forward at the EGM but will need 75% of clubs to vote in favour for it to pass.
If it doesn't pass the clubs, this would have significant ramifications for the WRU and the game in Wales as a whole.
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