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The high-flying Welsh club are confident they can retain their talent ahead of next season despite Welsh rugby’s ongoing uncertainty
Cardiff are confident of keeping hold of their best players ahead of next season, following the departure of Wales captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake from the Ospreys.
The ongoing uncertainty within Welsh rugby is taking its toll on player recruitment ahead of next year, with Morgan and Lake unlikely to be the last players to leave Welsh rugby amid the Welsh Rugby Union’s plan to go down from four teams to three. Cardiff’s position, given they are based in the capital and are owned by the union after going into administration, perhaps isn’t as stark as the Ospreys or Scarlets – especially as neither club signed up to the new Professional Rugby Agreement.
However, with Welsh rugby rife with a lack of clarity, keeping hold of players is going to be a difficult task for all of the four professional clubs.
There are around 80 players in Wales out of contract ahead of next season.
Wales internationals Josh Adams and Taulupe Faletau are two players whose current deals run out at the Arms Park at the end of the current season.
The Blue and Blacks have managed to hold onto the pair in recent years, despite both being linked with moves away.
The delay to rebel league R360 arguably helps any bid to keep both, with both having been linked with the Mike Tindall-backed breakaway.
With Cardiff flying high in the United Rugby Championship, sitting second in the table, head coach Corniel van Zyl is confident the club can keep hold of their best players.
“On our side, not to get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s really positive in terms of trying to keep hold of the players we currently have,” he said.
“We are in a very good space and I just believe we need to give people certainty when there is uncertainty with everything that is going around.
“We will wait and see what happens going forward, but at least for the next few months or year they will have certainty and we will see then what the future holds.
“Retention is the most important thing, to try and hold onto the players that we currently have, and that is really positive at the moment.”
Speaking about the loss of Morgan and Lake from Welsh rugby, van Zyl admitted it was a blow to the game as a whole in this country to lose two players who have both captained Wales on numerous occasions.
“Not only for Ospreys but for Wales it was a tough one to take,” he said.
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