The Scarlets management fielded questions from concerned fans on Tuesday night

11:35, 21 Aug 2025Updated 18:03, 21 Aug 2025

The Scarlets management face the fans on Tuesday night(Image: Riley Sports Photography)

When 200 Scarlets fans packed into the Quinnell lounge at Parc y Scarlets, new investor Kirsti Jane Baker was asked whether the Llanelli-based club would consider a merger with arch rivals the Ospreys.

“We are only focused on Scarlets playing at Parc y Scarlets, playing in red and being called the Scarlets,” exclaimed the House of Luxury CEO in response to a question surrounding the Welsh Rugby Union’s preference of halving the number of professional clubs in Wales. It was met by a raucous round of applause by a room full of die hard Scarlets fans.

Baker’s response evoked memories of former Scarlets CEO Stuart Gallacher who fought tooth and nail to ensure professional rugby remained in Llanelli 22 years ago when former Welsh Rugby Union CEO David Moffett – who is now involved with HOL – attempted to push through regionalisation in 2003 with a reduction to five teams.

One plan mooted was a potential merger between Llanelli and Swansea – the bitterest of rivals on and off the field – which allegedly prompted Gallacher to say in a meeting with the WRU they would consider it as long as the team was based in Llanelli, was called Llanelli and played in red.

Those running the Scarlets in this day and age have an even bigger fight on their hands.

To be clear, the forum was held a day before the WRU officially announced its optimal solution including a reduction to two teams, but WalesOnline’s exclusive story had dropped an hour before the meeting began.

There was a nervous but defiant feel in the air at Parc y Scarlets.

Fans who have followed the Scarlets and Llanelli RFC previously – some for over 50 years – are genuinely concerned the biggest passion in their lives is about to be extinguished for good. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

No surprise then the majority of questions centred around whether the Scarlets would survive the upcoming structural change.

Chairman Simon Muderack and managing director Jon Daniels were both optimistic about the Scarlets’ chances.

HOL CEO Kirsti Jane Baker addresses Scarlets fans(Image: Riley Sports Photography)

Muderack was adamant the Scarlets “are up for a fight” while Daniels emphasised his confidence that the investment from HOL would help the club enjoy a prosperous future.

But Muderack was clear that structural change in Welsh rugby is necessary, but the Scarlets would score favourably if there was a reduction in teams and decisions had to be made on who stays.

“What I would say is if you look at the past five, six or seven years when we were trying to run the game with four clubs, two clubs went bankrupt,” he said.

“So, that tells you finances do not support four teams.

“So, it is highly unlikely the answer going forward is going to be four teams. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free

“Is it going to be one? No, it’s not going to be one.

“Is it going to be two or is it going to be three? That is going to be worked through.

“What I would say is I’ll come back to the strengths of this club. As we go through this process those will be the things that we talk about.

“Those underpin why you would consider this club to be part of a potential two-club solution if that is where we end up going.

“All of us want successful clubs and a successful team Wales. None of us want to watch a Lions series on TV again with only one Welsh player.

“We have to accept the economic society and reality about what we are trying to achieve from a performance perspective.”

Muderack was confident the Scarlets could thrive if they could survive the structural changes.

“The union needs to show leadership but some of that leadership needs to be driven by the supporters,” he said.

“Your voice and how you represent that over the next few months is critical.

“I do believe if we get through this successfully, which we will, we can position ourselves favourably.

“We need change, investment and support.”

There have been many questions asked of the credibility of HOL since getting on board and assuming the Scarlets’ liabilities.

One thing which has been queried is the fact HOL are based out of Montana, with very little information available available online. You can read about what is known here.

Scarlets chair Simon Muderack fields questions(Image: Riley Sports Photography)

This was put to Baker on the night by one supporter.

“The Montana side of things is purely because there’s things we can do in Montana from a privacy aspect that is very important to our clients,” she explained.

“There’s nothing more to it and there’s nothing interesting in it. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.

“That’s why it’s there.

“We don’t have an issue with showing anything.

“As a company we do our due diligence about 10 times a day.

“We can’t do anything without due diligence. It’s part of our everyday life.

“As a company we have closed just shy of £6bn in deals in the quarter one and quarter 2 of 2025. We are one of the fastest growing companies in the United States of America.

“We have to provide audited accounts, we have to provide tax records and everything in between.

“In a nutshell we sell very expensive things to people who have lots of money and we are not shy of business.”

Muderack fielded a question about rugby’s new rebel league, R360, and was of the opinion it could be a catalyst for positive change in the game.

Baker touched on the branding of Welsh rugby and emphasised her admiration for the FAW with regards the way it has embraced Wales’ culture and language.

When asked again about a potential merger with Ospreys she was of the opinion mergers rarely work, although there were a few examples in US sport.

A handful of fans expressed their disdain for the way the WRU have treated the four professional clubs over a number of years, while Muderack confirmed Dave Reddin has been invited down to Parc y Scarlets for discussions.

While the club is determined to win its upcoming fight Daniels was quick to stress the part supporters could play in determining the outcome.

As the Q&A section drew to a close a section of the room burst into song with Sospan Fach reverberating around the room.

The future of the Scarlets is on the line once again but judging by Tuesday night’s performance those running the club and its fans will not give up without an almighty fight.