Welsh rugby is about to enter a new era, but the same old problems remain. Over the past 15 years Welsh rugby has struggled to compete financially with wealthier nations such as England, France and more recently Ireland. In the early years of regional rugby Wales' four professional sides - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - were in a far stronger financial position where they could afford to sign top- end talent from the southern hemisphere but they are way off in the current climate. Welsh Rugby Union CEO Abi Tierney faced the music this week in the wake of Wales' humiliating 68-14 defeat to England at the Principality Stadium. Inevitably the topic of reducing the number of professional teams and a tiered funding model was on the agenda. The WRU and its professional clubs have agreed a new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) which is set to be officially announced in the near future. Under the new PRA the salary cap, which is currently £4.5m, will go up as follows: FY25 - £4.6m FY26 - £5.1m FY27 - £6.6m FY 28 - £6.7m FY29 - £6.8m Each club is permitted two marquee players above the cap, while academy players are not included in the cap. The WRU are also in the process of appointing a head of growth to raise revenue which could be reinvested back into the professional game and the pathway. Wales' four clubs will also realise a £7.8m saving after the WRU takes the Covid loans onto its own balance sheet, while there is also a cap & collar mechanism within the cap which can result in each club receiving an extra share of the funding if they meet certain targets. In an interview with WalesOnline Tierney was adamant there is enough money within the new PRA to ensure at least a couple of Welsh clubs compete for silverware in a few years’ time. But is there really enough money within the new PRA to achieve sustained success? Unlikely. Want to read more? In the latest edition of the Inside Welsh Rugby newsletter, Steffan Thomas crunches the numbers of Welsh rugby finances. You can sign up here Inside Welsh Rugby is a weekly newsletter which gets under the skin of the game in Wales, attempting to get to the heart of the issues and biggest stories. Written by WalesOnline rugby correspondents Steffan Thomas and Ben James, it takes readers deep into the heart of Welsh rugby, while also shining a light on problems which need to be fixed in order for the game to flourish. There is also be deep-dive analysis, explaining to readers exactly what's happening on and off the pitch. Sign up here