Scan through the Welsh rugby history books and you'll find a plethora of players born outside of Wales who have contributed heavily to the success of the national side. Despite its historical and cultural importance, Wales is a rugby nation with a small talent pool who are always going to be disadvantaged from a numbers point of view. When Warren Gatland was head coach he often spoke about the need to increase Wales' talent pool with quality players, which is why the Welsh Rugby Union's decision to scrap its exiles programme is a worrying development. This is a programme which has been hugely beneficial to Welsh rugby for a number of years. The likes of Blair Murray, Archie Griffin, Freddie Thomas, Taine Plumtree and Johnny Williams are all Welsh-qualified players born and brought up outside of Wales who were identified by the exiles programme. Over the next few months the WRU are undergoing a 'transformation programme' with the stated aim of saving at least £5m. Clearly that is something the WRU must do to ensure the game in Wales is sustainable moving forward but cutting the exiles programme doesn't sit well with this writer. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. The head of the exiles programme Gareth Davies has been a tremendous servant to Welsh rugby for numerous years and will be hard to replace. Davies, who hails from St Davids in Pembrokeshire, travels the length and breadth of the UK to scout players working tirelessly in what was an important role. In an interview with WalesOnline in January 2023 he revealed he used to work closely with Gatland and the four professional clubs on finding Welsh-qualified players with regards succession planning. It seems a big shame to lose someone with the knowledge and expertise of Davies. The WRU are putting a big focus on the 'retention and repatriation' of Welsh players moving forward which will replace the exiles system, although details have not been revealed to the public as of yet. As part of the One Wales strategy the WRU and its four professional clubs - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - will focus on retaining young Welsh talent which has historically been difficult to achieve when prestigious English schools come knocking. It also wants to bring young players back from England with the likes of Ioan Emanuel, Sam Scott, Aidan Boshoff and Joe Jenkins, among others, sure to be targets. Already this season we have seen the likes of Wales U20s captain Harry Beddall, Codi Purnell, James Talamai and England U20s World Cup winner Ioan Jones sign for Welsh clubs ahead of the 2025/26 season. There is also the Wales Pathway Players (WPP) project which will see up to 60 players monitored and given extra support with many of those players based across the bridge who are not known to the wider public. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free But the loss of the exiles programme is more likely to hurt the WRU when it comes to players who are in the pre-16 age bracket. The WRU's exiles department holds a number of camps each year for Welsh-qualified children aged from 13 upwards. This allows the WRU to create a database of Welsh-qualified children and also provides a clear pathway in England for players to change their allegiance to the Welsh system. The WRU simply cannot afford to lose this method and must ensure it continues to engage as many Welsh-qualified kids as it can. Former Wales U20s hooker Isaac Young is also a prime example of a player who has benefited hugely from the exiles programme with the English-born 20-year-old qualifying for Wales through his mother, who hails from Denbigh. "When I was in the Northampton Saints' programme I simultaneously did a couple of WRU Exiles camps here and there," he told WalesOnline in an interview last year. "I actually heard about it through a friend of my mother. "I was doing all right with my rugby at school level and I started turning up at WRU Exiles camps and games. Gareth (Davies) from the Exiles got in contact after a couple of games in U16s and put me in contact with Scarlets." There are numerous other examples of the Exiles system drawing dual-qualified players into the Welsh system. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. Moving forwards the WRU must ensure it replaces the programme with something that is just as effective - otherwise Wales' talent pool will shrink.