Tierney has said there are "systemic problems" facing Welsh rugby which "are really hard to change quickly" and that some changes have already been made.

Despite being a director at one of the regions, Jones says there is no option but to cut at least one teams.

"We are not a big enough nation now to have the commercial clout to [have four regions]," he said.

"We probably no longer have the player pipeline that can sustain four clubs. I don't think the union is gong to be able to deliver longer-term the increase in their own revenue if they are going to support the game at club level and regional level."

Regional rugby was established in 2003, initially with five teams before a reduction to four.

"With sadness, we have to come down to three or two regions to reflect the financial realities of Welsh rugby," added Jones.

"Over the years, there's been a fear inside the union of criticism and so difficult decisions get deferred.

"We've seen that with Gatland's dismissal. I think we're going to be seeing it as well with the decision to stay with four regions when, in their gut, they must know that it isn't the right way forward to present a good future for Welsh rugby."

The WRU has said the deal with the regions will "increase finances and other supporting factors to levels which will enable continued success and sustainability long into the future and by 2029".

"This decision to sustain four regional clubs and not reduce in number divides opinion in Wales," said the WRU.

"Many... are supportive and are excited to see what the increased collaboration and investment will bring for Welsh rugby.

"There are equally those who say that either, objectively, the right decision has not been made or that we have lacked decisiveness in general."

England full-back Max Malins will rejoin Saracens from Bristol Bears at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Malins made 36 appearances for the Bears over two spells with the club, scoring 22 tries.

The 28-year-old signed for the club permanently in 2023, having initially joined on loan for the 2020-21 campaign.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my two stints at Bristol this place has become a home away from home for me," Malins said.

Malins is currently recovering from a ruptured Achilles, meaning he has already played his final Bristol match, and admitted that has hampered his time with the Bears.

"It's sad that injury has prevented me from contributing more and knowing I have played my last game in a Bristol shirt. I would have loved to run out with my mates and say goodbye to the fans from the pitch one last time," he added.

"Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing you all down at Ashton Gate for the remaining games and watching what the team can produce for the run-in to the end of the season."

Malins began his career with Saracens, helping them win the Premiership title in his final season before switching to Bristol.

Perhaps most importantly, there is a huge cultural weight placed on rugby.

St Joseph's first team are presented with their festival shirts at a special assembly before singing, some in tears, to the rest of the school.

"It really is as close as you can get to a professional experience or lifestyle, without actually being paid for it," says Wenham.

The RFU has a network of rugby managers to try to embed the game in state schools.

Sixteen of the best compete in the ACE (Academy, Colleges and Education) League. England internationals George Martin, Joe Heyes and Harry Randall all rose up through that route.

But, those institutions are thinly spread and tight on resources.

Private schools, where fees can exceed 50,000 a year, will always have more to invest.

They are not entirely closed shops, however. You can attend, even if you can't pay.

Because top rugby-playing private schools don't just spend on facilities, they also invest in talent, offering highly sought-after scholarships and bursaries which can dramatically reduce fees.

So, while England captain Maro Itoje finished his education at Harrow, bumping up the team's percentage of private-school attendees, he arrived there at 16 on a scholarship from St Georges, a state school in Hertfordshire.

Ollie Lawrence and Tom and Ben Curry similarly finished their education in the private sector, after being awarded scholarships.

St Joseph's recent success story is Emmanuel Iyogun, who now plays for Northampton and has represented England A. He arrived on a scholarship from Woodlands School, a state school in Essex.

England international Anthony Watson and his former club and country team-mate Beno Obano, who went to Dulwich College on a scholarship at 16, valued such schemes so highly they set up their own, funding Harlan Hines' switch from a state school in south-east London to Marlborough College in 2022.

A large proportion of England's elite players may emerge out of private schools, but their talent wasn't necessarily born in them.

There may be fewer scholarships on offer in the future though.

Since January, VAT has been payable on school fees.

The move, which the government predicts will raise billions for state schools, has put pressure on private schools' registers and balance sheets alike.

Various figures in the industry have predicted that scholarships may have to be squeezed.

As headmaster of Mount Kelly School, a private school in Devon, Guy Ayling is already making difficult decisions around awards for pupils.

"Bursaries and scholarships have a cost attached," he says. "That is the bottom line. They are costs like food, utilities and teacher salaries, and it is therefore something we have to consider.

"It is the way of the world moving forward - there is potentially going to be less money in the system and when there is less money in the system, you don't spend as much, including on helping families with financial assistance."

Fewer scholarships would mean more kids in George Paul's position.

The 23-year-old grew up in Peterborough. He played at Wisbech rugby club, but as he and his ambitions grew in the game, he wanted more rugby than his school would provide.

He had a scholarship offer at Wisbech Grammar, a nearby independent school, but with family finances and siblings to consider he didn't take it up.

Instead, aged 15 and finding his club side weakened as other talented kids switched into the private school system, he chased competitive rugby through a different route.

MONTREAL -- Fans in Montreal booed the U.S. national anthem before the Americans' first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Finland on Thursday night, and Stanley Cup-winning forward Matthew Tkachuk had a simple reaction.

"I didn't like it, and that's all I got," Tkachuk said after the U.S. beat Finland 6-1. Tkachuk and brother Brady each had two goals.

The negative reaction to "The Star-Spangled Banner" came even after the public address announcer at Bell Centre made an announcement asking the crowd to show respect for the anthems and the players from either country.

"Our goal is to make sure that we create an environment and that hockey represents an opportunity to bring people together, and I think people understand that," commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday at a news conference prior to the start of the tournament. "In this building, initially there was some booing a couple of games ago and the club made an announcement asking people to stop and show respect for two great countries, and it stopped. And that's what we expect."

U.S. center J.T. Miller put a positive spin on the song getting booed.

"I think we like it, not politically, but maybe just at a sense of, we know where we're at in Canada and I think that fires us up more than anything," Miller said. "So, it's great."

There was no such reaction for Finland's national anthem that followed. Fans across Canada have booed the U.S. anthem at NHL and NBA games after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs against the country, prompting backlash from a close neighbor and longtime ally.

"It's unfortunate, obviously, and we wish it wasn't the case, but from time to time things happen, and people have strong feelings about it," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday. "Obviously, we're aware of what's been happening here. I think the negativity has probably lessened over the last week. Hopefully it continues to lessen and that relations will be normal. But it's something obviously we're aware of."

U.S. captain Auston Matthews was booed during a pregame ceremony before Canada vs. Sweden on Wednesday and then again when he was shown on video screens during warmups. Matthews said after his team's morning skate that he expected that reaction.

"They might just be booing us because we're the U.S. team here, like Auston's getting booed a ton and whatnot," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "Obviously, I'm a proud American and I love playing for the USA and being an American. I don't want to get into the political side of it, but it is what it is. I like to just view it as they want us to lose because we're the U.S. team."

Coach Mike Sullivan said his players are proud Americans but did not credit the anthem booing as any sort of motivation that contributed to the result.

"The anthem, I'm not sure there's influence there," Sullivan said. "That's really not something that we can control. We just want to play hockey. We want to compete. We want to represent our nation in the right way."

The next U.S. game at the tournament is Saturday night against Canada before play shifts to Boston next week.

MONTREAL -- Brady and Matthew Tkachuk came out hitting, started scoring and put together a display of brotherly dominance playing together for the first time on a big stage.

The Tkachuks each scored twice, flourishing after being put on the ice at the same time, as the United States beat Finland 6-1 on Thursday night in each team's opening game at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a physical showdown played with edge throughout.

"That's the way we play, one of the reasons why we're on the team," said Matthew Tkachuk, a reigning Stanley Cup champion who finished with three points. "You don't change your game. You play your identity. It's up to us and the rest of the guys to play to your strengths. That's one of them."

Everyone was finishing checks, including Jack Eichel dumping Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov into the U.S. bench. Brady Tkachuk bowled over 6-foot-6 Niko Mikkola with one of his game-high eight hits, and Matthew Tkachuk gave Patrik Laine an earful before a faceoff as the Americans began to take over.

Matthew called Brady "a beast," and coach Mike Sullivan said the brothers "just have a funny way of dragging us into the fight."

"We kind of knew what to expect after watching [the Canada-Sweden] game that it was going to be fast and physical," said defenseman Zach Werenski, who had three assists. "We have some guys on this team that can do that, right? You have the Tkachuks. We got [J.T.] Miller. We got a lot of big bodies. Eichel was throwing his body around tonight. I thought the pace was really good. I thought the physicality was good, and I thought we responded well to all of it."

The scoreboard made it look like more of a rout than it was for the first two periods, when quality chances were at a premium and space on the ice was hard to find. Matt Boldy scored the go-ahead goal on a textbook deflection of Minnesota Wild teammate Brock Faber's shot late in the second, then the floodgates opened early in the third.

Many fans hadn't even returned to their seats from intermission when Matthew Tkachuk sailed a long shot in past Juuse Saros 15 seconds into the period. Saros gave up another softie to Jake Guentzel 11 seconds later, and Brady Tkachuk beat the struggling Nashville goaltender again to make it three U.S. goals in three minutes.

"The start of the third, it was -- I don't know how to say that, but we weren't ready for that," said Finland coach Antti Pennanen, who acknowledged he and his staff considered pulling Saros.

That onslaught quieted the very pro-Finland crowd full of Canadians eager to root against their country's biggest hockey rival. Some even booed the U.S. anthem before the game, and there was plenty more where that came from for Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews several times he touched the puck.

Matthew Tkachuk added another goal for good measure on the power play with 8:47 left, and that was enough for the "U-S-A!" chants to fill the bowl at Bell Centre. In the waning minutes, a few U.S. fans proclaimed, "We want Canada!"

They face off Saturday night.

"I think it's going to be the biggest game that I've ever played in my career," Brady Tkachuk said. "We've been talking about that game especially. Really excited to experience it."

Finland gave fans only one real opportunity to cheer, when late-added defenseman Henri Jokiharju beat Connor Hellebuyck clean on a shot 7:31 in to make it 1-0. Hellebuyck stopped the next 18 shots he faced to finish with 20 saves.

The same could not be said for Saros, who allowed six goals on 32 shots and could be replaced in net by Kevin Lankinen for Finland's game against Sweden on Saturday.

"Of course we need to think about that," Pennanen said. "It was a tough day for Juuse. He was really good the first 40 minutes, but I think we need to analyze this game and make those decisions tomorrow or Saturday."

The U.S. does not need to worry about making a switch there, but Sullivan made some keen midgame adjustments that contributed to his team moving to the top of the 4 Nations standings one turn through round-robin play.

During the second period, Sullivan moved Brady Tkachuk to left wing with Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk and sent Kyle Connor to the second line alongside Matthews and Jack Hughes. He flip-flopped his second and third defense pairs to put Noah Hanifin with Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber.

"We've been together for four days," Eichel said. "He's coached for quite a while. I think we're all trying to find chemistry and get comfortable with each other. That could mean some changes in lines and pairings and whatnot. I think everyone was prepared when their number was called and helped contribute to the win."

The Dallas Stars signed forward Sam Steel to a two-year, $4.2 million contract extension on Friday.

The deal with Steel, 27, starts with the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2026-27 campaign.

Steel has recorded 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 53 games this season, his second with Dallas.

"We are thrilled to extend Sam for the next two years," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "His versatility on both ends of the ice have proven to be a huge asset for our team. He is a player that we can count on to make a positive impact and do the little things that lead to wins."

A first-round pick by Anaheim in 2016, Steel has tallied 134 points (47 goals, 87 assists) in 392 career games for the Ducks (2018-22), Minnesota Wild (2022-23) and Stars.