WELSH Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips has pledged to do everything he can to turn Newport Gwent Dragons around and make professional rugby thrive in the region.

The Dragons are still hunting for investment after announcing plans last April that would see Newport RFC and the governing body relinquish their 50 per cent stakes in the Rodney Parade region.

There has been interest from several parties but no fresh backing has yet been secured, a situation that Phillips admits is becoming more pressing.

However, the chief executive says he is committed to sticking with the current four region model and making professional rugby in the east of Wales a success by helping to attract fresh private backing to Rodney Parade.

“With the Dragons they are out there looking for new investment and that’s always a tough place to be, whether a sports team or a business,” said Phillips, who joined the WRU in 2015.

“We and they are working very closely and very hard on that but the closer next season comes the more urgency comes into that.

“What would a well-run, successful professional team look like? We are not where we want to be with the Dragons and part of my job is to help get it there.”

He continued: “There are 73 clubs in Gwent and the player base is there. We just have to find the right model and make the appropriate investments.

“I am not sitting here and saying they are performing out of their skins – the pitch is an issue, you’d rather there were more people attending games, you’d rather they won more games but so would they.

“That’s why they are working with us and our belief is that we can turn that around.”

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When asked if the governing body could take more control at Rodney Parade, Phillips wouldn’t rule it out but stressed he would rather attract more private financial backing.

He said: “You couldn’t say no (to the WRU taking the Dragons over), we’d do whatever we need to. The big thing for me is that there are 73 clubs in Gwent and they have a rich history and have always produced amazing players.

“There is no way that I’d be able to stand here and not have a professional club in Gwent without knowing that I’d done everything I could.

“If it came to that we’d have to look at it and whether we could afford it, but my view is that professional rugby clubs going forward have to have a combination of union funding and private investment.

“Most of nations either have that or, if you take Scotland and Ireland as examples, they are looking at constitutions to allow private investment to come in.

“Given some of the money that’s come into England and France it would be difficult for professional clubs to be competitive without both investment streams.”

Some question whether Wales can sustain four professional teams but Phillips is committed to the current model and making it work.

“For a nation of our size and how important rugby is to Wales and the pool of players we believe we need to be successful, we are pretty hell-bent on getting the four to work and that’s what we are focusing on,” he said.

“Sometimes in that conversation you hear about North Wales and I think that really is a success with a clear plan there. They are doing really well and there are so many people playing the game now.

“It’s definitely becoming part of the culture in North Wales and we’ve got to keep nurturing that. Right now we are trying to get four, including us five, professional entities.”